A tribute to a legendary graphic artist, Paul “Polo” Bellmare
By Stephan Giroux The Metal Voice commentator
In the creation process which led to the foundation of Banzai Records in 1983, Montreal entrepreneur Michel Meese had a concept of licensing European and American artists without record deals in Canada.
The idea was simple: importing, say, a Metallica record from Megaforce was expensive for teenagers in Canada. They sold for $16.99 in 1984 dollars. But if the same record was pressed and distributed in this country, it could then sell for half of that, in all Canadian record stores, and not just in specialized shops that imported lesser-known labels.
Meese was a rocker with a passion for Japanese culture. He first wanted to call his label “Samurai” , and had already signed a contract with Polygram Records Canada, which would be tasked to press and distribute the records. Meese’s job was to sign the bands, deal with their original record labels, then provide Polygram with the master tapes and artwork. Easy task, the labels sent him all of the above.
But the label needed a distinctive logo to make an impact.
In 1984, Meese owned a popular record store called Rock en Stock. It was a hangout for local rock artists and scene makers.
At that time Michel met a character named Paul Bellemare who was a close friend of Michel’s sister, the wonderful Liette. Bellemare was a veteran of Montreal’s punk-rock scene, fronting a band called Danger. They even had a minor radio hit called L’Amour Dans le Metro (check it out on Youtube)
Polo, as we all called him, also doubled as a fine artist and painter, who made portraits of legends like Jimi Hendrix, or David Bowie.
Meese was still trying to figure out what to do with his “Samurai” records design, when he thought of Polo.
Bellemare said, “let me see what I can come up” He came up with the idea of two Samurai fighters going at each other. He did a first draft, that everyone seemed to like. It looked very much like the final logo, but had some gold-coloured touches on it.
Meese loved it. But he faced a hurdle: it turns out that there was already a Quebec company operating under the name Samurai. He had to change names, and quickly, because he had signed his first licensing record deal with Neat records, for the pressing and distribution of At War with Satan from Venom.
Michel still wanted a Japanese-themed name, so he went for Banzai! It’s a Japanese expression meaning a desperate suicide military charge.
Michel Meese didn’t want to invest in a new design, especially as the printing deadline was looming. So he asked Polo to simply use the same image, but replace “Samurai” with “Banzai”
I recall being in the store when the two negotiated the arrangements. Polo painted a lot, but he never did work that would be printed, re-printed, and licensed. To my knowledge, he was paid a ridiculous amount of money, maybe $300 and gave away all his rights to the record label.
After all, Banzai was supposed to remain a very small label, with just a few releases.
When Polo handed-in his final work, it wasn’t ready for printing. I personally took the original to a printer who occupied the second floor of the record store. This was pre-Photoshop days. Printers needed graphic artists with a sharp eye to do colour separation, and remove any imperfections. They would then create a negative.
It was understood the label would only be used on one side, with a generic white or black label on the other side with the details on the artists and list of songs.
As Banzai closed-up shop in the late 80s after its owner had a business falling out with Polygram, the label faded away in memories, having failed to adapt to the emerging Compact Disc market.
In the 1990s, meanwhile, Polo returned to the Quebec music scene, and continued to enjoy local success in bands such as Dédé Trackés and les Frères a Ch’val, who had another hit with the song “J’aime mon Voisin” which remains a radio and party classic to this day (check it out on Youtube)
Polo would continue throughout the years with a solo career, always remaining in the spotlight because he could play a variety of instrument while drawing attention because of his fine-arts training.
Polo also noticed how his old, forgotten logo drawn for Banzai stayed alive in the 2010s, as old and new metal heads started rediscovering 1980s vinyl pressings. Banzai records suddenly became collectible items. And what set them apart from other pressings?
His old drawing of the two Samurai fighting
Despite the fact he never collected residual royalties, his legendary design was now found on posters, t-shirts, patches, stickers, and even a turntable felt mat, available in some vinyl stores in the city.
I can’t speak for Polo regarding the missed financial opportunities. But Polo did say he remained extremely proud of his creation, and the fact so many people, young and old, would come up to him and praise him for his unique heavy metal symbol of pure, uncompromised underground music of the 1980s.
Sadly, Polo’s lifetime of rock and roll passion took a toll on his health. At age sixty eight, he’s on his final stage of his battle against lung cancer.
He’s leaving this world on his own terms. One filled with music.
And one with a solid footprint on the Canadian heavy metal scene, that has come to define what music fans expected when they bough records, back in the days
We’ll never forget you Polo,
BANZAI collectors
Banzai Records
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