History Creator / Hipgnosis

http://hipgnosiscovers.com/ has an extensive archive of images created by Hipgnosis and their friends. [[http://stormthorgersonarchive.com/ Storm Thorgerson]] and [[http://aubreypowell.com/HOME.html Aubrey Powell]] also have official websites. The studio also participated in several books about its work; the 2017 publication ''Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art. The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue'' lists all the album covers from the classic period. (It doesn't include the two revivals mentioned above, singles bags, music-related memorabilia like posters and adverts, or any of their non-music related work, but you can't have everything...)

Where are these scenes from? Old movies, or some forgotten GenreAnthology series? Actually, they're all from the work of a studio that designed album covers for some of England's best known bands. (In order, they're the covers of Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/WishYouWereHere'', UFO's ''[[http://stormthorgersonarchive.com/html/cc/CC04.html Phenomenon]]'' and Audience's ''[[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/audience/thehouseonthehill.html The House on the Hill]]''.) Welcome to the world of Hipgnosis.

Sometime during TheThirties, a wealthy young woman invites her latest boyfriend into her mansion. The suitor looks apprehensive--and he has good reason to be. In the next room, the woman's butler is busy disposing of her previous boyfriend.

** Two more Pink Floyd example, both from ''Music/WishYouWereHere'': the "fire man" image on is a metaphor for "getting burned" in the music business suggested by George Hardie, and TheBlank salesman in the desert is a literal "empty suit".

** Another Pink Floyd example: the "fire man" image on ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' is a metaphor for "getting burned" in the music business suggested by George Hardie.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The cover of Music/{{Quatermass}}' SelfTitledAlbum features pteranodons flying around horizontal (!) skyscrapers that seem to stretch on forever.

** Po is the man whose face is covered by a map on Music/TenCc's ''Bloody Tourists'' album.

** ''Music/DirtyDeedsDoneDirtCheap'' (1976) (International release only; the original Australian release has a different cover)

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Storm Thorgerson.

** Storm and Po appear on the back cover of Music/PinkFloyd's ''[[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/pinkfloyd/anicepair.html A Nice Pair]]''.

* WallOfText: The essay that comprises the cover of Music/{{XTC}}'s ''Go 2'', excerpted above.

* ProducePelting: Music/{{Yes}} keyboardist Creator/RickWakeman was so displeased with Hipgnosis' album art proposal for the upcoming ''Yes Tor'' album, that he threw a tomato at the artwork. The effect was [[ThrowItIn incorporated into the artwork]] and the album was dubbed ''Tormato''.

* ProducePelting: Music/{{Yes}} keyboardist Creator/Rick Wakeman was so displeased with Hipgnosis' album art proposal for the upcoming ''Yes Tor'' album, that he threw a tomato at the artwork. The effect was [[ThrowItIn incorporated into the artwork]] and the album was dubbed ''Tormato''.

* Mick Taylor of Music/TheRollingStones[[note]]Hipgnosis was also the original choice for the Stones' ''Music/GoatsHeadSoup'' cover, but their work was never used[[/note]]

* SixthRanger: Peter Christopherson, of course. Hipgnosis also had a group of regular collaborators, including graphic artist George Hardie, illustrator Colin Elgie, logo designer Geoff Halpin, designer Richard Evans and John Blake, and photo retouchers Maurice Tate and Richard Manning.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The innersleeve of Music/PeterGabriel's [[http://www.hardformat.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/peter-gabriel-1-4.jpg first album]].

* PunnyName: "Hipgnosis" = hypnosis.[[note]]And pronounced the same way. It's a portmanteau of "hip" (trendy) and "gnosis" (pronounced "no-sis"; knowledge, especially religious or mystical).[[/note]]

During TheSixties, Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell were students at the University of [[{{Oxbridge}} Cambridge]], where they befriended future Music/PinkFloyd members Music/SydBarrett, Music/RogerWaters and David Gilmour. Thorgerson and Powell had already designed and photographed several paperback covers for Penguin Books as "Consciousness Incorporated"; therefore, when the Floyd needed a cover for their second album ''Music/ASaucerfulOfSecrets'', they turned to their friends Storm and Po, who renamed their collaboration "Hipgnosis" after the word was scrawled on the door of their flat by a then-unknown "ingenious dope fiend".[[note]]Depending on who you believe, the scrawler was either Syd Barrett or Adrian Haggard, another friend of Thorgerson and Powell.[[/note]] This was the beginning of a creative partnership with Pink Floyd that continued for decades.

** ''Music/TheSongRemainsTheSame'' (1976)

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Thorgerson and Powell's relationship devolved into this for a while. Fortunately, they reconciled before Storm died.

* VulgarHumor: The covers for Music/{{Scorpions}}' ''[[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/scorpions/lovedrive.html Lovedrive]]'' and ''[[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/scorpions/animalmagnetism.html Animal Magnetism]]'', as well as the picture sleeve for The Cortinas' punk single "[[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/thecortinas/defiantpose.html Defiant Pose]]", which is a VomitIndiscretionShot.

** Music/PinkFloyd's ''[[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/pinkfloyd/anicepair.html A Nice Pair]]'' feature several: "Frog in the throat", "Laughing all the way to the bank", "Fork in the road", etc. (Not to mention the innuendo-laden "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".) And of course, the title gets one; one of the images is of a topless busty woman and a pear.