3 album covers in our archive
Behind the Covers currently documents 3 Kate Bush album covers from 1978 to 1985. Read together, the entries show how the artwork changed from release to release, with each story identifying the designers, photographers, source material, and design decisions behind the sleeve.
Cover evolution
Kate Bush herself conceived and art-directed this haunting cover, lying in silk with two Afghan hounds in a deliberate recreation of classical painting compositions. The ethereal image perfectly captured the album's mystical themes.
Kate Bush turned a lyric from 'Houdini' into the cover of The Dreaming: she plays Bess Houdini, a key held between her lips as she leans toward Del Palmer. The sepia photograph turns an escape trick into an intimate, uncanny image about secrecy, trust and release.
Kate Bush's 1978 debut arrived with a fantastical sleeve that presented a striking new voice in British pop. The original UK cover's kite imagery was part of the album's introduction to the world.
