Transport for London’s primary concern may be its imminent tube strike – but the service has recently been burdened with another problem: Mick’s lips. Artwork advertising the Rolling Stones’ forthcoming gallery show Exhibitionism has been banned on the London underground and at bus stops around the city until a new, less lewd version of the poster is provided.
The neon advert – which shows the crotch of a woman in a bikini, with John Pasche’s famous lips logo placed in a cheeky position – was put together by British designer Mark Norton, with help from Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts. However, when it was submitted to Exterion Media, which regulates advertisements on the tube, and Clear Channel, a regulator for bus shelters, the band were told the poster was not suitable to run in its original form. For it to be approved, the logo must be moved away from the crotch and on to the woman’s belly button instead.
The “tongue over belly button” posters will go up in London on Monday, while the rest of the country will receive the original “tongue over pants”.
A spokesperson for the Rolling Stones said: “We are dumbfounded and perplexed at this rather silly decision. Perhaps something to do with the fact that it’s the Rolling Stones and controversy still seems to follow them everywhere.”
This is not the first time the band have been questioned over their arresting artwork: the tongue logo, specifically crafted to represent the band’s “anti-authoritarian attitude, Mick’s mouth and the obvious sexual connotations”, was always intended to shock. In 1976, their Black & Blue poster, which featured Anita Russell tied up and sporting bruises, was removed from a Hollywood billboard after protests.
Tickets for Exhibitionism, which opens at London’s Saatchi Gallery next year, go on sale on Friday 10 July.
