“I didn’t expect the albums to last the way they have. If I’d known, I would have done better. The bands might say that too!” Genesis sleeve artist Colin Elgie started with the vaguest brief imaginable, and won a whole year in the limelight
Illustrator Colin Elgie has reflected on designing the cover for Genesis's 1976 album A Trick of the Tail, marking its 50th anniversary. The commission, given in 1975, was notable for its almost non-existent brief: Elgie had no songs or lyrics to work from and had not even met the band, yet the sleeve helped launch his career as one of rock's notable album-cover artists.
Elgie, who studied at East Ham Technical College under George Hardie of Hipgnosis fame (designer of covers for Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, and 10cc's Sheet Music), has spoken candidly about the unlikely path that led to the commission, calling himself "a lucky bugger". The piece traces how a tutor's advice helped him break into the industry at a time when work prospects for young designers were scarce, culminating in the enduring image that became inseparable from Genesis's first post-Peter Gabriel record.
- Colin Elgie recalls designing Genesis's A Trick of the Tail cover in 1975.
- He had no songs, lyrics or band meeting to work from.
- Marks the album's 50th anniversary and Elgie's career breakthrough.