Lucozade Sign, Brentford
I work very close to this rather iconic sign. In a manner of speaking it is a ghost sign, even though its product is still readily available, as it doesn’t really have a proper home. It’s kind of between worlds. It was in Gunnersbury Museum for a while and then got put back up here in a different place from where it originally stood, though not the world away. I found a little history about the sign here. I think one of the most interesting facts about it is that it didn’t originally read ‘replaces lost energy.’ When it was first made it read ‘Aids Recovery’ but was changed during the 1980s due to the rise of Aids awareness.
I didn’t know about that change in the wording on this iconic sign. Fascinating. You raise an interesting point about the currency of the product and whether this precludes it from being a ghostsign (aside from the question about whether a ghostsign must be painted or not). This is something I always discuss in my presentations as this line of reasoning would rule out all the Bovril, Gilletter, Hovis and many other fading signs painted on walls which seem to fit with the notion of ghostsign. It seems to me that the term ghostsign is still open to interpretation and has no settled meaning, yet…
Agreed! Thanks for the comment. I had to define it for the purposes of my book but it’s a very fluid idea and I am intrigued by these signs that are no longer used by the original company but still show brands we know – I think you may have guessed I’m just intrigued by the concept of signs generally 🙂
Cool story. Thank you Sam for letting me on to this blog posting. Helen, remarkable history! Best, Frank
I love this sign. Originally displayed as a ‘welcome to London’ sign as you can see it whilst driving over the flyover. For me, as a kid, I remember being half asleep in the back of the car and seeing this sign, I’d smile knowing I was almost home! 🙂
Hi! Im currently writing my dissertation on the transition of techniques used in signage and our relationship with it in public spaces, I was wondering if Id be able to use the image of the old lucozade sign at the top of this page in it (as its recently been replaced and theres a bit of an upraw)? The disertation is puerly for educational purposes and it’s not going to be published or anything. Thanks for your time!
Hi there, yes that’s fine. Please just credit the image to Helen Cox. Best, Helen