and he, the fool

The Fool are a quartet of Dutch multimedia artists: Simon Posthuma, Marijke Posthuma, Josje Leeger, and Barry Finch. They began as part of the Amsterdam Provos, pranksters whose situationist antics, such as providing free white bicycles on the streets of Amsterdam and tossing smoke bombs at the wedding of Princess Beatrix’s 1966 wedding, wreaked havoc in mid-’60s Holland. When the four moved to the U.K., they christened themselves the Fool and found work as designers whose clientele included model Patti Boyd (later Clapton and Harrison) and Cream. They also designed some psychedelic LP covers, including the Incredible String Band’s 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, the Move’s self-titled debut album, and the Hollies’ Evolution. Probably their most well-known job was with the Beatles and consisted of decorating the Apple boutique in London as well as painting a psychedelic Rolls-Royce and grand piano for John Lennon. In 1969, the group turned to music and enlisted Graham Nash as producer of their one and only record. The Mercury release failed to catch on and the group faded away. In 2005 Rev-Ola reissued the self-titled album with the addition of two bonus tracks. ~ Tim Sendra