Badges displaying a band or artist's name gained popularity from the 1960s and showed the wearers allegiance to a particular artist or group, and often by proxy a certain musical genre and subculture, especially in the 1970s and 1980s.

David Essex is a stage and film actor and has had a extensive number of UK hit singles, including two number ones. His career began in in 1971 when he garnered praise for his lead role in Godspell on the West End stage. His 19 Top 40 singles run began in 1973 with Rock On which sold over a million records internationally. Essex's British tours incited hysteria amongst his female audiences and he was a teen idol for more than a decade. His stage career continues to this day and he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1999.