April 19th, 2013
12:44 PM ET
Album art designer Storm Thorgerson diesBritish graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, who created some of music's most iconic album artwork for rock bands such as Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 69. In a statement posted to the website of Pink Floyd vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour, Thorgerson's family said he died Thursday afternoon.
"His ending was peaceful and he was surrounded by family and friends," the statement said. "He had been ill for some time with cancer though he had made a remarkable recovery from his stroke in 2003. He was in his 70th year." According to the BBC, Thorgerson launched his career with the UK design group Hipgnosis in the late '60s and soon established himself as a designer to watch, thanks to his distinctive aesthetic. He applied his creativity to album covers for a number of rock acts, including Led Zeppelin and Muse, but his work with Pink Floyd is among his most memorable. The artwork of the businessman on fire on "Wish You Were Here," the pig flying over Battersea Power Station on "Animals" and the prism emitting a rainbow of light for "Dark Side of the Moon" are all his handiwork. Gilmour recalled in a statement that he met Thorgerson as a teen, when they "would gather at Sheep's Green, a spot by the river in Cambridge. ... Storm would always be there holding forth, making the most noise, bursting with ideas and enthusiasm. Nothing has ever really changed." Thorgerson, Gilmour continued, "has been a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. The artworks that he created for Pink Floyd from 1968 to the present day have been an inseparable part of our work. I will miss him." According to Rolling Stone, the graphic designer initially wanted to be a filmmaker as he came of age in Cambridge but around the age of 15 changed his ambition to art. In an interview with Cool Hunting in 2011, Thorgerson estimated that he'd designed about 300 album covers. "I don't really keep count," he said. "I'm privileged to work with music, so I'm happy to work. ... As long as I can keep working, and paying the rent as they call it over in England, then I'm relatively happy." According to the statement from his family, Thorgerson is survived by his mother, Vanji; his son, Bill; his wife, Barbie Antonis; and her two children.
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Thanks for this wondeful post. i just wish many could read this for them to be inform.
he's so ded.
yep its time
When vinyl was king, album art was so important. Remember the fantastic art for Yes albums by Roger & Martyn Dean? There are so many covers that come to mind (some simple, some outrageous):: Beatles/Abby Road, Fleetwood Mac/Rumours, Meatloaf/Bat Out of Hell, Herb Albert/Whipped Cream & Other Delights (trust me), Yes/Keys to Ascension, Led Zeppelin/Houses of the Holy, Jimi Hendrix/Are You Experienced, Moody Blues/Days of Future Past, ELO/El Dorado, Asia/Asia, just to name a few.
thanks...
for storm.....
thanks
RIP
Your visions are legendary
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
rip dear..
The album covers used to be half the fun. You'd buy the album and then study the cover. Many were works of art and frame able. Now, they're little bitty things on CD's and who cares? Remember all the uproar over The White Album?
Quite true. Now the covers are just an afterthought.
With the proliferation of digital music downloads, they may become virtually extinct.
I remember many a night, when feeling "strange" looking mesmerized at his album cover art. I knew who he was then and I wish we still had that art form being created. It's hard to be impressed by the art on a CD cover.
The album's cover art and the music were at time inseparable. Having grown up with rock on vinyl, the process of listening to music did not always begin with the music, but frequently with the cover art. I would thumb through my record collection until a cover caught my eye. Then after the cleaning ritual I would place the needle, sit back with the cover in my lap, and ponder the artwork as I listened to the music. Sadly, I did not recognize the artist behind the art, until now. Thanks Storm, you opened my eyes.
I have the Dark Side prism as a tattoo for the music. Never thought about the artists behind all the great album covers, tho. There should be a spot in the Rock Hall of Fame for this man.
i as thinking of doing the same thing!.I think that i might still might do it, eventually!Don't fee,l alone!..rick
get a move on
Gotta luv the Pink.
All Pink Floyd work are masterpieces, from composing, to recording, mixing, preparing the album (RIP) and playing them live (sounding even better than the recording version). Why is it that there are no more bands like this one.
Perhaps it's because they don't want to bore the sh!t out of their audiences.
RIP
those albums got me through my first divorce with the peace it deserved. thanks, still have them.
at least the bltch didnt take the records man
The Great Gig in the Sky
See you on the darkside of the moon....
Shine on, you crazy diamond.
I had Shine On You Crazy Diamond stuck in my head all day from out of nowhere, but didn't hear of his death until now. Just, wow. 0_o
Rest in peace .you gave me so much peace looking at your artwork while listening to Floyd
R.I.P. Mr.Thorgerson.
All pigs to be flown at half-staff...
How funny, seeds in a double album jacket. There was a good amount of synth in the Dark Side. Alan Parsons, of later "I Robot" fame helped engineer that masterpiece in the Beatle's Abbey Road studio. I'ma go check my album collection for some shake.
Dark Side's prism is without a doubt the most recognizable album cover of all time, moreso than The White Album, Sgt. Pepper's, Thriller or Nevermind. Mr. Thorgerson has definitely left his mark on modern culture. Rest in peace, sir.
Totally agree – who can forget that iconic image?
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&docid=F8gfIwNhQfJLeM&tbnid=Suf9Nvjp6GemXM:&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Frateyourmusic.com%2Frelease%2Falbum%2Fween%2Fthe_mollusk%2F&ei=99hxUabJN8680QGGkIGIDA&bvm=bv.45512109,d.dmQ&psig=AFQjCNGYPq47SI8A2mnQuVi7HTArZ5fi5Q&ust=1366502008264757
How I Wish You Were Here....you will be missed.
Painful wordplay
A huge talent. And a huge loss.
I feel very fortunate that I grew up in an era where music was made by people with genuine talent, who didn't have to rely on computers, etc. in order to make they're "music" barely listenable. Are you listening Justin Beiber and ilk? The so called music of today by people of minimal talent could never in their wildest dreams ever create anything near as comparable as Sgt. Pepper, Quadrophenia, Dark side of the moon as an example. The young people of today really have no idea.
Actually Pink Floyd was one of the first bands to use synthesizers, and although most of the people whom do the vocals on current pop music get almost all the credit, computers are not fabricating melodies, there are dozens of people involved with every snare, buzz, beat and sound you hear, and their work is truly amazing. and i LOVE pink floyd.
What killed the music was not computers but VIDEO. Today few people even really listen it's what the person does and looks like. In the past all one had was the audio track and what the music sounded like mattered.
@cjacja
Music Videos have been around since the mid-1960s, but back then they were called Promotional Films.
The difference is that pre-MTV, promotional films were produced for songs already written/recorded, and this process maintained the integrity of the music. Post-MTV, songs were often written/recorded for a specific music video concept. By giving the visual experience priority, the music integrity greatly suffered in many instances.
There are tons of great bands out there playing great music today. Serious talented musicians. You just don't hear about them as much as you did back in the 60's and 70's. They don't play these bands on the radio and they are not in the mainstream media. You have to look for them. The bands of "today" that are amazing musicians equalling what was out in the 60's through the 80's are: Porcupine Tree, Dredg, Circa Survive, Rival Sons, Coheed and Cambria, Mutemath, Animals as Leaders, Steven Wilson, Telescreen, Minus The Bear, Codeseven, Ours, Muse, My Morning jacket, Joe Bonamassa, and I could keep going and going. Fight the Justin Bieber type fabricated music by supporting these great bands I have listed above. You can thank me later....
There was just as much c r a p popular music in the 60s and 70s as today.
That's what our parents said about Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Hendrix, etc. Production and distribution are much more accessible now, so there's probably more crap out there than there used to be, but there's still quality. You just have to open your eyes, ears, and heart to find it.
RIP, Storm. You made this world a little bit cooler place to hang out.
typical uninformed, old folks opinion about today's music. There's some great music being made if you're willing to seek it out. You won't hear it on the radio like 40 years ago.
rock on.
It's not like you're ever going to open up a CD case and find seeds in it. Good times...
Dawn – thanks for the great laugh – good times, indeed!
Lol!
I think I missed something here @ Peace.
album covers were sweet. as a child i really liked the vinyl, and was always disappointed with casette's covers. they were too small. and cd's at first were ok (when they were double tall and wasted a lot of paper), but i haven't bought a physical record with artwork in almost 20 years now.
not only do they not make album covers like pink floyd anymore.
they don't make music like that either.
i'm gonna go listen to accidental racist and kill myself.
RIP great artist, brought things of great beauty into many peoples lives.
Shine on you crazy diamond! Great works of art that will be forever remembered!
R.I.P.
and rock on in the heavens for I soon will be there {;o )
Great stuff! Too bad vinyl is going away...no more of this great artwork
Heard a great story yesterday on NPR that the younger generation is "re-discovering" vinyl again in part for the artwork of the album covers. So much so that this Saturday is actually designated "Record Store Day". Check out the site at record store day dot com.