Founded in 1967 by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell, Hipgnosis studio transformed the look of music albums forever. Their revolutionary cover art moved away from the conventional group shots favored by record companies of the day, resulting in the ground-breaking, mainly surreal photo designs which define the albums of many of the biggest names in the history of popular music: 10cc, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Syd Barrett, Throbbing Gristle, T. Rex, Wings, Yes, Bad Company and XTC to name but a few.
Now, at last, the complete, definitive and never-before-published catalogue of Hipgnosis, Vinyl . Album . Cover . Art, does justice to the work of the most important design collective in music history. Arranged chronologically, it features every single Hipgnosis cover – 373 in total – all stunningly remastered from the original artwork, coupled with detailed information by “Po” and Storm Thorgerson on the images and the stories behind their creation.
An insightful introductory text by “Po” charts the story of Hipgnosis, while extensive articles by Peter Gabriel, Storm Thorgerson, Marcus Bradbury, and Pentagram’s Harry Pearce provide engrossing insights into the way these incredible artworks came into being, place the covers in context, and reflect on their enduring impact on album design.