Cover shoot for “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

The artwork of The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album was designed by pop artists Peter Blake and his then-wife Jann Haworth. Art dealer Robert Fraser, who was also a friend of Paul McCartney, recommended them.

They conceived the cover as a colourful collage featuring the Beatles in costume as the fictional “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band“, standing with a group of life-sized cardboard cut-outs of famous people. The centre of the cover depicts the Beatles standing behind a bass drum on which fairground artist Joe Ephgrave painted the words of the album’s title. In front of the drum is an arrangement of flowers that spell out “Beatles”. The group are dressed in satin day-glo-coloured military-style uniforms that were manufactured by the London theatrical costumer M. Berman Ltd. Next to the Beatles are wax sculptures of the band members in their suits and moptop haircuts from the Beatlemania era, borrowed from Madame Tussauds. Amid the greenery are figurines of the Eastern deities Buddha and Lakshmi.

After some weeks of preparation to have all the setup ready, The Beatles visited Michael Cooper’s Photographic Studio in Chelsea on March 30, 1967, for the shooting.

In addition to the front cover shot, The Beatles also posed for the images used on the back cover and the gatefold sleeve.

After the photo shoot, the Beatles went to EMI Studios, Abbey Road, to continue recording the album.

It took about three hours in all, including the shots for the centrefold and the back cover. I’m not sure how much it all cost.

Peter Blake – From “The Beatles: Off the Record” by Keith Badman, 2008

In 2017, Chris Shaw attempted to identify all the original photos used for the “Sgt. Pepper” cover. During this process, he was contacted by Nigel Hartnup, assistant to photographer Michael Cooper, who provided many details about the sourcing and preparation of the cardboard cut-outs:

I was an assistant photographer to Michael Cooper, for his company, MC Productions Ltd, along with my friend, Trevor Sutton and a junior assistant, Andrew Boulton. Trevor and I had studied photography together at Medway College of Art and we teamed up once again at Vogue Studios, in Hanover Square, as assistants to the fashion photographers who were contracted with them. Michael Cooper worked there and when he left in 1965 to set up his own studio he asked us to work for him and be his assistants for the princely sum of £12.10 shillings a week. As we were only getting £10 at Vogue, we both agreed.

Michael was short, long-haired and wildly dressed, usually in tight trousers, colourful shirts, long scarves and bright jackets. He was financed by the art gallery owner, Robert Fraser, of the House of Fraser family, who was friendly with top artists and musicians and a highly influential figure in the sixties art and music scene. Although very progressive in his thinking, Robert was much more soberly dressed than Michael, usually in an expensive suit and tie. Michael continued to need his financial help throughout the time I worked for him, as he didn’t get enough work to pay our wages and keep the studio going. […]

Trevor and I discussed the lighting and we agreed that we would construct a false white ceiling and bounce the flash off that. Used on its own, the ‘fish fry’ wouldn’t cover all the set. A ‘fish fry’ was a large rectangular box with a powerful flash unit inside and a diffusing white plastic sheet, which softened the harsh electronic flash lighting. It was the latest thing in those days for fashion photography. Used in conjunction with a couple of strip lights for the background it was Michael’s favourite tool.

We proceeded to get the set prepared. Peter came to the studio and expressed his ideas for the way it should all be laid out and we set to work. Heads had to be tacked to the wall in a particular order and he took control of that. A shelf was constructed to hold the waxwork heads and the others that he had brought and everything began to take on an urgency that was typical of the photography business in the sixties. Michael then returned from New York and took control of how the set was put together.

The problems started when the frame arrived for the garden. Trevor and I were horrified to see its size, as we knew immediately that it was far too big for the studio. The idea had been for the flower bed to be surrounded by grass, then a gap for the Beatles to stand in, and behind that would be the crowd. Some depth was essential to give a more realistic feel to the shot. Now, with such a large garden, that was not possible, as it had to be farther away from the camera and the final effect would be flat. Sadly, that was how it turned out, as Michael had given the carpenter the wrong measurements!

We suggested to Michael our plan to reflect light from a false ceiling, but he said that he wanted to use his signature lighting of ‘fish fry’ and strip lights, and wouldn’t listen to our technical advice that it wouldn’t cover such a large set. So we put the set together, the gardeners cut the heads off the hyacinths and constructed the garden and only then did Michael realise that the lighting he’d suggested wouldn’t work. So, with a studio full of people and the set almost complete, he announced that we had to construct a false ceiling and bounce the light off that. We couldn’t believe it! This would have been much easier to do when we suggested it in the first place and now we had to pretend it was his idea and go through the difficult process of building it all, with the flower garden underneath. I was furious, but just had to quietly get on with it.

Then we had to put the camera as far away and as high as possible, which meant putting the tripod on a table and extend it to full stretch, which meant that I had to be the one who managed the camera, as I’m 6’ 2” tall. So my head was squashed into the corner between wall and ceiling as I tried to yell instructions to Trevor and Andy where and how things in the set should be arranged. A particular problem was the reflections from the photographs of the heads. “Tilt Bob Dylan forward a bit. Yes. Now push Mae West’s right shoulder back – not that much – Yes. Now, Shift Karl Marx to the left a bit!” I suddenly realised what I’d said and had to laugh, but nobody else spotted it and wondered why I was amused. It was bizarre.

Soul music was throbbing constantly in the studio, headed by Otis Reading, Wilson Pickett, Booker T and the MGs and many albums that were unavailable in England. Few people stood still. Everybody was moving some part of their body with the beat. The joint was jumping, as they say.

It was not just the photographic crew and the Beatles who were there. There were two people from Madame Tussauds who had arrived earlier in the day with all the waxworks. I was particularly amused by Sonny Liston, who arrived without his head, which came in separately, in a box, with lots of padding. It was very realistic and sinister and I remember taking a photograph of this bizarre boxed head.

When he was assembled, I was delighted to discover that he was smaller than me, and I had Trevor take a photo to prove it.

There was also Diana Dors and the heads of T E Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw. Also there were the waxworks of The Beatles. The idea was that Sgt Pepper and his Lonely Hearts Club Band should be in the foreground and The Beatles were to be in the audience watching them. However, this never really worked, as the set was too squashed and flat. This was a great pity. We were very grateful for the waxworks, but had to be very careful with them, as they are very valuable. We weren’t allowed to handle them.

It was a strange time. With so many full size figures around, I would find myself dodging dummies as if they were real people and then bumping into someone because I thought they were a cut-out and was surprised when they moved.

Obviously, Peter and Jan were there that night and also Robert Fraser, with his driver, Mohammed, and the Beatles ‘minder’, Mal Evans, but there were other folk that I didn’t know. Earlier in the evening, Michael’s four year old son, Adam, was there, so presumably, Michael’s ex-wife, Rosie, was too, but I don’t remember. The place was packed!

Another problem arose at this time. Communication between me, on the camera, and Trevor and Andy on the set was crucial, but there were so many people in the studio that I could not be heard. Also, so many people were smoking that the atmosphere was thickening and threatening the air quality. I have to say that it was not just tobacco, but lots of weed was being passed around. The three of us didn’t partake until it was all finished, as we had serious work to do. Eventually, I just had to throw everybody out while we put the finishing touches to the set. When they were allowed to return, they were not permitted to smoke, at least not in the studio!

Apart from the tinting, there were two personal contributions I made. When I was at Vogue, I worked for James Mortimer, who was a very sympathetic person and a very competent photographer. He did fashion work, but mostly he did room sets and I built these for him in the studio. His hobby was car racing and he drove a Marcos, which was a car with a wooden chassis. This made it safer, because if there was a crash, it just snapped apart and the driver was thrown away ‘safely’. The car could then be glued back together again. I thought this was a fascinating idea and my girl friend had given me a Dinky toy Marcos, which I put in the hand of the figure made by Peter Blake’s wife, Jann Haworth. It’s small, but clearly visible.

My other contribution involved a gnome. Obviously, a garden had to have gnomes, and they are known to be naughty, so I photographed the back view of one and planned to put it at the front, as if he was peeing on the garden. However, it just didn’t look right; the idea didn’t work, so I removed it. A pity, as I still think it was a fun idea. After the shoot was over, I had the back view signed by the Beatles, which I sold a few years ago. Interestingly, it resold in 2015 for £29,000. I also had Marlene Dietrich signed, which I was very proud of. She became a prominent figure on the set.

When the time arrived to take the photos, Michael still couldn’t get up to the camera, so he stood in front and directed the Beatles and told me when to press the trigger. So it was actually me who took the photographs. It was normal at the time for the assistant to be on the camera when dealing with large format, technical cameras and it certainly doesn’t mean I claim them as mine. I just pressed the shutter. Michael used his 35mm Nikon for the seated photos that were used on the inside.

We finished late in the evening, but one of the best restaurants in London, Alvaro’s, was just along the King’s Road and stayed open for us. I was very proud of Marlene, so I walked along to the meal with her tucked under my arm. When we got there, it didn’t seem appropriate for me to take her inside, so I propped her up by the doorway on the street until we’d finished eating! This figure was to resell in 2003 for £86,000. Goodness only knows what it’s worth now – and I’d left her in the street! Incidentally, I wasn’t impressed with the food as the portions were fashionably tiny and I was famished! […]

Nigel Hartnup – Assistant to photographer Michael Cooper – From The man who *really* took the photo – Sgt Pepper Photos (wordpress.com), July 12, 2017

When the shoot was over, much of the set was simply thrown away. We had no idea it would be part of rock ’n’ roll history. Someone grabbed the drum skins reading ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, which we’d paid £25 to have made. They later sold for $1 million.

Jann Haworth – From Express.co.uk, May 13, 2017

One of the things we were very much into in those days was eye messages. I had seen a thing on TV about eye contact in apes, and I’d become fascinated by this whole idea that you don’t look at each other. So with Michael Cooper’s inside photo, we all said, “Now, look into the camera and really say ‘I love you!'” If you look at it, you’ll see the big effort in the eyes.

Paul McCartney – From “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” boxset’s accompanying book, 2017

NEXT L.P. COVER

The Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band L.P. cover is unlikely to be a Klaus Voorman drawing this time. The boys did have a special, very secret photo session, for which lots of unusual costumes were delivered and it’s extremely likely that one of the pictures from this session will turn up on the cover. All the reports indicate that the new cover will be one of the best and most elaborate ever!

From The Beatles Monthly Book, May 1967

How was the new Album Cover taken?

When you buy a new LP you may, or may not, take too much notice of the sleeve — the cardboard cover — which contains the actual record. But it would be difficult to ignore the fantastic sleeve produced to accompany “SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND”. It wasn’t just made like any ordinary sleeve — it was built. Planned with much ingenuity, the materials gathered together from all sorts of sources… and then BUILT. Into a cardboard house worthy of Sgt. Pepper and of his four famed architects!

The song “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” had already been recorded when Paul, Neil and Mal had their first chat about the sleeve. During that conversation Paul developed his idea that “Sgt. Pepper” should come at the start of the whole LP — and be repeated near the end. So that the album would have one main theme. “The Sgt. Pepper Band Show”. Almost like a complete ‘live’ recording — which is why they put audience noises on the opening number.

For this first spark came the idea that the photograph on the front of the sleeve should be linked with Sgt. Pepper. At first it was agreed that John, Paul, George and Ringo should be photographed in some sort of Salvation Army uniforms. Next stage was the suggestion for a picture montage — a photograph of many photographs making up one big crowd of people with sky above, the album’s title on Sgt. Pepper’s drum and “The Beatles” set out in words made up of flowers across the foot.

Who chose the more-than-sixty folk who should be included in the crowd picture? Well, the list was a team operation with each Beatle putting forward names of people he liked. Some dead — some very much alive. Some personal friends and many famous personalities admired for one reason or another by The Beatles.

From here on a series of thoughts had to be translated into fact and an incredible number of different planning and building operations were put into effect.

Burman’s theatrical agency sent a fellow to the recording studio with sample materials for the special uniforms… Beatles picked out the four brightest patterns from a pile of satin samples (Salvation Army theory went by the board!)… Orange and yellow patent leather shoes were ordered Beatles nipped into Burman’s, got themselves measured up and kitted out, sorted through lots of interesting braid, froggings, hats brass instruments were hired and Mal spent 4 hours polishing them up in preparation for the photo session.

Then there was the montage of pictures… every photograph had to be selected carefully so that heads and faces would fit into the complete crowd… some waxwork models were added to the line-up — including the figures of Diana Dors, Sonny Liston, Lawrence of Arabia and The Beatles … then came the final choice of pictures, the blowing-up, the colour tinting, the mounting and the final production of a massive wall-sized photo montage which was hung up behind the four uniformed, medal-draped Beatles.

Everything was in place — strips, badges, chords, tassels, lanyards (borrowed from a friendly barracks)… a stone bust, a few statuettes, a Buddha and other small ornaments to set out on the artificial grass at the very front of the picture (all these items being from the homes and personal collections of The Beatles).

The photographs were taken by Michael Cooper, the massive montage job was shared between Peter Blake and his equally artistic colleague Jann.

At this point it was early April, Paul was in America, the sleeve had to go into production by the end of the month. There was a lot more to do. Artists Simon and Marajke created a design, a colour wash of reds and pinks, to decorate the sleeve’s inner paper bag — the actual record container which, by simple but unworthy tradition, is normally left plain white.

So the front of the sleeve was the crowd picture and that was all O.K. The “double page” across the inside of the sleeve was O.K. too — a close-up group picture of the Sgt. Pepper Quartet. Now for the back — and onto this space went a bright fire-engine red, the vivid background behind the printed lyrics of every song used on the LP. All the words are there on the sleeve, all the words which The Beatles sing on the actual record.

Ah, yes. Something was missing. There had to be a final touch. A cardboard cut-out portrait of Sgt. Pepper and his four henchmen. To stand on your mantelpiece to the left of Great Uncle Herbert and Great Aunt Agnes.

And a good time is guaranteed for all.

From The Beatles Monthly Book, June 1967

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