John Rockley

Storm Thorgerson

If you can't be a rock star, the next best thing is to get creative and design their album cover!

That's what English artist Storm Thorgerson has been doing over the past 35 years. He's designed many of the most famous album covers in music history, including Pink Floyd's instantly recognizable Dark Side Of The Moon and continues to design covers for Phish, Ian Dury, Cranberries, Pink Floyd, Catherine Wheel and Alan Parsons amongst others.

The Cranberries' "Bury The Hatchet"

He's put together a collection of his best album artwork in a new book called Taken By Storm. It consists of fifty percent old and previously published material, and fifty percent new and unpublished material.

As you look through the portfolio, you instantly recognise so many classic album covers that have become masterpieces in their own right - including Led Zeppelin, Muse, Offspring, The Cranberries, Audioslave, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, Syd Barrett, Catherine Wheel and 10cc.

Ian Dury & The Blockheads "Mr Lovepants"

The amazing thing is that many of the album covers were designed before Photoshop and other advanced computer design software was created, so Storm often used just photography, paint and sculpture instead to create these masterpieces.

John Rockley spoke to Storm about his work and here's where you can hear the full un-edited interview - much of which didn't make it on to the radio!

TAKEN BY STORM: THE ALBUM ART OF STORM THORGERSON is published by Omnibus Press at £24.95.