![]() ![]() Bow Wow Wow: See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Our Gang, Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy! (1981) Virgin boss Richard Branson hired ace lawyer John Mortimer, QC, to defend him and the charges were eventually dropped.Īs challenging as the great music contained within, The Slits’ debut album, Cut, featured the all-girl band subverting their pin-up potential by appearing looking warrior-like, topless, and liberally caked in mud. ![]() It was at the center of an obscenity-related UK court case after a Nottingham-based record retailer was arrested for showcasing the sleeve (which prominently displayed the word “Bollocks”) in his shop window. – Brett Milano Sex Pistols: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1977)Īrguably the most controversial album cover of them all, Sex Pistols’ lone studio album caused utter chaos. It was replaced by a somber-looking cover of the same photo against a dark background, but the original cover has since been reinstated for history’s sake. This famous cover is only controversial due to tragic coincidence: The Skynyrd plane crash happened only days after the album’s release, so the cover image of the band engulfed in flames was now dramatic in all the wrong ways. It was eventually sold in sealed black plastic in some territories. The fourth LP from hard-rockin’ German outfit Scorpions featured an image of a nude pubescent girl, apparently intended to reflect time as the killer of innocence, but it ended up on the receiving end of moral outrage. Predictably, it caused outrage and was censored in several countries, including the US, though the album still cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. The candid sleeve artwork for Roxy Music’s acclaimed fourth album featured two scantily-clad models, one of whom was the cousin of Can guitarist Michael Karoli. The image was intended to represent Bowie’s own George Orwell-influenced vision of a post-apocalyptic world, but the offending genitalia was subsequently airbrushed until the 1990 EMI/Rykodisc CD reissue reinstated them. Retailers, however, complained that the zipper was actually causing damage to the vinyl in transit, so the sleeve was reworked.ĭavid Bowie’s eighth studio LP featured a gatefold sleeve which, when – when seen in full – literally depicted the star with dog’s bollocks. ![]() Reflecting the innuendo-laden title, the image featured a close-up of a jeans-clad male crotch – and the original vinyl pressing even featured a working zipper. The legendary Andy Warhol had a hand in conceiving the artwork for the Stones’ formidable Sticky Fingers. The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (1971) For the US edition of Blind Faith, the image was replaced with a photo of the band. Photographer Bob Seidemann’s cover image of a topless pubescent girl holding a car hood ornament was intended to symbolize the achievement of human creativity in the summer that man walked on the moon, but it caused a furor instead. Initially, the album came out in an almost plain white sleeve designed like an invitation card. The original “banned” sleeve The Rolling Stones submitted for their classic Beggars Banquet album featured a sleazy-looking bathroom wall covered in graffiti and was rejected by their record label. The Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet (1968) Only 5,000 copies were originally pressed in the UK. Predictably, the resulting artwork provoked outrage, prompting distributors to sell the album in a plain brown wrapper. The sleeve for John and Yoko’s avant-garde classic was shot using a time-delay camera allowing them to take nude photographs of themselves. John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins (1968) It was changed when Hendrix himself expressed displeasure. The original UK edition of Jimi’s landmark, Billboard chart-topping third album originally appeared sporting a contentious sleeve featuring 19 nude women. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (1968) Capitol retrieved over 50,000 copies of the original cover from uneasy retailers. ![]() Intended as pop art satire, the artwork was quickly rehoused in an inoffensive replacement sleeve and topped the Billboard charts. The Beatles: Yesterday And Today (1966)Ī far cry from the Mamas and the Papas “indecent” album cover for If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, which seemed to generate controversy because a bathroom had a toilet in it, this Beatles compilation album featured a bizarre sleeve shot of the Fab Four clad in butcher’s coats, draped in slabs of meat and dismembered doll parts. uDiscover Music investigates the most controversial album covers of all time. However, while all manner of excess-fuelled misadventures feed the media machine in the short term, a provocatively-designed record sleeve can make the most lasting impact when it comes to riling the moral majority – and lasting notoriety is especially assured if the album cover gets banned. Ever since Elvis Presley first shook his hips, controversy has dogged rock’n’roll’s every move. ![]()
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