Cover story

Andy Warhol designed a few record covers in his time and they’ve been well documented in an exhibition and catalogue. Back in 1971 his most spectacular cover – for The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers – made it in all its full glory to New Zealand, zip and all. The record was pressed in New Zealand by His Masters Voice, on behalf of Atlantic Records, but the cover with its working zip appears to have been imported from the United States. The letter from Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol commissioning the cover comes via one of our favourite sites, letters of note. And that's what we call a commission.

As to who posed for the cover, it remains a mystery. Jagger was always a front-runner but the general consensus is that it was Warhol Super Star Joe Dallesandro. Whoever it was he was photographed by Billy Name and the cover designed by John Pasche who also designed the famous mouth logo that appeared for the first time on this album. You can see an image of our regrettably ripped version of the album here on OTN Stuff.