Nothing encapsulates the life story, the star quality and the powerful performances of the music world’s greats quite like a blockbuster biopic. In recent years we have been treated to Austin Butler’s unforgettable portrayal of the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’, Jennifer Hudson’s powerhouse performance as Aretha Franklin in ‘Respect’, the story of Whitney Houston’s unstoppable rise to fame in ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ and, most recently, we have revisited the lives and works of Bob Marley in ‘One Love’ and Amy Winehouse in ‘Back to Black’. With news reported earlier this year that Oscar-winner Sam Mendes is to direct not one, but four separate biopics about The Beatles, celebrating the lives and careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the magic of music at the movies is set to light up the big screen in honour of the living legends and those whose memories live on, for years to come.

It’s not only the great musicians themselves that inspire our artists, but also the instruments they so skilfully play, with the beautiful curves of the guitar a particular favourite, appearing time and again in the work of some of our best-loved artists. Street and Pop-inspired artists such as Yuvi, Mr Brainwash and Zinsky have used guitars as their canvas, turning them into unique and extraordinary works of art. Nick Veasey has created innovative works by x-raying instruments including guitars and drums (drummer included!), while artists including Fabian Perez and Mila Alexander portray themselves and their muses posed and poised with guitar in hand, ready to play…

Many of our artists have been inspired by great musicians but the opposite is also true. Some of our most prolific artists have been asked to create album covers for iconic singers and bands. Mr Brainwash is responsible for the eye-catching artwork for Madonna’s Celebration album, Paul Normansell created the beautiful cover art for The Killers’ Day and Age and Craig Alan created the innovative and unique imagery for ‘What a Time to Be Alive’ by British singer-songwriter Tom Walker. Now an unmistakable icon of music as well as art history, John Pasche’s lips and tongue logo for The Rolling Stones is recognised all over the world, and Sir Peter Blake’s artwork for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has made it one of the most famous album covers of all time.

Not only does the sound of music greatly inspire the works of our best-loved artists, but the movement of music does too, with dance being a recurring theme for artists including Fabian Perez, Henry Asencio, Mark Spain, Sherree Valentine-Daines, and even fine art sculptor Jennine Parker, who captures the elegance and the joy of dance in her breathtaking bronze sculptures.