Music careers

Mr Gammon studied fashion at London’s Royal College of Art and when he left began designing clothes for the likes of Adam Ant, The Rolling Stones and the Spice Girls. These day, he styles shoots for the Sunday Times and lists Busted, Avril Lavigne and Jamelia amongst his bulging client roster of stars to style…

YM: How important is image to success
Mr G: Image is very important because if nothing grabs the imagination, you look like everyone else! Music should produce role models - something to look up to for the fans. There should always be an angle – you know  - for example, JK is always gonna be “the guy in the hat”. Music used to shadow the times it reflected the times and culture, Now everyone tries so hard to look cool so that they all look bland.

YM: Should the artist ever hand over complete control of their image to a stylist?
Mr G: It’s very important for the artist to have some input into the way they’re styled - it has to come from them. Their music should be a reflection of their personality and so should their clothes. Where stylists fail is when the clothes have no connection to music. Also the artist must feel comfortable, there has to be a level of compromise. A stylist should nurture an artist and point them in right direction; your job is to build up a strong relationship with the artist and to educate them.

YM: How does a stylist work out how best to dress a new artist?
Mr G: I usually interview the band to find out their likes and dislikes - a lot of being a stylist is about being a people person. Busted performed acoustically for me when I met them for the first time. They had their own ideas about clothes and they’ve always been quite stylish. I always said with them, it was a case of coming up with the original idea. ‘What I Go To School For’ was the first single – so it was about coming up with something that kids could copy. We went for the whole distressed school uniform punk, skater boy attitude look. That way you’d be able to tell a set of Busted fans from, say… a set of Blue or Westlife fans.

YM: Brian McFadden launched his solo career on the basis of a restyle and William Baker gave Kylie the most famous bum in pop - can a restyle work for anyone?
Mr G: Well I’m a stylist not a plastic surgeon, so no. Someone like Daniel Bedingfield isn’t particularly stylish – he’ll never be a Robbie Williams or Craig David because he doesn’t capture girls’ imaginations the way they do. Someone whose has continually reinvented themselves, like David Bowie, can add value to their back catalogue by doing this.

YM: What style advice did you give to Laura Critchley?
Mr G: Laura looked good anyway, she was a blank canvas you could do anything. For her I just selected jeans and a £700 sequined top. If the music is simple, then it’s best to keep the outfit simple. Her style of music is not unusual, so there’s no point making her look like Bjork. Also I told her not to show too much flesh otherwise no one will be concentrating on her performance. And always remember, your voice is an asset, but so is your hair!

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