FEATURE:
The Beatles’ Cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at Fifty-Five
A Playlist of Songs from Albums with Iconic Covers
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I have written a couple of features…
PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Blake
relating to the fifty-fifth anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The legendary album marks its anniversary on 26th May. I wanted to put one out now, as the cover for the album was shot on 30th March, 1967. Fifty-five years since one of the most iconic album covers was shot, it still resonates and reverberates. To celebrate and remember one of the most important moments for The Beatles and album art, I have put together a playlist of songs from albums with timeless and hugely memorable covers. Before I get to that, the Beatles Bible provide us with some information about the cover shoot for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:
"Prior to a late night recording session at Abbey Road, The Beatles visited Michael Cooper’s London photographic studio where the cover photographs for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band were taken.
The shoot took place at 4 Chelsea Manor Studios, 1-11 Flood Street, just off King’s Road in Chelsea. The studios opened in 1902, and Cooper established his studio from 22 July 1966.
The Beatles arrived in the late afternoon. The soon-to-be-famous collage, designed by Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth, had been assembled in the studio during the preceding eight days.
The Beatles during the Sgt Pepper cover shoot, 30 March 1967The Beatles during the Sgt Pepper cover shoot, 30 March 1967The Beatles during the Sgt Pepper cover shoot, 30 March 1967
Ringo Starr, Mal Evans and John Lennon during the Sgt Pepper cover shoot, 30 March 1967Mal Evans, Paul McCartney and Michael Cooper during the Sgt Pepper cover shoot, 30 March 1967
A contract dated 14 April 1967 described the various fees for the session, including a misspelling of the album title:
In addition to the front cover shot, The Beatles also posed for the images used on the back cover and the gatefold sleeve.
The Beatles in Sgt Pepper uniforms, 1967The Beatles in Sgt Pepper uniforms, 1967The Beatles in Sgt Pepper uniforms, 1967
The cover had come about after Paul McCartney came up with the album title. He took some ideas to his art dealer friend Robert Fraser, who suggested they use Blake, Haworth and Cooper to realise the concept.
We had an original meeting with all four Beatles, Robert Fraser and Brian Epstein; most of the subsequent talking was done with Paul at his house and with John there sometimes.
Peter Blake
McCartney’s initial idea was to stage a presentation featuring a mayor and a corporation, with a floral clock and a selection of photographs of famous faces on the wall behind The Beatles.
He asked the others to list their choices for the photographs; the original list, complete with misspellings, was given to Fraser and Blake:
Yoga’s; Marquis de Sade; Hitler; Neitch; Lenny Bruce; Lord Buckley; Alistair Crowley; Dylan Thomas; James Joyce; Oscar Wilde; William Burroughs; Robert Peel; Stockhausen; Auldus Huxley; H.G. Wells; Izis Bon; Einstein; Carl Jung; Beardsley; Alfred Jarry; Tom Mix; Johnny Weissmuller; Magritte; Tyrone Power; Carl Marx; Richard Crompton; Tommy Hanley; Albert Stubbins; Fred Astaire.
McCartney took the list and sketches to Peter Blake, who developed the concept further. Further names were added and others fell by the wayside.
Jesus and Hitler were among John Lennon’s choices, but they were left off the final list. Gandhi, meanwhile, was disallowed by Sir Joseph Lockwood, the head of EMI, after he told them they would have problems having the sleeve printed in India”.
Because we are about to mark fifty-five years since a remarkable and hugely fascinating album cover was shot, I was interested in other albums who have striking covers. Including a couple of tracks from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the below is a selection of songs from albums whose covers are…
AMONG the greatest ever.