The Beatles Album Covers – The Beatles Anthology 1

In 1995, Apple Records released a trilogy of albums to coincide with the television special entitled “The Beatles Anthology”. The first of these, Anthology 1, contained a “new” Beatles song, an unreleased Free As a Bird. Each album was a double disk containing some never-before-released material.   

It was only suitable that the images to accompany these old and “new” tracks were also a compilation of photos. Nothing speaks better to this artistic theme than a collage.   

The inspiration for all three album covers came from Klaus Voorman. He created three covers that, when laid side-by-side, would become a long collage representing different stages of the band’s career thus far. He collected his images from previous albums, posters and other photos and used a torn edge to give the impression that these were pages of an assorted story. Like the boys themselves, nothing was regular and predictable; there is a reflection of change, imperfection and something different and unexpected. Perhaps a few secrets lay in between.   

The Beatles original drummer, Pete Best, whose contributions are evident in some tracks, is barely represented in the Voorman’s photo choices. It’s not known if this is the artists’ intention, or the band members, or George Martin, the producer. In one photo, it is clearly Voorman’s decision to use Ringo Starr’s head over Best’s on one photo on the sleeve.   

Later, in the era of the CD and laserdisc (rather than the LP), the covers in the cases were designed to be laid end-to-end for the full effect. When the third, Anthology 3, was released, a limited edition cardboard sleeve was designed for viewing all three parts as one.   

Album Cover Designer:   

Klaus Voorman, a German artist and musician, had an early association with the Beatles when they lived together and performed in Hamburg in the early 1960s. He was a session musician and best known for being bassist for the band Manfred Mann. As an artist, Voorman also designed artwork for other bands, including The Bee Gees. In 1966, he won a Grammy Award for his work on the cover of Revolver, by the Beatles.   

When the Beatles broke up in the 1970s, it was thought that Voorman was to join Lennon, Harrison and Starr in a new band, The Ladders, but that all proved to be a rumour. In 2009, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed with Voorman on a debut solo album called A Sideman’s Journey.