2 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 2 album covers documented under the "working class" design theme, spanning the 1970s, 1990s. These covers sit within the rock, alternative, indie tradition and feature work by Bruce Springsteen, Blur. 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.
Frank Stefanko's stark portrait of Springsteen in his Haddonfield bedroom captures the album's raw, desperate mood. Shot against flowery wallpaper in winter 1978, the image strips away celebrity artifice to reveal the working-class character at the heart of the songs.
Two greyhounds tear down a track on the cover of Blur's Parklife, and not a single band member is in sight. The image is a 1988 sports photo of a race at Romford Stadium, lifted from a picture library and reframed by designers who treated Blur like a product on a betting-shop window.