Iconic Album Designer Storm Thorgerson Dies – the man responsible for what is probably the most recognisable album cover of all-time has died at the age of 69.
Storm Thorgerson produced the cover art for a huge number of albums during his long career but no piece of work ever came close to matching the success of his cover for Pink Floyd’s massive 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon.
The simple prism design for The Dark Side Of The Moon came from a representation of the lightshow in the band’s live performances and a request from Pink Floyd’s keyboard player Richard Wright to have “a cool graphic – something smart, tidy, elegant.”
Despite the Scandinavian name Throrgerson was born in Potters Bar in Middlesex and grew up in Cambridge, going to the same school as Roger Waters and Syd Barrett. As a teenager he also got to know Floyd’s guitarist Dave Gilmour and these relationships were to prove very important in Thorgerson’s life.
It was not just Pink Floyd who benefitted from Thorgerson’s creative genius as he also worked with Muse, Led Zeppelin, 10CC, Black Sabbath, Yes, The Cranberries, Dream Theater, Peter Gabriel, Styx and Alan Parsons as well as many less well-known acts such as Ethnics, The Wombats and Umphrey’s McGee.
Despite something of a revival in recent years the heyday of the vinyl record and its stylish gatesleeve cover are long gone so we are unlikely to see the like of Thorgerson again.
Here is a selection of some of Storm Thorgerson’s classic album covers for you to enjoy.
