Album covers designed by Hipgnosis

  This section is a gallery of all vinyl album covers designed by Hipgnosis. Hipgnosis was a British art design group which specialized in creating cover art for rock albums, most notably for Pink Floyd , Led Zeppelin , Yes , Emerson Lake & Palrmer and Black Sabbath . Hipgnosis consisted primarily of Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and Peter Christopherson. The group dissolved in 1983, but Thorgerson still works on album designs.

Hipgnosis Information:

Hipgnosis was an English art group founded in 1968 by Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell, and Peter Christopherson. The group was known for their innovative and creative album covers, which became iconic in the music industry. Hipgnosis worked with some of the most influential musicians of their time, including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Yes.

The group's name, "Hipgnosis," was a play on the words "hypnosis" and "hip." They believed that their art had the power to hypnotize people and transport them to another world, which was reflected in their album covers. The group's style was surreal and often incorporated elements of fantasy, science fiction, and the occult. Their designs were highly detailed and often required extensive planning and preparation.

One of the group's most famous album covers was for Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon." The cover featured a prism refracting light into a rainbow, which became one of the most recognizable images in rock history. The design was so successful that it became synonymous with the band and their music. Another iconic design was for Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy," which featured a group of naked children climbing on a rock formation. The image was highly controversial but helped to solidify the band's rebellious image.

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Hipgnosis also worked with a number of other influential musicians, including Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, and Genesis. They designed the cover for Peter Gabriel's first solo album, which featured a photograph of Gabriel wearing a mask with only his eyes visible. The image became another iconic design and was later referenced in Gabriel's music video for "Sledgehammer."

The group's success continued into the 1980s, with designs for bands such as Scorpions and Styx. However, the rise of digital technology and the decline of album sales led to the group's decline. Hipgnosis disbanded in 1983, but their legacy lives on in the countless album covers they created.

Hipgnosis was not just an art group, but a collective of artists who had a significant impact on the music industry. Their innovative designs helped to define the visual style of rock music in the 1970s and 1980s. Their work was not just a complement to the music, but an essential part of the overall experience. They created a world that fans could enter into and lose themselves in, just like the music they were listening to.

Here is a web-page with a gallery of album covers created by Hipgnosis

ALAN PARSONS PROJECT - Eye in the Sky ( Pop-Rock )

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Arista 204 666 (204666)   , 1981 , EEC

The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990,consisting of Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons. Eye In The Sky is their 1981 full-lengt album.

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BAD COMPANY - Burning Sky ( Blues-Rock, Prog Rock )

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Island 28 521 XOT (28521) , 1977 , Germany

  "Burnin' Sky" was recorded in France at Chateau d'Herouville (a/k/a Honky Chateau) in July and August of 1976 with future Rolling Stones engineer Chris Kimsey but its release was delayed until March of 1977 as to not compete with the band's then-current album "Run With the Pack".

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BAD COMPANY - Straight Shooter ( Blues-Rock, Prog Rock )

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Swan Song SS 8413 , 1975 , Made in USA

  This album is the USA release of "Straight Shooter" which was recorded at Gloucestershire Castle (a castle turned hotel) again with The Ronnie Lane Mobile Truck in September of 1974.

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BRAND X - Livestock 12" Vinyl LP

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Charisma – 9124 017 , 1977 , West-Germany

Livestock is the 1977 recorded "Live" album by the Brand X ( with Phil Collins ) band. It was recorded at Ronnie Scotts, Hammersmith Odeon and Marquee Club.

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DAVID GILMOUR - Self-Titled ( Brit Rock )

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HARVEST 1C 064-60 774 , 1978 , Germany

This is German release of the self-titled ( solo ) debut album by David Gilmour

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DEEP PURPLE- Nobody's Perfect ( Hard Rock, 2LP )

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Polydor 835 898 , 1988 , Made in West-Germany

  "Nobody's Perfect" is a live double-lp album released by the British Rock Band "Deep Purple" in 1988.

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DEF LEPPARD - High 'n' Dry ( NWOBHM )

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Vertigo 6359 045 , 1981 , Made in West-Germany

"High 'n' Dry" is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981.

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EMERSON LAKE & PALMER - Trilogy ( Prog Rock )

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Manticore 85 227 XOT , 1972 , Made in Germany

  Trilogy is the third studio album by British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, originally released in 1972. 

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GOLDEN EARRING - To The Hilt ( Nederbeat )

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MCA Records MCA-2183 , 1976 , USA

"To The Hilt" is the 1976 full-length album released by the Dutch Rock band Golden Earring.

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HELLOWEEN - Pink Bubbles Go Ape ( Speed / Power Metal )

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EMI EMC 3588   , 1991 , Made in UK ( United Kingdom )

"Pink Bubbles Go Ape" is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1991. It marked the departure of guitarist Kai Hansen, with Roland Grapow replacing him.  

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LED ZEPPELIN - Houses Of The Holy ( Hard Rock, Blues-Rock )

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Atlantic ATL 50 014 , 1973 , Made in France

  "Houses of the Holy" is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. The album title is a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed "Houses of the Holy."

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LED ZEPPELIN - In Through The Out Door ( Hard Rock, Blues-Rock )

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Swan Song K 59 410 , 1979 ,   1979 Made in Germany by WEA Musik GMBH

The original LP version of this album featured an unusual gimmick: the album had an outer sleeve which was made to look like a plain brown paper bag, and the LP record sleeve proper featured black and white line artwork which, if washed with a wet brush, would become permanently fully coloured.

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LED ZEPPELIN - Soundtrack From The Film The Song Remains The Same ( Hard Rock, Blues-Rock )

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 Swan Song - SS 89 402 / LC 3445 , 1976 , Belgium

"The Song Remains the Same" is the live soundtrack album of the concert film of the same name by the English rock band Led Zeppelin.

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PETER GABRIEL - 1 CAR Self-Titled with Robert Fripp ( Prog Rock )

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Virgin 206 927 , 1977 , Made in Germany / Netherlands

This is the first studio album by British singer, musician and songwriter Peter Gabriel and the first of four with the same eponymous title. it was produced by Bob Ezrin. Gabriel and Ezrin assembled a team of talented musicians, including Robert Fripp of King Crimson, to record the album.

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PETER GABRIEL - 2 Scratch ( Prog Rock )

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The Famous Charisma Label 9124 025 , 1978 , Made in West Germany

Peter Gabriel is the second solo album by the British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released in 1978. This album is the second of four with the same eponymous title. Guitarist Robert Fripp served as producer, whose influence on the album is evident in the use of Frippertronics on the track "Exposure."

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PINK FLOYD - Atom Heart Mother ( Acid/Psych, Prog Rock )

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1970

"Atom Heart Mother" is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1970 by Harvest and EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Harvest and Capitol in the United States. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, and reached number one in the United Kingdom, and number 55] in the United States charts, and went gold in the U.S. in March 1994.

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PINK FLOYD - Collection of Great Dance Songs ( Acid/Psych, Prog Rock )

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1981

"A Collection of Great Dance Songs" is a compilation album by Pink Floyd released on 23 November 1981 on Harvest/EMI in the UK and Columbia Records in the United States.

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PINK FLOYD - Dark Side of the Moon

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1973

  "The Dark Side of the Moon" is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. The concept album built on ideas explored by the band in their live shows and earlier recordings, but it lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist Syd Barrett. The Dark Side of the Moon's themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.

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PINK FLOYD - Meddle

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1971

  Meddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in October 1971. This album was recorded at Morgan Sound Studios, London

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PINK FLOYD - More

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1969

The soundtrack was composed by Pink Floyd. The band was given £600 and complete ownership to all of the material for their work, and some of the songs on the album were still in their live set list by 1971.

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PINK FLOYD - Wish You Were Here

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1975

"Wish You Were Here" is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in September 1975. Inspired by material they composed while performing across Europe, it was recorded over numerous sessions at London's Abbey Road Studios. T

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RAINBOW - Difficult to Cure

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1981

  "Difficult to Cure" is the fifth studio album by the British rock band, Rainbow, and was released in 1981.

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RENAISSANCE - Ashes are Burning

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1973

"Ashes Are Burning" is the album by progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1973 It was the first of several Renaissance albums to feature an orchestra playing along with the band on some songs.

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SCORPIONS - Animal Magnetism

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1980

The album cover was created by Storm Thorgerson of the design firm Hipgnosis and, as with earlier Scorpions album sleeves, courted controversy. However unlike several of their previous album sleeves the controversy did not result in the cover being replaced with an alternate sleeve.

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SCORPIONS - Lovedrive

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1979

Lovedrive is the sixth studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 1979. Lovedrive was a major evolution of the band's sound, which exhibited their "classic style" that would be later developed over their next few albums.

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TREES - On The Shore

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1970

Trees was an English folk rock band that existed between 1969 and 1972. Although the group met with little commercial success in their time, the reputation of the band has grown over the years. Like other folk contemporaries, Trees' music was influenced by "Fairport Convention", but with a heavier and more psychedelic edge. The group's material was divided between adaptations of traditional songs and original compositions.

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UFO - Phenomenon

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1974

Phenomenon is the album by the British rock band UFO, released in May, 1974. Guitarist Michael Schenker joined UFO in June, 1973 arriving in the UK directly from his German band, Scorpions, and without speaking a word of English.

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UFO - The Wild The Willing and the Innocent

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1981

This album "UFO - The Wild The Willing and the Innocent" is the ninth studio album by British hard rock band UFO and the first to be entirely self-produced by the band.

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WISHBONE ASH - Pilgrimage

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1971

Pilgrimage is the second studio album by the rock band Wishbone Ash. The album focuses more on folk and acoustic music as opposed to the blues rock sound that dominated the first album.

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