Queen’s 1977 album News Of The World was a monster hit with a monster robot on the cover. In this instance, the cover art is as interesting as the music. The Wikipedia entry for the LP is one of the best I’ve run into and it does a fine job of discussing the artwork and its genesis:
The album’s cover was a painting by American sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. Taylor had an issue of Astounding Science Fiction (October 1953) whose cover-art depicted a giant intelligent robot holding the dead body of a man. The caption read: “Please… fix it, Daddy?” to illustrate the story “The Gulf Between” by Tom Godwin.[12] The painting inspired the band to contact Freas, who agreed to alter the painting for their album cover, by replacing the single dead man with the four “dead” band members (Taylor and Deacon falling to the ground). The inner cover (gatefold) has the robot extending its hand to snatch up the petrified fleeing audience in the shattered auditorium where the corpses were removed.[13] Freas said he was a classical music fan and did not know Queen, and only listened to the band after doing the cover “because I thought I might just hate them, and it would ruin my ideas”, but eventually liked their music.[12]
Since the magazine cover art preceded the LP by 24 years, we’ll start with it:
How’s that for a little taste of Pulp Fiction Thursday on a Wednesday? Here’s the evil robot bothandling the guys in Queen. Brian May is a goner, y’all:
More News Of The World natterings after the break. Guaranteed to rock you.
I’m about to break an ACAW rule but since it’s my rule, fuck it. I prefer not to post CD era artwork but I couldn’t find a good scan of the back cover of News Of The World so here’s a CD version:
Since News Of The World was released in the heyday of album cover art, it’s another gatefolded LP. Queen fans needed something to roll their joints on, after all:
The interior gatefold art of News Of The World is even spookier than the cover:
I don’t know about you but I need some musical relief right about now:
