HITTING A BUM NOTE... IT’S THE WORST ALBUM ARTWORK EVER!
Rabbits with human faces among terrible covers at exhibition
A NEW exhibition featuring 300 of the world’s worst record covers has opened in Stoke-ontrent.
The albums, which are on display at the Spode Museum in Elenora Street, Stoke, until June 30, feature a baffling array of artwork including rabbits with human faces, a horse’s head stuffed with flowers and bands in the bath.
The exhibition is the work of eccentric record collector Steve Goldman, who has spent five years hunting down the wackiest covers he can find.
It went on display in Steve’s hometown of Huddersfield for just one week last year and Spode Museum manager Michael Escolme contacted him to arrange its only planned museum appearance this year.
Visitors will be able to vote for their own favourite Worst Record Cover which will be announced at the end of the exhibition, as well as listening to tracks from the featured albums.
The exhibition is free to visit but is being held in aid of Different Strokes, a charity which helps younger stroke survivors, as 55-year-old Steve suffered a stroke 18 months ago.
Steve, who picks up his finds in charity shops, car boot sales and online for between 5p and £50, first got a taste for bad album art 40 years ago when he bought an album called Roadstar Peter Rabbitt, by the band Peter Rabbitt, because of its odd cover.
He lost it over the years but found a copy online around five years ago which sparked his collecting habit.
He said: “Some people spend fortunes collecting fine art but no one collects dreadful LP covers.
To get in my collection the album covers have to be unintentionally funny.
“I want records where the designers have tried to do something that’s gone horribly wrong. It can’t just be a performer in bad clothes or with an ugly face, although there are a couple that have got in that were irresistible.”
Big name artists like The Beatles, Elvis, Simon and Garfunkel and Queen appear alongside lesserknown acts – with the 1970s and 1980s featuring prominently.
Spode Museum manager Michael Escolme, who first saw Steve’s collection mentioned on TV show Have I Got News For You?, said: “I thought it was exactly what we needed in Stoke-on-trent to put a smile on people’s faces. The concept is just fun and everyone who comes in can’t help but smile.
“You don’t need to be a music fan to enjoy it. You look at the artwork and you just can’t imagine what was going through their minds.”