Storm Thorgerson February 28, 1944 – April 18, 2013
Storm Thorgerson was a renowned graphic artist whose catalog includes some of rock music’s most famous album covers. Born in Middlesex, England, Thorgerson went to high school with Syd Barrett and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. He eventually joined a graphic arts collective called Hipgnosis which created many popular album cover designs until closing shop in 1983. He then went on to form his own design house, Storm Studios. Arguably, Thorgerson’s most famous cover is the one he designed for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Often surreal in nature, his canon of work includes the covers of most of the Pink Floyd albums; the Cult‘s Electric; Led Zeppelin‘s Presence and In Through the Out Door; Peter Gabriel‘s three self-titled albums; as well as visually stunning covers for Muse, Phish, Megadeth, Catherine Wheel, Black Sabbath, the Cranberries, Genesis, Alan Parsons and many more. Thorgerson also directed popular videos by the likes of Bruce Dickinson, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young, David Gilmour, and of course, Pink Floyd. He suffered a stroke in 2003 but recovered and went back to work. Sometime later, he was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately died from it on April 18, 2013. Storm Thorgerson was 69 when he passed away.
Alan Styles was a long time roadie for legendary rock act, Pink Floyd. More than just a roadie for the band, Styles built somewhat of his own following, due in part from being memorialized on Atom Heart Mother’s “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast.” The song features the band playing behind Styles talking about breakfast and such. He can also be seen on the cover of Ummagumma. Alan Styles was 75 when he passed away on December 8, 2011. He had been in a local hospital being treated for pneumonia.
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The now-infamous flying Pig that was mistakenly unleashed during Roger Waters’ Coachella Music Festival set is dead. In typical rock star fashion, the once bloated Pig’s life came to a tragic end near the grounds of his favorite desert oasis, the Hideaway Country Club. Rumors that the Hideaway Country Club is actually a detox facility have been squashed by local caddies. In one of the most horrific deaths in rock ‘n’ roll history, Pig’s body was mysteriously severed in two by an unknown assailant in what appeared to be a horrific Holiday Feast fashion. Though reminiscent of the Black Dahlia murders of late ’40s Los Angeles, no word yet if James Ellroy has been brought in to investigate. Parts of Pig’s butchered body were discovered and tossed into the dumpster by a Steve Stoltz (La Quinta) who later gathered the remains in order to collect the $10,000 and 4 Coachella tickets for life offered by the festival. In a shocking testament to Pig’s bloated condition at the end of his life, wife Susan Stoltz told Reuters, “We didn’t even know what it was then, but that’s all I hear about now.” In a startling twist, neighbor Judy Rimmer (La Quinta) found additional remains in her driveway. And even though the reward specified the “safe return” of Pig, both parties will share the prize. Born with the 1977 release of Pink Floyd’s Animals, Pig led a storied life. He lent backing vocals to and appeared on the cover of the Animals album, and later graced the front of subsequent remix and anniversary packages, t-shirts, DVDs and key chains. He even spent some time as a body-paint model, once posing for a painting that famously appeared on the back of a nude woman (see below). And although Pig was celebrated at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, his biggest honor came when he appeared on the April 19, 1996 episode of The Simpsons. But times got hard on Pig when Pink Floyd went their separate ways, forcing him to live off the fat he collected during his glory years of the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s. Years of drugged out swinging with that inflatable teacher from The Wall was soon replaced by a life of avoiding the inevitable luau. But the new millennium saw things pick up for Pig as Roger Waters began introducing him to a brand new audience. Theater shows became arena shows. Then came his triumphant Hollywood Bowl show in June of 2007. Pig was back. And less than a year later, Waters was ready to take him to the next level…the super-alternative rock festival in the desert of California, the mecca that is called Coachella, where the world’s alterna-youth come together to celebrate all that is music. It is a culture that is a far cry from Pig’s lazy days of floating over the dilapidated factories of England. And sadly it was too much too fast, so Pig did like so many aging fat rock stars before him, he sought the solace of the one place he didn’t fit in, the golf course. It was here that Pig’s revived dreams came crashing down to earth as this noble beast was deflated like the ego of a once great rock star. He was 31.
Rick Wright was a founding member of Pink Floyd. His keyboards and vocals can be heard on such classic albums as The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Wish You Were Here, Meddle, and Dark Side Of The Moon. Helping form the band with Roger Waters, Syd Barrett and Nick Mason in 1965, Wright also contributed significantly as a songwriter and sang lead on a handful of the band’s early recordings. He resigned from Pink Floyd during the recording of The Wall, but returned from time to time to work in the studio or on the road with the band, but more as a guest than a full member of the group. Outside of Pink Floyd, Wright formed a short-lived band named Zee with whom he released one album, and recorded two solo albums. None were able to ignite much of a career for him. Rick Wright died of cancer at the age of 65.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.
themusicsover 
Storm Thorgerson was a renowned graphic artist whose catalog includes some of rock music’s most famous album covers. Born in Middlesex, England, Thorgerson went to high school with Syd Barrett and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. He eventually joined a graphic arts collective called Hipgnosis which created many popular album cover designs until closing shop in 1983. He then went on to form his own design house, Storm Studios. Arguably, Thorgerson’s most famous cover is the one he designed for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Often surreal in nature, his canon of work includes the covers of most of the Pink Floyd albums; the Cult‘s Electric; Led Zeppelin‘s Presence and In Through the Out Door; Peter Gabriel‘s three self-titled albums; as well as visually stunning covers for Muse, Phish, Megadeth, Catherine Wheel, Black Sabbath, the Cranberries, Genesis, Alan Parsons and many more. Thorgerson also directed popular videos by the likes of Bruce Dickinson, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young, David Gilmour, and of course, Pink Floyd. He suffered a stroke in 2003 but recovered and went back to work. Sometime later, he was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately died from it on April 18, 2013. Storm Thorgerson was 69 when he passed away.
