3 album covers in our archive
Queen is featured in Behind the Covers' archive with 3 album covers from the 1970s. Released across Elektra Records, EMI Records (UK) / Elektra Records (US) and EMI (Elektra in the US) labels, the artwork sits in the rock tradition. Each cover is documented in our archive with design notes covering science fiction, robot, violence, pulp art, illustration, graphic design. Below you'll find the full story behind each Queen cover — designers, photographers, label history, and the visual choices that defined the release.
Cover evolution
A giant robot holds the band members' bloodied bodies in this shocking cover adapted from a 1953 sci-fi magazine illustration. The artist who painted it had no idea it would become one of rock's most disturbing album covers.
A heraldic crest floats on pure white: two golden lions, a phoenix with outstretched wings, a flaming crab and two fairies guarding a crowned letter Q. It looks like royalty, but every creature on it is a hidden horoscope. Freddie Mercury, art-college trained, drew the band's zodiac into a coat of arms.
Mick Rock photographed Queen for Queen II in February 1974, arranging the band against black in the diamond formation that became one of their defining images. Rock said the concept drew on a Marlene Dietrich photograph from Shanghai Express; Queen later recreated the composition for the opening of the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video.
