Next up in our Album Deep-Dive series we are looking into Rolling Stones ninth album ‘Sticky Fingers’. Much like our previous example, the man in charge of this artwork direction was Craig Braun, shown here with the album art. The record dates from 1971, and features the iconic hit ‘Brown Sugar’
Though conceived by Andy Warhol, photography for the design was by Billy Name, with the subject of the photo being something of a mystery. Many fans believed it to be Mick Jagger, but people involved in the record claim that several men were photographed by Warhol and Jagger was not one of them.
The early copies of the record came with a real working zipper at the top of the trousers, which opened up to reveal white underwear. Unfortunately, there was one thing they hadn’t considered in this design – what would happen when the records were packed for transport and storage. The zipper caused damage to next door copies, which didn’t leave retailers happy. The fix for this was for the production lines to pull the zips down far enough that they would put pressure on the centre label rather than the music itself.
A 1992 repress from Russia brought an interesting new take to the design – it features a Soviet belt buckle including a hammer and sickle, and the model is believed to have been a woman. It’s an unofficial press though, so finding a copy might be a challenge.
The Rolling Stones at Atlas Records
This record was the first Rolling Stones record to feature their famous lips logo. It was designed by John Pasche who studied in Brighton and then London through the 60s. He originally only received £50 in payment for the design, but since he’s made plenty from it – including the V&A museum in London paying him $92,500 for it last year.
DID YOU KNOW?
Mick Jagger wanted the design of the tongue and lips logo to imitate the Hindu goddess Kali.
