An exhibition celebrating 70 years of the album has launched today (October 8) at Waterloo Station in London.
It features the best album sleeve from every year since the advent of the long-playing record in 1949, as chosen by a panel of music industry judges. The exhibition coincides with the inaugural National Album Day this Saturday (October 13).
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“It’s great to be part of it,” said Billy Bragg, whose album Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy was chosen to represent 1983. “Some of of my favourite albums of all time are in here, Stevie Wonder, the Ramones, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Blondie… I’m really here to represent Barney Bubbles who designed the sleeve, he’s one of the great British album designers, and I was so fortunate he designed a record for me during his lifetime.”
Check out the full list of album covers included in the exhibition below. The sleeves will be on display at London Waterloo station until October 21, before moving to Manchester Piccadilly (October 22 – November 5) and Glasgow Central (November 6 – 19).
2017 Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 3
2016 The Last Shadow Puppets – Everything You've Come To Expect
2015 David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock
2014 Royal Blood – Royal Blood
2013 White Lies – Big TV
2012 The Temper Trap – The Temper Trap
2011 Bright Eyes – The People's Key
2010 Klaxons – Surfing The Void
2009 Muse – The Resistance
2008 Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
2007 The Cribs – Men's Needs, Women's Need, Whatever
2006 Thom Yorke – The Eraser
2005 Hard-Fi – Stars of CCTV
2004 Kanye West – The College Dropout
2003 Blur – Think Tank
2002 Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons
2001 The Strokes – Is this it (UK Edition)
2000 Goldfrapp- Felt Mountain
1999 The White Stripes – The White Stripes
1998 Massive Attack – Mezzanine
1997 Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen… We Are Floating in Space
1996 DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
1995 Aphex Twin – I Care Because You Do
1994 Oasis – Definitely Maybe
1993 Suede – Suede
1992 Tom Waits – Bone Machine
1991 Primal Scream – Screamadelica
1990 Sonic Youth – Goo
1989 The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
1988 Pixies – Surfer Rosa
1987 The Cure – Kiss me kiss me kiss me
1986 Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill
1985 Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – The Firstborn is Dead
1984 This Mortal Coil – It'll End in Tears
1983 Billy Bragg – Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy
1982 Duran Duran – Rio
1981 Grace Jones – Nightclubbing
1980 The Pop Group – For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?
1979 Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
1978 Blondie – Parallel Lines
1977 Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks
1976 Ramones – Ramones
1975 Brian Eno – Another Green World
1974 Kraftwerk – Autobahn (UK Edition)
1973 Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
1972 Nick Drake – Pink Moon
1971 Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
1970 Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
1969 Scott Walker – Scott 3
1968 The Beatles – The White Album
1967 The Beatles – Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1966 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators
1965 Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass – Whipped Cream & Other Delights
1964 Donald Byrd – A New Perspective
1963 Freddie Hubbard – Hub-tones
1962 The Beach Boys – Surfin' Safari
1961 Hi! We're The Miracles – The Miracles
1960 Conjunto Primavera – Bailemos Twist Con Texaco
1959 Billy Mure – Supersonic Guitars Volume I
1958 Chuck Willis – Chuck Willis, The King of the Stroll
1957 Little Richard – Here's Little Richard
1956 Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley
1955 Lightnin' Hopkins – Lightnin' and The Blues
1954 Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins
1953 Duke Ellington – Ellington Uptown
1952 Count Basie – Basie Rides Again!
1951 Bernard Herrmann – The Day The Earth Stood Still
1950 Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra – Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofé
1949 Beethoven – Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major opus 55 (Eroica)