10 iconic album covers by Hipgnosis
Fifty years ago, Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson created the art design group Hipgnosis. With their surreal cover art, they left their mark as one of the most important design collectives in pop music history.
Pink Floyd, 'Atom Heart Mother' (1970)
Hipgnosis suggested pictures of cows for the art of a Pink Floyd album, and the band immediately agreed. It was the first album cover that didn't feature the band's name or photos of its members. The record label wasn't amused — yet it was an immediate hit. The marketing campaign also played on the mystery, with posters of the anonymous cow coming out weeks before the album was released.
Pink Floyd, 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' (1973)
"No more cows": Instructions were clear for the eighth studio album. Powell and Thorgerson were inspired by photo of a prism refracting light. This time, the band and the record label unanimously agreed on the design. Not only the artwork is classic; the music of the album also remains legendary.
Pink Floyd, 'Wish You Were Here' (1975)
This is not a Photoshop trick. The man on the photo was actually set on fire. The wind was, however, blowing in the wrong direction and burned the stuntman's mustache. The two men changed sides, shook their left hands and the image was then reversed in the dark room.
Pink Floyd, 'Animals' (1977)
The inflatable rubber pig flying between factory chimneys was also real. It decided to go on its own adventure. During the photo shoot, the balloon broke free from its moorings and it flew out towards London's Heathrow airport. Flights were cancelled in panic, but fortunately, it didn't cause any accidents. The farmer who recovered it on his land was mad that the giant pig had terrified his cows.
Peter Gabriel, 'Scratch' (1978)
Hipgnosis also worked for Genesis. Their cover art for the double album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" is a masterpiece. After Peter Gabriel quit the band in 1975, he kept working with the art design group. He did not title his first series of four solo studio albums, but fans and the press always came up with unofficial names. Why this one is referred to as "Scratch" is obvious.
AC/DC, 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' (1976)
Tabloid publications used to hide the identity of a subject with black bars over their eyes. All the people pictured on the international edition of AC/DC's album are automatically suspected of the dirty deeds of the title, no matter how respectable they might appear at first sight.
Wishbone Ash, 'New England' (1976)
The image above only shows a part of the cover. Another man is facing this one, while he is sharpening his stake. The sexual connotation is not a coincidence. The photographer was into men and created art playing on ambiguous interpretations. Wishbone Ash had just made a fresh start and found this bold photo fitting for their new plans.
10cc, 'How Dare You!' (1976)
The cover of the 1976 album of the British band 10cc featured a couple arguing on the phone in two distinct pictures, separated by a diagonal cut. The art referred to the track, "Don't Hang Up." The picture above made up the gatefold art of the vinyl. With everyone interconnected and taking part in the argument, it was just like social media, but in the landline age.
Led Zeppelin, 'Presence' (1976)
The artwork combined a photo of a boat exhibition with a studio shot of a family around a table. A black object, inspired by Stanley Kubrick's monolith in "2001: A Space Odyssey," is painted on the table. Building on the film's proposition, "The Object" as it was referred to by the designers, has always been present throughout history, and represents the absent band members' "powerful presence."
10cc, 'Bloody Tourists' (1978)
A rock band on tour is like a tourist who travels without seeing anything. They go from airport to airport, see countless hotel rooms and concert halls, as well as their backstage rooms. 10cc felt like bloody tourists who wouldn't even notice a beautiful the beach and the attractive woman swimming behind them. Hipgnosis translated the feeling into this artwork.