2 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 2 album covers documented under the "new wave" design theme, all from the 1970s. These covers sit within the pop tradition and feature work by Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello & The Attractions. 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.
Brian Griffin photographed Joe Jackson's new white shoes almost as an afterthought during a day of portraits. A shaft of sunlight on London's South Bank turned the five-minute shot into Look Sharp!'s famous cover—and Jackson reportedly hated that his face had disappeared from his own debut sleeve.
Barney Bubbles made This Year's Model look misprinted on purpose. Chris Gabrin's confrontational portrait of Elvis Costello was shifted off the sleeve, cropping letters from the artist and title while exposing a printer's color bar—an intentional production 'error' designed to make record-store shoppers stop and look twice.