Storm Thorgerson


Thorgerson in 2010

Born: Storm Elvin Thorgerson; 28 February 1944; Potters Bar, Middlesex, England, UK
Died: 18 April 2013 (aged 69); London, England, UK
Years active: 1968 — 2013
Known for: Graphic designer, music video director

Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other art for Led Zeppelin, Wishbone Ash, Phish, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Al Stewart, Scorpions, 10cc, UFO, Peter Gabriel, the Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Yes, Kansas, Dream Theater, Muse, Audioslave, the Mars Volta, The Cranberries, Helloween, Ween, Shpongle and Catherine Wheel.

Early life

Thorgerson, who was of Norwegian descent, was born in Potters Bar, Middlesex (now part of Hertfordshire), and he attended Summerhill School, Brunswick Primary School in Cambridge, and the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Pink Floyd founders Syd Barrett, who was in the year below him, and Roger Waters, who was in the year above him. Thorgerson and Waters played rugby together at school, while Thorgerson's mother Vanji and Waters' mother Mary were close friends. He studied English and Philosophy at the University of Leicester, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours, before studying Film and Television at the Royal College of Art, where he graduated with a Master of Arts degree.

He was a teenage friend of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and best man at Gilmour's wedding to Polly Samson in 1994.

Career

In 1968, along with Aubrey Powell, he founded the graphic art group Hipgnosis, and between them they designed many famous single and album covers, with Peter Christopherson joining them for their later commissions. In 1983, following the dissolution of Hipgnosis, Thorgerson and Powell formed Greenback Films, producing music videos.

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Health problems and death

In 2003, Thorgerson suffered a stroke, from which he was partially paralysed. He was later diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer which eventually led to his death in London on 18 April 2013, at the age of 69. After Thorgerson's death, David Gilmour released a statement describing him as "a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on, and a great friend". A post on the official Pink Floyd website called him a "graphic genius". Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason said that he was a "tireless worker right up to the end". He is buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.

Works

Album cover designs (1968–2014)

For Thorgerson's work with Hipgnosis, see Hipgnosis § Work.

10cc:
• Sheet Music (1974)
• The Original Soundtrack (1975)
• How Dare You! (1976)
• Deceptive Bends (1977)
• Bloody Tourists (1978)
• Greatest Hits 1972–1978 (1979)
• Look Hear? (1980)
• Mirror Mirror (1994)

{Snip, because there are scores, possibly hundreds, of them.}

Cover ups: Storm Thorgerson's iconic album artwork – in pictures

Storm Thorgerson, who has died aged 69, was the sleeve designer behind weird and wonderful images for Pink Floyd, Ian Dury and the Mars Volta. Here, in an interview from 2009, he talks about some of his creations
guardian.co.uk/music

Thu 18 Apr 2013 18.08 EDT