947. Peter Blake (1932-), English, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely

Hearts Club Band, 1967. Album sleeve: colour

offset lithography on paper and paper card, 31.4 x 31.4 cm.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Pop art.

 

 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the eighth studio recorded album by the iconic British pop band The Beatles. The album cover won a Grammy Award that same year for best album packaging. The cover art was designed by Peter Blake, an influential artist during the English Pop Art movement, and his wife Jann Haworth. It is a colourful collage with life sized cut out figures of famous people and random objects. The Beatles themselves are placed at the centre of the conglomeration dressed in custom made satin military style suits in different “day-glo” colours. The artist’s original concept was to represent Sgt. Pepper and his band playing in a park, but later the design evolved into its final form—The Beatles surrounded by a large group of their heroes. In the foreground there is a floral display with the word “Beatles” written in flowers as well as several random affectations from their homes such as small statues belonging to both Lennon and Harrison, a small portable television and a trophy. At the edge of the scene there is a Shirley Temple doll wearing a t-shirt paying homage to The Rolling Stones, a favour returned later that year when The Rolling Stones hid The Beatles on their own “Their Satanic Majesties Request”.