The Fool were a Dutch design collective and band who were influential in the psychedelic style of art in British popular music in the late 1960s. The colourful art draws on many fantastical and mystical themes. The group was named in reference to The Fool tarot card.
The original members were Dutch artists Simon Posthuma and Marijke Koger, who were discovered by photographer Karl Ferris among the hippie community on the Spanish island of Ibiza in 1966. He took photographs of clothes designed by them, and sent them to London where they were published in The Times (London) and immediately caused a sensation. Ferris took The Fool back to London, and together they opened a studio, with the Dutch artists producing clothes and art, and Ferris pursuing photography. Barry Finch and artist Josje Leeger joined later. All had been involved with Beatles manager Brian Epstein's Saville Theatre and with the design of the facade and much of the merchandise of The Beatles' Apple Boutique store.
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Their work includes:
The Fool's best known artworks are those they created for The Beatles in 1966–67. They include:
It would appear that, contrary to popular belief, The Fool did not create the psychedelic paintwork on John Lennon's Rolls-Royce.[3] Cynthia Lennon's memoir claims that the work was carried out by "a firm of barge and caravan designers".[4] An article about the car on the Ottawa Beatles site [5] states that the work was carried out by J.P. Fallon Limited, a coachworks company located in Chertsey, Surrey. The site has a newspaper article confirming this. J.P. Fallon commissioned Steve Weaver's pattern of scroll and flowers (who came up with design) for the Phantom V. The idea to make the car psychedelic was based on a suggestion from Marijke Koger, a member of the Fool who told Lennon to "paint the Rolls like the gypsy wagon" that was in his garden. There is photograph of the template (or artwork board) that Steve Weaver used to create the design for the car at the Ottawa Beatles Site.
The Fool also released an eponymous album in 1968, in the Psych-Folk style, produced by Graham Nash of The Hollies. It was re-released in 2005. This album was mentioned in the last chapter of Gravity's Rainbow, where it is suggested that one of the novel's characters went on to play with the band.
