Behind the Covers
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“1980s design”

3 cover stories in our archive

Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "1980s design" design theme, all from the 1980s. These covers sit within the metal, rock, pop, punk, alternative tradition and feature work by Black Sabbath, The Jesus and Mary Chain, R.E.M.. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.

Seventh Star by Black Sabbath — album cover art

Seventh Star by Black Sabbath (1986)

The cover of Black Sabbath's Seventh Star places Tony Iommi alone in a barren, otherworldly landscape, turning an album caught between solo record and Sabbath release into a portrait of isolation. The original sleeve credits Steve J. Gerdes with art direction and design and Kevin Stapleton with photography, while the package also incorporates Lucas Cranach the Elder's 1506 woodcut The Temptation of St Antony.

Label
Warner Bros. Records
Designer
Steve J. Gerdes
Photographer
Kevin Stapleton
Genre
Metal, Rock
Decade
1980s
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Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain — album cover art

Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain (1985)

The cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy turns a homemade band photograph into a red-and-black blur of faces, grain and shadow. The front-cover photographs were made in Jim and William Reid's shared East Kilbride bedroom, while the finished sleeve credits Greg Allen with art direction and a group of photographers rather than one definitive front-cover author.

Label
Blanco y Negro Records
Designer
Greg Allen
Genre
Rock, Pop, Punk
Decade
1980s
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Murmur by R.E.M. — album cover art

Murmur by R.E.M. (1983)

R.E.M.'s Murmur arrived wrapped in kudzu: a dense wall of Southern vines photographed by Sandra Lee Phipps that made the band's 1983 debut feel rooted in Athens, Georgia, rather than built around a conventional rock portrait. The original package extends that sense of place with Phipps's photograph of the Athens railroad trestle on the back.

Label
I.R.S. Records
Designer
Ann Kinney / Carl Grasso
Photographer
Sandra-Lee Phipps
Genre
Alternative, Rock
Decade
1980s
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