The Beatles' classic Abbey Road album cover was photographed 45 years ago and, with that in mind, we decided it fitting to take a look at some of music's most famous album covers and tell you the often fascinating stories behind them.
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The 'Abbey Road' cover (above) was based upon a sketch done by Paul McCartney and shot on the afternoon of August 8th 1969 at the zebra crossing outside of the Abbey Road studios in London. The Volkswagen Beetle on the left hand side was later tracked down and eventually sold at auction in 1986 and the bystander on the right was revealed to be an American tourist who unwittingly became a fixture in one of the most iconic images in music history. There's even a conspiracy theory which states that this album cover is evidence that the real Paul McCartney died in a car crash and was replaced by a lookalike, though that's a story for another day...
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
After complaining of their "boredom" with the standard band photos which comprised the majority of album covers at the time, Pink Floyd demanded something "smarter" from designers Hipgnosis and George Hardie for 1973's 'Dark Side of the Moon'. Enter the now famous prism which, according to designer Storm Thorgerson, represented the "diversity and cleanliness of the music." Or, you know, it just looked cool.
The Clash - London Calling
The cover of The Clash's 'London Calling' is a prime example of a photographer being in the right place at the right time to capture bassist Paul Simonon's frenzied assault on his instrument after a show which didn't go particularly well. Speaking of the shot these days, Simonon will tell you he wishes that he's raised his head a bit more but frankly, how do you improve of something as seminal as this?
Nirvana - Nevermind
Though he doesn't remember anything from the day in question, Spencer Elden has been forever immortalised in rock and roll history. The four month old Elden had his first ever swim photographed for one of the biggest albums of the early 90's in a concept which, according to designer Robert Fisher, reflected Kurt's innocence in an alien environment with the hook and dollar bill symbolising his entry in the corporate world. Bet you didn't know what one, huh?
Bob Dylan - Desire
What's unusual about this cover is that so many Dylan album covers that came before it portrayed the singer as tight lipped and almost entirely emotionless. 'Desire', on the other hand, shows Dylan in side profile with a smirk betraying his usually cool exterior. I once asked the man who took this photograph, the late Ken Regan, what had happened to amuse Bob and the answer is bit more mundane than you might have imagined: he had just bought the fur coat in a thrift shop in Maine and quite liked it, hence the smile.
Keep your eyes peeled for Part Two later this week!
