Died On This Date (April 18, 2013) Storm Thorgerson / Created Several Iconic Album Covers
themusicsover 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.
Thanks to Bruce Kilgour at Slipped Disc Entertainment for the assist.
What You Should Own
Nigel Preston was an English drummer who had worked with the Gun Club, Sex Gang Children among others. He is perhaps best known as a the original drummer for the Cult, with whom he played on their breakout album, Love. He and the band parted ways in June of 1985 after wage disagreements and his alleged erratic behavior. Preston died of an apparent overdose on April 1, 1992 at the age of 32.
Michael Lee was a respected English drummer who, after a short career as the with ’90s rock band, Little Angels, began recording and touring with many of the era’s greatest musicians. His first gig of magnitude came in 1991 when he toured as part of the Cult’s band. In 1993, he began working with Robert Plant on record and on tour. That lead to a Led Zeppelin reunion of sorts when Plant began collaborating with Jimmy Page as Page and Plant. While working with Plant, Lee co-wrote “Please Read the Letter” which won a Grammy for Plant and Alison Krauss in 2009. Throughout his career, Lee also collaborated with a reconfigured Thin Lizzy, Quireboys, Lenny Kravitz, Ian Gillan, and Echo & The Bunnymen. Michael Lee died of an epileptic seizure in his home at the age of 39.