Q & A with Storm Thorgerson
John Mackie's interview with album designer Storm Thorgerson, Sept. 5, 2007 at the Oh My Godard Gallery in Vancouver. Thorgerson's work will be displayed there until Sept. 30.
(....)
Sun: There's a Peter Gabriel album cover you did, the one that I think was just called Peter Gabriel...
Thorgerson: Yes, he was clever with his titles. The record company were furious. They kept saying 'Can you put your name on the front?' And he kept saying 'No.' He didn't even want his name on the front. Well...when Pink Floyd did Atom Heart Mother, which is a cow, there's no name on it. Nothing. The record company went berserk, absolutely berserk, with me. As if I were responsible. I mean I was in favour of it, I thought it was better not to have any name, it makes it more mysterious. And Pete Gabriel also wanted not to put any name on. So then he put the plainest name in he could, Peter Gabriel I. Peter Gabriel II. Great.
Sun: That was just a photo of him in a car...
Thorgerson: No no no, excuse me John. Maybe you are like the English Sun. This print which is here as well, looks great. It's not just a photo of him in a car, although he is in a car. But it's not just a photo. Well, to me it's not. Maybe to you it is. To me the car has been dotted with rain drops, and it's about the rain drops. This felt special to me. I agree, it's a simple thing. Some things are very complicated. Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason is really complicated, 700 beds on a beach. That was a real nightmare to do.
Sun: You actually put 700 beds on a beach?
Thorgerson: Yeah. And they're Victorian, they're made of wrought iron and f-----g heavy.
Sun: Where did you get 700 Victorian beds?
Thorgerson: I don't know. I hired somebody to find them [chuckles]. So when we did Pete Gabriel, it's the other end, if you like, on the scale of complexity and difficulty. But to me it doesn't make any difference, it's still as much a design, contrived if you like, artful. Still trying to say and be something. It was trying to say something about Pete Gabriel. And I think he always liked it. He's been very friendly. Although I did three covers with him and he said that was enough. 'Nothing personal,' he said.
Sun: Is there anybody you want to do an album cover for?
Thorgerson: Oh yeah. Bob Dylan. I nearly worked with Bob Dylan recently, but it fell through. Not because of him, I think the manager was a bit conservative. We are a bit left field.
Sun: I've always wondered why hipgnosis was spelled hipgnosis [and is pronounced hypnosis].
Thorgerson: Now you're going to be educated. It was actually scrolled on our door by some passing narcotic person in the middle of the night. It was scratched on the door of our apartment, and it appealed to us. It's a nice word, but it was spelled on the door like that. So it was a mixture of 'hip,' which is new, and 'gnostic,' as is old. So it was old and new, a nice mixture, whilst being hypnotic, and therefore inducing trances. It felt like a really good name. In fact, I think it was a good name. I don't use it anymore, but I'm not unhappy with it.
John Mackie/Vancouver Sun
(....)
Sun: There's a Peter Gabriel album cover you did, the one that I think was just called Peter Gabriel...
Thorgerson: Yes, he was clever with his titles. The record company were furious. They kept saying 'Can you put your name on the front?' And he kept saying 'No.' He didn't even want his name on the front. Well...when Pink Floyd did Atom Heart Mother, which is a cow, there's no name on it. Nothing. The record company went berserk, absolutely berserk, with me. As if I were responsible. I mean I was in favour of it, I thought it was better not to have any name, it makes it more mysterious. And Pete Gabriel also wanted not to put any name on. So then he put the plainest name in he could, Peter Gabriel I. Peter Gabriel II. Great.
Sun: That was just a photo of him in a car...
Thorgerson: No no no, excuse me John. Maybe you are like the English Sun. This print which is here as well, looks great. It's not just a photo of him in a car, although he is in a car. But it's not just a photo. Well, to me it's not. Maybe to you it is. To me the car has been dotted with rain drops, and it's about the rain drops. This felt special to me. I agree, it's a simple thing. Some things are very complicated. Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason is really complicated, 700 beds on a beach. That was a real nightmare to do.
Sun: You actually put 700 beds on a beach?
Thorgerson: Yeah. And they're Victorian, they're made of wrought iron and f-----g heavy.
Sun: Where did you get 700 Victorian beds?
Thorgerson: I don't know. I hired somebody to find them [chuckles]. So when we did Pete Gabriel, it's the other end, if you like, on the scale of complexity and difficulty. But to me it doesn't make any difference, it's still as much a design, contrived if you like, artful. Still trying to say and be something. It was trying to say something about Pete Gabriel. And I think he always liked it. He's been very friendly. Although I did three covers with him and he said that was enough. 'Nothing personal,' he said.
Sun: Is there anybody you want to do an album cover for?
Thorgerson: Oh yeah. Bob Dylan. I nearly worked with Bob Dylan recently, but it fell through. Not because of him, I think the manager was a bit conservative. We are a bit left field.
Sun: I've always wondered why hipgnosis was spelled hipgnosis [and is pronounced hypnosis].
Thorgerson: Now you're going to be educated. It was actually scrolled on our door by some passing narcotic person in the middle of the night. It was scratched on the door of our apartment, and it appealed to us. It's a nice word, but it was spelled on the door like that. So it was a mixture of 'hip,' which is new, and 'gnostic,' as is old. So it was old and new, a nice mixture, whilst being hypnotic, and therefore inducing trances. It felt like a really good name. In fact, I think it was a good name. I don't use it anymore, but I'm not unhappy with it.
John Mackie/Vancouver Sun
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