Jamcee Behind The Rave Scenes

November 22, 2021

TL;DR: Jamcee (Jonny Martin) is a legendary 90s rave flyer artist who created the iconic Eclipse flyer. Qravers has collaborated with him since 2019, featuring his Peace, Love, Unity, Respect artwork on tees, pins, and patches.

Jamcee Behind The Rave Scenes

To celebrate the release of our Jamcee P.L.U.R pin badge packs, we caught up with our longstanding collaborator Jonny Martin to discuss his artwork and give you a little insight into our design process and how we produce our products.

See the full Jamcee range

The Qravers x Jamcee Collaboration (Since 2019)

We first started working with Jamcee in 2019, using his iconic artwork on a range of products and adapting a series of his images into smaller designs we could use for printing badges. He is responsible for some of the most stand-out original 90s rave flyer designs. His imagery is instantly recognisable and works really well printed in multiple ways. He was kind enough to let us colourise his work so we could match it to different products as well.

Our Jamcee range is a firm favourite with a lot of our customers, and we are often asked to use the designs on custom orders. It's also a great talking point at festivals and markets, with people really resonating with and recognising the artwork. We've even met a few of his fans who were at the original raves, and it's been great to hear those stories as well.

Jamcee P.L.U.R Pin Badge Packs Qravers Collaboration Peace Love Unity Respect

We are huge fans of Jamcee's artwork, and it's great to see how much recognition he is getting now. We are privileged to know him and to be able to work with a genuine legend of the rave scene. If you don't already, give him a follow on socials: @jamceeartist

Jamcee Jonny Martin Original 90s Rave Flyer Artist Portrait

Jamcee In His Own Words

For someone whose artwork is so unique and personal, we realised that you might not know a lot about the person behind the art. So here's a bit about Jamcee in his own words:

"I was born in 1972 and grew up in the 80s. I was a massive fan of comics and cartoons during this era and started drawing and copying the characters I loved.

In the mid-80s, Hip Hop was the latest thing, and I just loved the art and music. My work started to evolve during this time, and I started to develop my own style.

After I left school in 1988, I discovered Acid House and started going to parties in and around London. I was blown away by the energy, music, and fashion.

I used to come back from raves and sometimes I wasn't tired (lol), so I would sit and draw until I was! It was during this time my work really started changing and was heavily influenced by my passion for the freedom and expression of the parties I was going to.

In the early 90s, raves started happening all over the country on a massive scale, and I realised this was a massive explosion of youth culture like this country had never seen before.

We started travelling all over the country to attend, but one of our favourite venues was the Eclipse in Coventry. This was when, after a great night there, I got back and drew the Now Iconic Eclipse Flyer in one take and still pretty 'awake'."

Jamcee Eclipse Flyer Original 90s Rave Coventry Iconic

Jamcee Eclipse Rave Flyer 90s Coventry Original Artwork

(Images courtesy of @rave_a2z)

"I sent it off on the Monday, and the owner called me up and said they wanted to use it!! I was elated, and it spurred me on to keep going with my art.

Consequently, I ended up working with numerous promoters and venues, creating flyers, t-shirts, backdrops, etc.

Moving forward 30 years! I realised there was still massive interest in the era and movement, and it reignited my passion. I decided to get the pens out again and get back on it.

I have been amazed with the response and that I am now classed as a leader in this field: Rave Art.

My work really resonates with people as it's so authentic, and I have been quite successful. The last year it has really blown up and has enabled me to become a full-time artist designing t-shirts and paintings.

I even got invited back to Coventry by Coventry City Of Culture to put up a mural!"