NME Kurt Cobain R.I.P cover (April 1994) - Art Direction consisted in convincing hesitant Editor and key staff members to use this moving portrait (shot in 1990, well before "Nevermind" stardom) rather than a more contemporary one.
The image is now considered the most iconic photography of Nirvana's suicidal rockstar.
Photo: Martyn Goodacre. www.martyngoodacre.com
NME Blur vs Oasis cover (August 1995) - At the height of "Britpop", the two leading bands went head-to-head, competing for supremacy in the UK by releasing a new single simultaneously. Despite lack of photos featuring Blur and Oasis's frontmen together, the heavyweights' music contest made the front page via this classic cover, tribute to vintage boxing posters.
NME covers circa 93/97 - Three samples of covers featuring images from Steve Double (www.double-whammy.com), a regular NME photographer with an appetite for digital experimentation and an ability to move away from traditional Rock portrait. Some of Steve's pictures directly inspired occasional alterations of the trademark logo.
NME Suede cover (August 1996) - Designers often consider stick-on cover inserts, at best, as an eyesore or an aggravation but this vintage portrait of a chain-smoking Brett Anderson lead to packaging the issue's free tape in tribute to the legendary JPS cigarettes black pack, embracing the whole cover concept.
Photo: Kevin Cummins. www.myspace.com/kevin_cummins
VOX Covers mix 96/97 - The first Design rule was to seek atypical cover image like this grimacing Robert Smith or a dazed, zombie-like Michael Stipe. Type was often tilted to add a fresh touch, distancing VOX from the pack of rigid-looking monthly music titles.
- The Cure & Manics by Steve Double (www.double-whammy.com)
- Oasis by Hayley Madden (www.hayleymadden.com)
- REM by Kevin Westenberg (www.kevinwestenberg.com)
- Prodigy by Steve Gullick (www.gullickphoto.com)
Chapterhouse LP (1991) - Cover of "Whirlpool", first album from Reading's shoegazers, Chapterhouse. I took the picture of one of my cats in her favorite sleeping position prior to adding abstract underwater background. The cat's tail spread over the back cover.
The smartest comment made about this work was from an American record company's female representative who was horrified that I chose "a dead raccoon" as the cover visual!
Chapterhouse single (1991) - 12" remix, 7" single and cassette packaging versions of "Mesmerize", Chapterhouse's 4th single.
The band asked me to keep the "peaceful animals" theme developed on their album artwork (see previous file) while the new song's trippy vibe induced to incorporate psychedelic influences.
Images are the result of a London photographer's experimentation with filters and exposure during a glass miniature figurines' photo session.
Spiritualized 12" (1991) - One of the few sleeves I designed for Spiritualized in the early 90s. The eye belongs to Jason Pierce, the band's visionary leader and sole songwriter. In the center, the "angel & demon" visual which featured on all Spiritualized releases until the 1992 "Lazer Guided Melodies" debut album.
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