The fan response to artists who have already supported our message has been overwhelmingly positive. With national and international studies showing that the vast majority of the public support action on climate, and with the opportunity for governments to direct post-covid recovery funds into green jobs and infrastructure, there has never been a better or more effective time to speak out on climate… and the stakes couldn’t be higher. These last couple of years, I’m getting to do these really cool jobs. ‘We saw your work on a Metallica T-shirt’ and things go from there. So the work I do with bands gets seen by other industries. ‘The art director of the game is a massive Metallica fan and he wonders if you’d design a skateboard’. They find me online and ask me things like that and, my long-winded answer, is that I love it all the same. If it’s a fun project, then I’m up for it.” Then I got to work with Metallica on posters and T-shirts, which has been a real honour. In 2019 I was on the guestlist when they played Manchester and it was surreal to see my artwork on their shirts behind on the merch stand. My wife was like, ‘Oh, my god, look there’s a person wearing one of your shirts! And there’s another one! And another!’ It all culminated in that really, because they’re one of my favourite bands and they’re the band that really got me into metal.” The music industry might just be one corner of the gigantic super-structure that is the climate crisis, but it has huge influence to inspire the action that’s needed. So don’t be disheartened. Complain, shout, protest. You can do your bit, but also don’t let our leaders and big business owners get away with not doing what’s required. It’s your future in their hands. We all want to still be enjoying our favourite bands in decades to come. There’s no music on a dead planet, after all. That’s what we lose if we continue on this current trajectory,” added Chapman. “We’re trying to be positive. There is time to turn it around.”

The latest release is designed by Thom York of Radiohead fame and his long term artistic collaborator Stanley Donwood . The pair met at Exeter University’s art school, and first worked together in 1994 when Donwood worked on the single My Iron Lung from that same year, and created the cover for 1995 album The Bends. He’s gone on to work on designs for the band’s album ever since, as well as Yorke’s solo projects, inclidong Atoms for Peace. Nigel also points to other areas in which production of vinyl can be more sustainable. “There’s no proof that heavier vinyl weight affects sound quality in any way, so just changing from 200/180gm to 140gm saves on emissions,” he recommends. “We can do without shrinkwrap, or go for a longer lasting bag so it’s not single use. Make sure the card in the LP sleeves is recycled, and the pressing plants are using non-toxic inks. I’ve also worked on the Tony Hawk game recently, which is great. All of these things just come out of the blue. ‘Would you like to work on a Tony Hawk game?’ ‘Oh, alright then!’ That was just two skateboards that I designed that were put in game, but then they kindly sent me versions of the physical boards that are hanging in my studio. I had a look at all the other designs they’d done previously and the No Music On A Dead Planet slogan was the kind of thing that dominated. So I did the first design based around the text. I asked myself, ‘What would be a metal way to the message across?’ The idea of a globe burning was the idea that came to mind. Then I thought, ‘Let’s make it a skull with the globe burning in the forehead because that way you’re marrying the human element with the idea of the world.’ Basically, it just needed to say, ‘If we don’t sort this shit out, we won’t be in a particularly good state.’It was the afternoon of the BRIT Awards, I was recording a podcast with him expecting to hear about what outrageous suit he’d be wearing to the ceremony in London that evening. Instead, conversation turned to the existential danger posed by the climate and ecological emergency. It was exactly the type of conversation – a mix of desperate frustration and stubborn optimism – I’ve had with numerous musicians recently. Summing things up, Simon said: “Things have changed, and we need to wake up… We need to do so much more. Me and my band need to figure out ways so that we’re not contributing anything to that.” Music Declares Emergency founder Fay Milton of Savages in a new No Music On A Dead Planet t-shirt. Credit: Press Launched in July 2019, Music Declares Emergency is an independent charity with no party political or commercial affiliations. We believe in the power of music to promote the necessary cultural changes to create a greener, fairer, better future. Peter Saville has redesigned his iconic artwork for Joy Division‘s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ for a new t-shirt to raise funds for Music Declares Emergency’s No Music On A Dead Planet.

In terms of speaking out on climate issues, the Number One prize has to go to Billie Eilish because she just continues to champion the cause and that’s what it takes to get the message across,” said Milton. “If you really want to change something, you have to keep going at it. I fully respect Billie for what she and her family have been doing. It’s not a fad for her.The music industry is very childish,” she added. “We run around thinking we’re special, we make a mess and someone else clears it up. We think that the rules don’t apply to us. In certain areas, that’s fun because it leads to creativity. When it comes to impact on the planet, it’s just not OK because the people you’re impacting are your audience. Charity Music Declares Emergency blummin’ hopes so. The organisation was founded in July last year by music business executives and artists to forge a cohesive, industry wide response to the climate emergency—their declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency has over 3,500 signatures now. That document calls for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and pledges music industry action on environmental sustainability. Whether with Radiohead, or across projects like his ongoing work for Glastonbury, the linocut graphic novel Bad Island , JG Ballard book covers or large-scale installation, his work is frequently disquieting in the best possible way. The same goes for this t-shirt design; but then again, the climate emergency is pretty unnerving. While Reid’s hardly rested on his laurels since, it’s little surprise that his design for Music Declares Emergency’s ‘No Music On A Dead Planet’ T-shirt range draws on that instantly recognisable punk aesthetic.

READ MORE: Savages’ drummer and Music Declares Emergency co-founder Fay Milton on climate change: “Music needs to get real” Music festivals have to evolve; they can’t stand still,” Reading & Leeds boss Melvin Benn told Sounds Like A Plan. “The most important things are audience travel, the power, and what’s left behind and recycled.”Speaking to NME about the organisation’s goals in 2019, Music Declares Emergency founder and Savages’ drummer Fay Milton said: “There’s such a short period of time to make the changes we need to make, and to make people wake up and realise that there isn’t time for everyone to change everything they do. Maisie Peters added that it was “important that people do as much as they can, but this is a global issue for which governments have to be responsible.” MDE co-founder and former Savages drummer Fay Milton, soon to launch new solo music under the name Goddess, explained to NME what set R&L apart in the fight for sustainability.

We caught up with Luke to discuss his approach to designing these shirts and his wider work. The softly spoken Midland-born artist also took time to show off his latest vinyl acquisitions – including a brace of Kerbdog reissues (“I love that band, they should’ve been huge!” he enthuses) and a copy of Paradise Lost’s Draconian Times – as well as talking about the state of metal as a whole.Music Declares Emergency describe themselves as “a group of artists, music industry professionals and organisations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth.” READ MORE Savages’ drummer and Music Declares Emergency co-founder Fay Milton on climate change – “Music needs to get real”