Designed by artist David Juniper, the artwork was based on a famous photograph of the Jagdstaffel 11 Division of the German Air Force during World War I, otherwise known as The Flying Circus.
In one sense, Led Zeppelin II stands apart among the best Led Zeppelin album covers, in that it was the only one to feature the band – albeit in a rather doctored fashion. Photographer: Sam Shere | Designer: George Hardie During the band’s 1970 Scandinavian tour, aristocrat Eva Von Zeppelin (a relative of the creator of the Zeppelin aircraft) threatened legal action and the band were forced to play in Copenhagen under the pseudonym of The Nobs. Though it represents one of the best Led Zeppelin album covers, the artwork also attracted some controversy. This was taken by Jimmy Page’s former Yardbirds bandmate Chris Dreja, who pursued a career in photography after The Yardbirds split in 1968.
Atypically, the album’s back cover actually carried a traditional group shot of the band. Though based upon Sam Shere’s famous photograph of the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster, the image was treated by Hardie, who rendered the original black-and-white photograph in ink using a Rapidograph technical pen and a mezzotint technique. Led Zeppelin’s longtime collaboration with illustrator and graphic designer George Hardie began with the iconic sleeve housing their debut album. The enigma factor again worked in the design team’s favour with Presence: cementing its place among the best Led Zeppelin album covers, Hipgnosis and Hardie were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Package in 1977.
The girl on the back cover photo was Samantha Gates, who had previously appeared with her brother on the band’s Houses Of The Holy artwork.
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The artwork’s inner sleeve photographs, meanwhile, were sourced from a variety of archive stock pictures, and were put together as if designed for a feature in National Geographic magazine. The background in the cover photograph was an artificial marina, installed in London’s Earls Court arena for the annual Boat Show, in the winter of 1974-1975. Thorgerson later elaborated further on the concept by saying that it represented the power of Led Zeppelin, as their music was “so powerful, they didn’t need to be there”. However, according to Hipgnosis’ Storm Thorgerson – who designed the cover along with George Hardie – “The Object” was intended to represent Zeppelin’s “force and presence”. They are one of the best-selling music artists in the history of audio recording various sources estimate the group's record sales at 200 to 300 million units worldwide.Many fans still believe the curious black obelisk-shaped object Led Zeppelin used for the cover of Presence (referred to simply as “The Object”) was a spoof on the monolith from Stanley Kubrick’s influential 2001: A Space Odyssey. Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful, innovative, and influential rock groups in history. Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their output and touring schedule were limited during the late 1970s, and the group disbanded following Bonham's death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980.
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The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery. Jones' keyboard-based compositions later became central to the group's catalogue, which featured increasing experimentation. Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin's music, particularly early in their career, while Plant generally supplied the lyrics. Their fourth album, which features the track "Stairway to Heaven", is among the most popular and influential works in rock music, and it helped to secure the group's popularity. Although the group was initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), and Physical Graffiti (1975).
The band's heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal, though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences, including folk music.Īfter changing their name from the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968.
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