MUSEUM OF YOUTH CULTURE ANNOUNCES GREENSLEEVES: THE FIRST 100 COVERS

By Rishma • On Events

New exhib­i­tion explores how one of Britain’s most influ­en­tial record labels helped define the visu­al lan­guage of reggae


Open­ing Fri­day 10 July 2026 at the Museum of Youth Cul­ture, Camden

museumofyouthculture.com

One Love Books and Greensleeves Records, in part­ner­ship with the Museum of Youth Cul­ture, present Greensleeves: The First 100 Cov­ers, a new exhib­i­tion explor­ing the extraordin­ary visu­al his­tory of one of Britain’s most influ­en­tial inde­pend­ent record labels.

Bring­ing togeth­er the first 100 album cov­ers from the extens­ive Greensleeves cata­logue, along­side rare mater­i­al from the label’s archive includ­ing fly­ers, pho­to­graphs and pre­par­at­ory art­work, the exhib­i­tion traces how sleeve art became insep­ar­able from the music itself. Togeth­er, these works cre­ated a dis­tinct­ive visu­al lan­guage that helped carry reg­gae and dance­hall cul­ture to audi­ences around the world.

Many of the cov­ers were cre­ated by Brit­ish illus­trat­or and graph­ic design­er Tony McDer­mott, whose art­work became syn­onym­ous with the label. Seen togeth­er, the first 100 releases form a vivid visu­al his­tory of a trans­form­at­ive peri­od in reg­gae, span­ning icon­ic records by artists includ­ing Dr Ali­mantado, Eek-A-Mouse, John Holt, Fred­die McGregor, Wail­ing Souls, Yel­low­man, Purple­man and Sis­ter Nancy.

Cur­ated by Alex­an­der New­man AKA DJ Al Fin­gers and based on his acclaimed pub­lic­a­tion of the same name, Greensleeves: The First 100 Cov­ers explores the rela­tion­ship between music and graph­ic design, and the role record sleeves played in shap­ing the iden­tity, style and glob­al impact of reg­gae culture.

Ahead of the exhib­i­tion launch, Alex­an­der New­man said:

“The album art of Greensleeves Records, much of it cre­ated by legendary design­er Tony McDer­mott, cap­tured the energy, innov­a­tion and con­fid­ence of a music­al move­ment that trans­formed glob­al cul­ture. Yet des­pite the undeni­able influ­ence of reg­gae and dance­hall album cov­ers, they have rarely received the recog­ni­tion they deserve as works of graph­ic design. This exhib­i­tion recog­nises and cel­eb­rates that extraordin­ary artist­ic leg­acy, and its place with­in the his­tory of graph­ic design and pop­u­lar culture.”

Greensleeves: The First 100 Cov­ers opens at the Museum of Youth Cul­ture on Fri­day 10 July 2026.

Museum of Youth Culture

St Pan­cras Campus

100 Roy­al Col­lege Street

Lon­don NW1 0TH

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Rishma

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voiceless.

About Rishma

Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless.