GIMME A WRISTBAND » Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute

Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute
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September 21st, 2011Kitty Amsbry

For lovers of 80s music, image may not be everything, but it’s pretty freakin’ important. Sure, the music is what’s kept us hooked to this day, but more often than not it was the visual aesthetic of those artists that lured us in like neon colored jiggly-worm bait. Performers like Annie Lennox, Devo, the B-52s, and of course Duran Duran defined the looks that our teenage selves would aspire to, and their calling card — the first place they set the tone for who they were and what we needed to be — was on the record sleeve. A new book coming out thismonth by Matthew Chojnacki called Put The Needle On The Record, The 1980s at 45 Revolutions per Minute is set to become the definitive guide to seven and twelve-inch vinyl artwork from the ‘80s, undoubtedly the most musically distinctive and visually provocative era of the last millennium.

Chojnacki has lovingly collected the previously unheard stories from over one hundred musical artists, designers, and cover artists to create a pop-cultural feast for the eyes that no coffee-table should be without. The collection is thoughtfully curated, the images paired and placed to inspire connections and new ways of thinking about the moment of the imagery. Put the Needle on the Record takes you on a journey that is, just like its period of focus, full of substance and relevance while remaining fun-loving and sexy-sleek.

It’s no surprise that Matthew is a huge Duran Duran fan, priding himself on having seen them more times than any other band; no small feat for an ardent music lover who manages to catch about fifty shows a year. The book features some excellent examples of cover art from Duran Duran and Power Station, elaborated upon with direct commentary from Simon Le Bon and John Taylor. But the real whopper is the generous afterword written by Nick Rhodes. As the author explains, “There is nobody else in pop music who is more knowledgeable about both music and art scenes than Nick.” I won’t give it all away here, but the eloquence is classic Nick Rhodes and worth the cover price alone. Here’s a little taste of what Nick wrote for the book:

“I am unable to think of a record I ever bought without finding something aesthetically pleasing about the design of the sleeve. It is possible that, on a rare occasion, I may have turned a blind eye to a dodgy typeface or perhaps even forgiven the over enthusiastic cropping of a photograph, but in general, I am simply drawn to the things I find appealing.”

Rhodes savors the appeal of Put the Needle on the Record, and G!MME A WR!STBAND! is sure that you will feel the same. In honor of the book’s upcoming release on September 28, G!MME A WR!STBAND! is offering you the chance to win a veritable cornucopia of extravagant prizes leading up to the book’s launch. You could win one of six limited 7”editions of ‘Girl Panic’, a signed (by Mark Ronson) copy of the 12” single of ‘The Sound of Plastic,’ Nick’s collaboration with Mark Ronson & the Business International, or a CD of ‘All You Need Is Now’ signed by Simon, John, Nick and Roger, all courtesy of Put the Needle on the Record.

There are two ways to win: 1) be a fan of G!MME A WR!STBAND! on Facebook and watch for your chance to answer what will probably be some daft trivia questions or 2) tell us here right in the comments what your favorite 80s record sleeve is and why. Winners will be scientifically chosen at random, which means I will close my eyes and huck a wad of chewing gum at my monitor while shouting “winner winner chicken dinner!” before notifying you via the email you registered to comment with.

Pre-order your copy of Put the Needle on the Record here:

http://tinyurl.com/Amazon-US-Preorder

http://tinyurl.com/Amazon-UK-Preorder

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18 responses to “Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute”

Fabiana September 21st, 2011 at 13:11

My fave cover of the 80s is Duran Duran´s Big Thing. I love the colours, the font size. It is truly amazing, and looks its best in a 12″ record, as all records do.

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Kathy September 21st, 2011 at 13:41

This was tough…but after careful consideration and of course going through all of my 45s I’ve found one my favorites: Adam and the Ants ‘Ant Rap’. I love the cut out doors with pictures of the band inside. It’s like a grown-up pop-up book!

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Den September 21st, 2011 at 13:58

Well, I could name Rio by Duran, due to its iconic image by Patrick Nagel, but for me, for the sheer ‘balls’ it took to get it to market it has to be New Order and Blue Monday 12″
The artwork was in 2 parts, like a floppy disk (remember those?) it was mainly black, but with a 4 colour blocks of colour at the top, it was printed on amazing quality paper and the story goes that due to the production costs the record company made a loss on each unit sold!
Only in the 80′s
Love it!

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Isabel September 21st, 2011 at 15:48

Mmmm difficult… Of DD I’d say Notorious (the album). That is an awesome photo! And of others, Dolphin Brother’s Catch the Fall is a very simple but nice one

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Jody September 21st, 2011 at 19:12

OK…to state that “RIO” is my favorite would be too obvious…although Patrick Nagel is awesome…i guess it’s a toss up…Blondie Parallel Lines (picture disc), Go-Go’s Beauty & the Beat…or Adam & the Ants Prince Charming…OK, no….Seven and the Ragged Tiger……can I just have the book please? Vinyl rules, that’s all there is to it!

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Alec September 21st, 2011 at 19:45

For Duran Duran, I’d of course go with Rio. For anyone else, it’s tough, but I think I’d go with The Cars’ “Heartbeat City,” especially since the sleeve opens up into one big art piece. Thanks for the contest!

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Tim September 21st, 2011 at 20:23

A-ha’s Hunting High and Low? The blurred photo effect and layered/torn look and who is the mysterious woman in the background?

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Sarah September 21st, 2011 at 23:27

The 12″ cover for Save a Prayer. So beautiful and unique – it captures the allure of the song and the video.

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meowmix September 22nd, 2011 at 04:08

Tough question as there are so many covers…
On the DD side of things, it’s easy to say Rio. As another person put it, it’s iconic, you see the great artwork and design, and automatically think, “Cool looking”, “kick ass videos”, “kick ass tracks”. Big Thing is also great to mention, it’s indeed “big”, lettering is great, nice gatefold too.

Okay, again really tough to decide, and the first one that came to mind came out in 1979. DOH! So the next one to come to mind would be Lovesexy by Prince. He is nude, front leg lifted (obvious reasons), and he is leaning against large flowers, mostly white, one purple, and he is looking upward.

With the PMRC already established for a few years, you bet they took a shot at this album, and Prince being nude made the album quite controversial, but that certainly wasn’t new with him. With his pose and background of flowers on the cover you get yet another look has his everpresent androgeny, which is never a bad thing, it’s almost to be expected.

Overall, the album cover without name or logo, sits very well as an art piece in itself. Very bold of him to do so, even near the end of 80s.

C’mon, admit it, you have the LP (or cassette). Or went to take a look at it yourself at the store, perhaps fearing looking at it and being percieved as a perv. Didn’t matter the music spoke for itself, almost broke top 10 in the US.

Juan / meowmix

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Lauren September 22nd, 2011 at 06:37

My fave 45 cover is Madonna’s ‘True Blue’ Excellent photography!
As for DD, It’s the Notorious 45 and album for the same reason.

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Lindsey (aka modchik) September 23rd, 2011 at 14:27

As much as I love the Nagel cover of Rio I have to say Arcadia’s So Red The Rose is my FAV, that woman on the cover is wild – in fact Mr. Taylor (JT) commented (as I shoved a pen in his hand to sign) that he really favored that one as well. He was so gracious and didn’t rub it in that he actually didn’t play on Arcadia, God love him!

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Katie September 25th, 2011 at 06:57

love that the dolphin brothers got a mention on here!

i think my favourite is dd’s planet earth single. i love all the covers they did for the first album’s singles, but the post-apocalyptic shots on that single wins out. well, they seem like that to me, at least.

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Todd Irby October 7th, 2011 at 08:54

My favorite 1980′s album cover is Duran Duran’s “RIO”. the music created by the band along with the album cover artwork of Patrick Nagel is really a time piece. That particular era of the ’80′s is fully realized and captured quite remarkably with the fusion of Duran Duran’s synth rock and Patrick Nagel’s graphic artistry.

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Tin October 7th, 2011 at 09:09

On the Duran Duran side … it may sound a bit odd; but I loved the Matador on the 12″ of “My Own Way” … there was just something sexy dark about it that always tweeked my curiousity. It ended up having my all time fave DD song on it — “Like an Angel”.

As far as all time cover — has to be the White Album from the Beatles. Sheer marketing gold. I love the fact that: 1. They didn’t NEED to have anything on the cover. It just WAS the Beatles; and
2. how PERFECT was it for autographs?

LOL

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Marian October 7th, 2011 at 09:31

My favorite album cover is Echo & The Bunnymen´s Ocean Rain. When I was young I always dreaming about mega poster of this cover to my room. This cover is perfect example of new romance idea for me.

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Beabe October 7th, 2011 at 16:11

My favourite album cover/sleeve is Duran Duran`s “RIO”. The idea is unique,colours are beautiful and everything just matches perfectly together. It is a rare piece of art! It is looking modern and fresh even today. Helps me to keep up do the same

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Amanda Harrison October 7th, 2011 at 20:17

My favorite 80′s album cover is Rio, just looking at it takes me back to a different time, I had no worries and no responsiblities to consider before making a decision, it was just about having fun, being young and carefree, nothing else reminds of where I have been or where I want to go.
The record is the soundtrack to my life. Simple.

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kaz October 9th, 2011 at 14:05

My fav 80s album cover is Dare. The white minimialist cover with the blue and pink neon lettering and tightly cropped pictures of each member’s face sums up the 80s for me and each time I see it it transports me back to the time I first owned it. The look Susan and Joanne’s cat eyeliner was so thrilling I instantly adopted it and have been wearing it ever since. I have loved many other album covers throughout the 80s the first DD album cover I love for similar reasons but Dare remains my favourite. In fact I own many many copies of it on vinyl. In addition to my original well loved copy I have picked up a variety of copies in can shops and record stores over the years. I feel unable to leave it behind , like a an unwanted child or puppy, every copy I see I feel I have to give a home to and can’t leave it behind feeling unloved..

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