September 1979. The Clash had just come out of two gruelling and high-risk months in the studio, recording what was meant to be their third album: London Calling. To test the new material and confirm the...
François Durand
Richard Bodin
Category - Songs and Album Covers
From Two Bobbys to Gaza: The Journey of The Little Flame
The great thing with music, is that it never really dies. A musician usually creates it, puts the words together, comes up with a melody, and releases it into the world. From thereon every song lives on. Some will meet...
Gangsta’s Paradise: How Hip-Hop Crossed The Atlantic
Hip-hop was born in New York in the early 1970s and was culturally significant. From humble beginnings to becoming one of the most popular music genres on the planet, the world of hip-hop is the biggest it’s ever...
Ronan O'Brien
We Can’t Be Stopped: How Geto Boys Scarred a Generation
The nineties in the UK music scene had a single burning question: Oasis or Blur? Across the Atlantic, in the States, the question was different but attracted the same heat of emotion. Here, the hip-hop scene was on the...
Shaking Hands with Fire: The Making of Wish You Were Here’s Artwork
On September 12, 1975, Pink Floyd fans rushed in the stores to get their copies of Wish You Were Here, the band’s new album. They found a mysterious package, wrapped in a black plastic shrink cover, with only a round...
The Raft, the Lash, and the Legacy: Géricault Meets The Pogues
When The Pogues released Rum, Sodomy & The Lash in 1985, they didn’t just make a statement through music, but also through an unforgettable cover art—a parody of one of France’s most iconic Romantic paintings. To...
More Than a Legacy: The Life and Afterlife of ‘Dreams’, by The Cranberries
A few weeks ago, on several occasions, I went to see Wreckquiem, the new play by Mike Finn in the Lime Tree Theatre, featuring Pat Shortt. One particular moment got me deep in the guts every time I saw it. And every...
God Only Knows: Brian Wilson’s Eternal Song
There are some songs, that when you hear them for the first time, you take a huge blow in the guts and just forget where you are. Then you listen to it a second time, and a third, and so on, and you simply realise that...
Bird on Money: The New Abnormal
The Strokes are a band that defined an entire generation of music. It’s no surprise that Is This It has been lauded as one of the greatest albums of the Noughties. It basically became the script for every good...
“I Didn’t Come Here to Die”: Black 47 and the Spirit of James Connolly
The other day, my beloved was in a rebellious mood. Chin up, fist raised, she was singing: “My name is James Connolly, I didn’t come here to die!”“Honey,” I said, “what are you on about? And who the feck is James...
Starman on the Street: The Story Behind Ziggy’s Iconic Album Cover
They touched down in the drizzle of a London January, somewhere near Regent Street. A lone figure was first spotted in a narrow alley off Heddon Street—red hair blazing, guitar slung low, eyes full of alien promise...
Tonight, Tonight: A song of hope, pride and interpretation.
The vast and wide sound of The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by the The Smashing Pumpkins is an album I visit on the daily. I don’t listen to it back to back every day, but there’s not many...
Adam Kenny
Frozen in Ecstasy and Agony: The Bends artwork Cover
Thirty years ago, Radiohead released their second album, The Bends. Two years earlier, they had put out a single that gained significant traction in Israel and quickly snowballed from there. Soon enough, the band was...
Behind the Windows: The Story of Physical Graffiti’s Iconic Cover
Led Zeppelin is one of those bands that always sought out designers’ creativity for their album covers. By the time they released Physical Graffiti in 1975, the band had already collaborated with Zacron for their third...
Sister Morphine: The Dark Ballad of Addiction, Fame, and Betrayal
The Swinging Sixties in London were an exciting time. Everything was buzzing—customs and morals were shifting, and artists of all kinds were exploring new paths. Psychedelic drugs played a significant role in this...
From Robert Johnson to the Rolling Stones: The Journey of Love in Vain
Who is Robert Johnson? A fundamental question. And the answer is just as important. Robert Johnson is simply the King of Delta Blues Singers. According to legend, young Robert was rather bad at the guitar and was even...
In the Court of the Crimson King: the story behind this haunting art cover
Few album covers are as iconic and instantly recognizable as the one gracing the debut of King Crimson. Released in 1969, In The Court Of The Crimson King was an immediate success, climbing to the fifth spot on the...
