One for the album

The Austin Atlantic is an increasingly rare beast these days, but this storied survivor is perhaps the finest example you'll see

-  JULIAN BALME

David Whyley is a very fortunate man, but his immaculate Austin A90 Atlantic is even luckier. After decades of neglect, this post-war oddity has been given a new lease of life and today represents surely the world's finest example of its kind. That wasn't always the case, though.

I first encountered this particular radical-looking British convertible, registered FPN 717, 40 years ago, when it didn't run and was painted white. I was enjoying probably my busiest year as a designer of record sleeves, and among the myriad acts I worked with was a rock 'n' roll revival outfit called The Stargazers. The band members had a keen appreciation of retro style and were big fans of all things 1950s. Drummer Ricky Lee Brawn had always been fascinated by the reimagining of American design and culture through British eyes, and loved the way that in the UK we never quite got things right but managed to create something unique of our own. Think Elvis versus Cliff Richard, Flash Gordon versus Dan Dare - or Hudson Hornet versus Austin Atlantic. So when it came to the sleeve for the band's '82 album Watch this Space, and wanting to use an old car to help create a memorable front cover image, rather than putting the band in a big-finned American convertible, we plumped for Longbridge's take on early '50s US-inspired glamour.

Both Ricky and saxophonist John Wallace were into classics, and they knew a character called Dave Cropper who, among his collection of early Ford Consuls and Zephyrs, had an Austin Atlantic convertible restoration project. It wasn't a runner, but was cosmetically sound and would photograph well. Cropper was game and agreed to trailer the car to London.