Voting Station

Hipgnosis

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Artists

The Resume

    (1967-1983)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Storm Thorgerson (February 28, 1944-April 18, 2013)
    Aubrey Powell (September 23, 1946- )
    Peter Christopherson (February 27, 1955-November 25, 2010), became a partner in 1978
    Graphic artists
    Best known for their album cover designs
    Notable covers include:
    Pink Floyd's 'A Saucerful of Secrets' (1968), 'More' (1969), 'Ummagumma' (1969), 'Atom Heart Mother' (1970), 'Meddle' (1971), 'Dark Side of the Moon' (1973), 'A Nice Pair' (1974), 'Wish You Were Here' (1975) and 'Animals' (1977)
    Led Zeppelin's 'Houses of the Holy' (1973), 'The Song Remains the Same' (1976), 'Presence' (1976), 'In Through the Out Door' (1979) and 'Coda' (1982)
    Genesis's 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' (1974), 'A Trick of the Tail' (1976), 'Wind & Wuthering' (1976) and '...And Then There Were Three' (1978)
    10CC's 'Sheet Music' (1974), 'The Original Soundtrack' (1975), 'How Dare You!' (1976), 'Deceptive Bends' (1977) and 'Bloody Tourists' (1978)
    Paul McCartney's 'Venus and Mars' (1975), 'Wings at the Speed of Sound' (1976), 'Wings Over America' (1976) and 'Tug of War' (1982)
    T. Rex's 'Electric Warrior' (1971)
    Electric Light Orchestra's 'Electric Light Orchestra' (1971), 'ELO 2' (1973), 'On the Third Day' (1973) and 'The Light Shines On' (1977)
    Bad Company's 'Bad Company' (1974), 'Straight Shooter' (1975), 'Burnin' Sky' (1977), 'Desolation Angels' (1979) and 'Rough Diamonds' (1982)
    Al Stewart's 'Past, Present and Future' (1973), 'Modern Times' (1975), 'Year of the Cat' (1976) and 'Time Passages' (1978)
    The Alan Parson Project's 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' (1976), 'I Robot' (1977), 'Pyramid' (1978), 'Eve' (1979) and 'Eye in the Sky' (1982)
    UFO's 'Phenomenon' (1974), 'Force It' (1975), 'No Heavy Petting' (1976), 'Lights Out' (1977), 'Obsession' (1978), 'Strangers in the Night' (1979), 'No Place to Run' (1980) and 'The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent' (1981)
    Also designed the cover for the original British paperback edition of Douglas Adams' 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'

Why they might be annoying:

    Before they rented their own studio, they used the bathroom at Powell's girlfriend's apartment as a darkroom.
    They often ticked off record company promotional departments by omitting the artist's name and album title from their designs.
    Powell said about their brainstorming sessions, 'Sometimes it would just be an intense cocaine binge.'
    One critic noted, 'The signature Hipgnosis style was easy to parody, and they occassionally did the job themselves.'
    Peter Gabriel said about working with them, 'Only the difficult sods get the original creative things, and everyone else gets the stuff that's been rejected.'
    During their photo shoot for the cover of Pink Floyd's 'Animals,' a giant inflatable pig broke away, forcing flights at Heathrow Airport to be cancelled.
    They broke up over the inevitable creative differences.

Why they might not be annoying:

    Thorgerson was best man at Dave Gilmour's wedding.
    They created some of the most iconic covers in rock history.
    Their covers were noted for their often surreal imagery and quirky humor.
    Their album packages often featured illustrated inner sleeves, stickers and other bonuses.
    Instead of charging a set fee for album covers, they asked the artists to 'pay what they thought it was worth.'
    Powell said of his and Thorgerson's relationship, 'He's a very intellectual man with a very good visual sense.... I'm much better at hands on stuff, far more diplomatic at dealing with people, and a very good businessman.'
    Thorgerson said, 'I see myself as a kind of translator, translating an audio event – the music – into a visual event – the cover.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 22 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying