Album Cover Research

The Beatles album cover of Abbey road is probably the most iconic of all time and the picture of the band crossing has become one of the most famous images of all time. The fact the Beatles are an iconic band helps to give this legendary status. it is also thought to be part of the conspiracy that Paul McCartney died, and the way the band members are dressed suggest a funeral and the number plate on the car is supposed to have a subliminal meaning. however this is not what I think makes this and iconic cover. the actual album was the Beatles masterpiece and one of the most successful albums in history.

In the scene, the group walk across the street in single file from left to right, with Lennon leading, followed by Starr, McCartney, and Harrison. McCartney is barefoot.

The zebra crossing has now become a popular destination for fans, to the extent that in December 2010, the crossing was given grade 2 listed status for its "cultural and historical importance"; the Abbey Road studios themselves had been given similar status earlier in the year.

The front cover design, a photograph of the group walking over a zebra crossing and it was based on sketched ideas by McCartney and taken on 8 August 1969 outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road. Photographer Ian Macmillan was given only ten minutes to take the photo whilst he stood on a step-ladder and a policeman held up the traffic.

The photo is so famous that the car in the background was stolen several times and later sold for a large amount of money and can now be found in a German Museum.

It has been reconstructed many times by different artists and most recently has been used by the boy band 'One Direction'. They did this to try and emulate the success of the Beatles as a new up and coming boy band.




The naked and Famous, which is the band whos song we are using, have only one album called "Passive Me, Aggressive You ". From the image you can see that it is infact a picture of grassy mountains however at first glance you just see a colourfull circle. There is another factor to the album, that if you look at the circle it seems similar to the view of the earth from space. The idea of a natural seen is something that we have looked at however the twist that the band have used by changing the colour of part adds a exciting twist on what could have been a boring picture. However this album cover has come under some criticism with one review starting with... "First of all let me get something off my chest. ‘Passive Me, Aggressive You’ has one of the most mind-boggling, boring and lazy album covers I have seen in a long time. It features a bizarre, multicolored globe with the band’s (rubbish) name and (rubbish) album title printed in the blandest font on top. It means nothing, it doesn’t attract me, and it doesn’t represent anything about this album. If first impressions count then me and The Naked and Famous have gotten off on the wrong foot."



This picture I took whilst in a Forrest and it shows the variety of nature and the vibrancy and variety of the colors. It would make a good album cover due to the fact it is simple but stands out to people. And below this you can see another picture that I took whilst in London on a photography trip. I have edited it using photo shop changing the contrast and making the colors more vibrant, however I think the fact that St.Paul's cathedral is such an iconic building gives this a different aspect to other scenes as anybody who looks at it will automatically realize what it is. Also the glass sides of the Bridge almost draws you into the picture, sucking the customer in to have a closer look at the album.





The three pictures here I took, whilst in Egypt. I believe that there is something in the way that the sea reflects the sun that makes it perfect for an album cover. I started with just taking a photo of the water itself however I then saw some rocks and thought that it would give it a focal point and therefor make it more interesting.