Author Archives: simon robinson

About simon robinson

Having worked as a graphic designer in the music industry, mainly in the reissue sector, I now concentrate on the design and publication of books about popular culture - and even write some of them.

Magnetic records!

Posted on April 26, 2021 by simon robinson

This space age cover adorns a short lived format I’d never heard of before, a 12″ plastic recordable record! The disc was coated in oxide, you could speak into a microphone or use it to record whatever you wanted. You … Continue reading →

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Variations

Posted on April 5, 2021 by simon robinson

Returning to Cyndi Lauper (I’ve been scanning some sleeves for a possible cover art book project lately) this 12″ maxi single dates from 1989 and shows the independence afforded various record label territories at the time. Cyndi Lauper always went … Continue reading →

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First Impression/s

Posted on March 12, 2021 by simon robinson

Exactly who The First Impression were I’m not certain (apart from being a “top London beat group” as the sleeve explains!), and the web doesn’t seem to know much either, but they did three albums of cover versions for the … Continue reading →

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Blue Angel

Posted on March 1, 2021 by simon robinson

It’s not the greatest of record sleeves, but this album by Blue Angel does have a certain post-Punk charm to it. It also has Cyndi Lauper on lead vocals, which is the reason I picked it up cheap just after … Continue reading →

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The Finest Gift!

Posted on February 16, 2021 by simon robinson

A neat little piece of record retail ephemera, these small red and black stickers were supplied by EMI for shop staff to stick onto sleeves and other odds and ends. This one I found on the corner of one of … Continue reading →

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Records and Fancy Goods

Posted on February 8, 2021 by simon robinson

Two more scraps of record shop ephemera to clear off my desktop! This first bag from Sutcliffes has a great logo, but I couldn’t match it to anywhere in Hastings. Until I realised this was not Hastings on the South … Continue reading →

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Strange To Your Ears?

Posted on December 4, 2020 by simon robinson

Another monochrome cover following on from the White Noise sleeve. Frustratingly the designer of this unusual audio album cover is not given, although I suspect they did sign the art off on the front – but poor cropping means this … Continue reading →

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White Noise

Posted on November 23, 2020 by simon robinson

I was reading about a proposed live performance from the Radiophonic Workshop the other day and spotted the news that today would be Delia Derbyshire Day. This roughly annual event celebrates the career of the Radiophonic Workshop pioneer. It got … Continue reading →

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All wrapped up

Posted on November 16, 2020 by simon robinson

I have shown some home made sleeves on the site before, but did enjoy this 7″ sleeve made from Christmas wrapping paper which I turned up. I would guess at a late 1970s design, using retro style art. All held … Continue reading →

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Yeah yeah yeah

Posted on October 30, 2020 by simon robinson

I’ve got more music posters than I know what to do with already, scrounged from outside venues or music shops (or even in the case of The Sex Pistols peeled off a wall light at night after they’d just been … Continue reading →

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