England Primary School, where she won prizes for Plasticine modelling until, aged eleven, she was sent to Bootham School, York, as a boarder, where she pursued her interests in music and art. She played keyboards in school bands and, inspired by Jesus Christ Superstar, wrote and performed (with Nick Battey) Inwards & Outwards, a rock cantata. After school, in 1974, she took a foundation course in art & design at Manchester Polytechnic, followed by one term on the BA graphic design course (with Malcolm Garrett and Peter Saville) after which she dropped out to play with school friends in a band called Ploog, which was influenced by prog rock and complicated pop that she has described as ‘far beyond their playing capabilities.’ In 1977 Appleby returned to art education. She studied graphic design at Newcastle Polytechnic (1978–1981), then illustration at the Royal College of Art (1981–1984), where her tutor was Quentin Blake. She has lived in London since 1981. Career While at the RCA, Appleby met writer George Mole. The two collaborated on a number of projects, including their first book, No, Honestly, I Couldn’t Eat Another Mouthful (1984), various cartoon spreads for Punch (Daily Life On Other Planets, Lost Cars), The Observer (Home Economics in the Nineties), The Oldie, and a further three books. Beginning while she was at the RCA, Appleby worked for her friend and fellow Manchester art school alumnus Malcolm Garrett, who had been commissioned by editor Kasper de Graaf to design a monthly music, art and fashion magazine (New Sounds New Styles). After graduation, Appleby continued to assist Garrett at his company Assorted Images; she worked on book design (When Cameras Go Crazy, More Dark Than Shark), and record sleeves, particularly for Duran Duran. His work on designs for Duran Duran merchandising gave Appleby ideas which would eventually feed into the world of Captain Star, when she was invited by the New Musical Express to submit an idea for a cartoon strip. Appleby gave up commercial design to concentrate on her own art and creative work in late 1986. Garrett and de Graaf, business partners in Assorted Images, continued to employ her, providing her with a studio and use of the Assorted Images facilities while she developed her own work. A three-year period of patronage followed, allowing Appleby the freedom to make drawings and paintings for various exhibitions. During this time, she developed Rockets Passing