Siblings Martin and Carole Dawber have fond memories of the city
Lord Street in Liverpool city centre, pictured on August 4, 1972
Life has changed in many ways since the 1970s, from the music we listened to to how we dress, socialise and much more. It was a decade in the city that saw people religiously spend their weekends in clubs like Michelle Claire’s, Eric’s, and The Hollywood, or wear bell bottom pants or tie dye outfits.
Punks and New Romantics were emerging and many who were in their teens and early 20s at the time will remember being at the centre of it all. This includes siblings Martin and Carole Dawber, now living in Birkdale, who graduated from the Liverpool College of Art and have fond memories of the city back then and the school, before it became part of what is now Liverpool John Moores University.
As part of the Liverpool ECHO How It Used To Be series, we spoke to the siblings, originally from Wigan, about their memories of being art students in 70s Liverpool and how it led them to their latest project. Martin, 78, told the ECHO: “When I was a student there, it was called the Liverpool College of Art.
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“Then later on it joined Liverpool Polytechnic, then it’s moved on to obviously John Moore’s now. In those days, there were only a few art colleges around the country.
“You had like Manchester, Liverpool, they were in the main big cities. Liverpool had an excellent reputation because not long before we went, John Lennon had been there, so it had that sort of focus.
Martin while he was a student in Liverpool(Image: Photo courtesy of Martin Dawber)
“It had a really buzzing atmosphere and it still had the echoes of The Beatles and all the music that had come out in Liverpool. It was attracting a lot interest – not just from music, but from painting, from filmmaking.
“Everybody wanted to sort of like get their piece of the action. When we went to students, people actually remembered John Lennon being there.
“I can remember literally seeing these initials, this JL carved into the desk in a lecture theatre. Later on, it became part of sort of the tour of Liverpool – people would come off yellow buses and they’d pile into the lecture theatre to see these things.”
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Later in the 70s, Carole followed in her brothers’ footsteps and also attended the college on Hope Street. Carole, 68, told the ECHO: “I remember there were quite a lot of terraces around that area.
“When we went, there was a club or a pub in somebody’s front room – every 100 yards. Because I’m five years younger than Martin, when I went, in the year I was in, there were lots of people who were studying art who went on then to be in bands.
“The students who went on to work with Siouxsie and the Banshees and there was Deaf School, a homegrown Liverpool band. Martin and I both did fashion and textiles.
Carole at her desk in Hope Street when she was a senior lecturer at Liverpool in the late 80s(Image: Photo courtesy of Martin Dawber)
“Liverpool folk, they love their fashion and as students it was great. It was the first wave of New Romantics and then it went towards punk.
“I graduated in ’78 and it was just starting off punk. I became a punk with the hair that was super glued up or soaked up.”
Martin said he remembers Liverpool being at the centre of a lot of trends – for both students and locals. He said: “You were this thing called an “art student,” so you didn’t really follow convention in any way shape or form really.
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“So lot of the fashion you were almost like making it up as you went along. People didn’t have a lot of money, so you would make do and invent new things and that’s really a way that a lot of the trends of the fashions actually started – and Liverpool was prime focus within that.”
Carol said she has carried the fond memories made at Liverpool College of Art with her in the industry and in teaching. She said: “All I did all day was draw and paint, work with fabric, design clothes and be pioneering by taking risks and having fun.
“The most inspiring artists, tutors and musicians surrounded me. It was awesome.
Carole with Sir Ken Dodd with one of his Diddy Men at their appointment as LJMU Honorary Fellows at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral wearing the academic robes that she designed especially for them both to wear(Image: Photo courtesy of Martin Dawber)
“There were no limits to imagination. I met such amazing people, all of whom just loved creativity for the idea of invention.”
“I can remember as a school girl coming over to Liverpool and everybody was really helpful and that’s the one thing we’ve always taken away. It’s got such a good place in our hearts, Liverpool – it’s people, the generosity.”
During the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, Carole’s research into fabric dying from natural sources, while still a student at college, earned her the accolade of being awarded a lifetime Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts. Carole’s final garment collection at Liverpool was subsequently put on display in London at the Dickens and Jones store in Regent Street and was applauded by fashion editor, Prudence Glynn, in a Times’ editorial.
Carole in her studio(Image: Photo courtesy of Martin Dawber)
Martin went on to the Royal College of Art in London, meeting famous faces like the late David Bowie, before becoming an author in the field. Although now officially retired, his skills still take him to exhibitions across Europe and to academic work at institutions in Istanbul and Singapore.
In later years, they were invited back to what is now LJMU and have through the years passed on their experience to new generations of students. Carole also has fond memories of meeting Sir Ken Dodd and one of his Diddy Men one the day they were appointed LJMU Honorary Fellows, wearing the academic robes she designed especially for them both to wear.
From the industry to teaching themselves, the siblings said they owe a lot of their success to their time studying in Liverpool. And now, it has come full circle as they currently have a joint exhibition at The ArtHouse in Southport, with a display including stitch, collage and ceramics, each reflecting their individual perspectives on contemporary arts and crafts.
Martin working on a piece(Image: Photo courtesy of Martin Dawber)
Carole said: “I do quite a lot of abstract art, textiles, and I’ve been doing it for a long time. But it’s a privilege to show it, if you like, in my home turf.
“I’ve shown my work across the world, from New York to Paris, to Finland. But I’ve always been chuffed to say I’ve shown it in Ormskirk, Southport and Liverpool. I love the alchemy of colouring cloth through dye.
“Even before undertaking my journey through Art School, I learned to stencil and print images on my own clothes. Using my mum’s twin tub washing machine, I experimented with very rudimentary tie-dye techniques.
“The Aladdin’s cave that the Dye Lab opened up at the Art School was just further encouragement in my need to colourise fabrics for my art practice. The training I received in mixing commercial dyes, and extracting and experimenting with natural dye stuffs, has lead to a life long passion of transforming yarn and fabric into jewel-like colours.”
Martin added: “Although I don’t possess any traditional training in ceramics, I enjoy the tactile and almost therapeutic value of working with your hands in wet clay. My hand-crafted bowls and vases, featuring contemporary patterning and glazing, could equally be well employed as wine-coolers and for housing fresh fruit or cut flowers.
“I owe where I am today to my six formative years in art education. It subsequently spring boarded me all over the world and I would always urge anyone to stick to their dreams and do the same.”
From Both Sides Now will be on display until June 14, 2025 at The ArtHouse, 65 Eastbank Street. Opening times are Tuesday through to Friday’s, 10am till 3pm and on Saturday, 11am to 4pm.