Record covers that fascinated you as a child

[Stumpy Pepys]

This one from my dad's collection, for obvious reasons.

[Hot Pepsi]

I was really into the London Calling cover, long before I got into the Clash. I used to see the poster in all the shops that sold stuff for students' dorm rooms. There were a lot of those around here in the 80s.

Eventually, I bought the poster. Framed. It's in my laundry room.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Instant flashback. This is what got me into cricket.

[Jah Womble]

This from 1970 still disturbs me even now:

[WOM]

Good God man. Toe Fat? There were two guys in the band named Glascock. Surely they could have made some hay of that.

[Gangster Octopus]

The rear side of Raw Power.

[Gangster Octopus]

The middle of 666.

[Jah Womble]

Good God man. Toe Fat? There were two guys in the band named Glascock. Surely they could have made some hay of that.

When passing an Edinburgh shop named 'Top Hat', I've occasionally wondered whether the band's name derived from said term.

[Benjm]

I was fascinated by this as an object from quite an early age, long before I realised how astonishing an album it is.

[caja-dglh]

I expect we are going to discover who's parents had the Niagara album when they were a kid (whoever they are is lucky as their parents had better taste than mine)

[Sits]

Yes’ Going For The One bothered me because I wished the guy on the cover had some trousers on.

[Hot Pepsi]

All the Frazetta stuff...

[Alderman Barnes]

At one point I got a load of LPs and singles from my uncle, which must have been the ones he didn't want.

I can't remember ever listening to this one, but the cover fascinated me:

[Alderman Barnes]

This one was one of my Dad's jazz records. I'd never seen anyone that sweaty before:

[ursus arctos]

Just in case anyone is wondering, dglh is not referring to the Francophone answer to the Eurythmics.

[Alderman Barnes]

Not an album cover, but one of the things that most fascinated me as a child was the Magical Mystery Tour EP, which had a special booklet inside with a comic strip of the film. I must have spent hours and hours lying in front of the radiogram poring over it.

[WOM]

Same here, AB. Gatefold with a big colourful book inside. That album also had the song (I Am The Walrus) that genuinely freaked me out a little. Not sure I was a particularly nervous kid, but it sort of sounded like a horror movie to me.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Dad was (is) massively into Bluegrass. I have no idea why this cover was so fascinating, but whenever he'd put the record on (usually on Sunday afternoon) I'd be transfixed.

He thinks the music I listen to is shit, incidentally. But then I suppose he would.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Also, mam had (possibly still has) a pristine copy of the White Album, complete with full set of colour prints. Always found those fascinating, even if I'd get bawled out for putting my mucky pawprints all over them.

[Gerontophile]

Two of my brothers were well into prog from the late 60's and some of the album covers were weird as fuck, including Blodwyn Pig.

There's one with a guy whose nostrils are doing something weird IIRC (but they may just be very flared). Cartoonish too.

[MsD]

The back of Transformer. I wasn’t really a child, more like 12.

Oh.

[Furtho]

I was well into my teens when I first encountered Trans-Europe Express, but I could hardly believe that the cover of what was notionally a pop album could look like this.

[ursus arctos]

Toby, my guess is that the whole concept of “pickin’ ‘n grinnin’” was mesmerizingly exotic to a young Master Gymshorts, not to mention its visual incarnation.

[WOM]

Karl's post-punk 'do' is the only weak bit on that cover.

[Toby Gymshorts]

There's one with a guy whose nostrils are doing something weird IIRC (but they may just be very flared). Cartoonish too.

That's more than likely In The Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson (great album, BTW, you should try it, etc.).

Toby, my guess is that the whole concept of “pickin’ ‘n grinnin’” was mesmerizingly exotic to a young Master Gymshorts, not to mention its visual incarnation

That's probably it. It sounded completely alien, and yet, here are these two weird old dudes on the cover. What on earth?