1995 (Times)1997 (Times)2001 (Times)Andrew Davis at the last night of the Proms (BBC On Air)Class culture and jingoism were likely to feature in any journalism about the Proms. At the time I drew this, middle class prommers and working class skinheads were just about the only young people likely to wave the national flag. (Times)The cover illustration for The Listener was a well-paid and prestigious commission. This was, I fear, a lacklustre response by me to the one opportunity I had.Nick Kenyon, whose columns I illustrated through much of my period at The Listener, went on to run Radio 3, the Proms, and the Barbican Centre. I was asked to draw this to be presented to him on his last night at the Proms. Such commissions are fraught with risk. What if he didn’t like my portrayal? No-one should be obliged to live alongside a framed caricature of themselves: I have seen one or two mortified faces when such well-meaning presentations have been made. But I am relieved to say Nick was a gent: he sent me a cheerful postcard thanking me.
