10 Fascinating True Stories Behind Iconic Music Album Covers
4. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975)
In the digital age, the cover for the follow-up to The Dark Side Of The Moon may seem like something that could be created with relative ease. Back in 1975, however, when Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here was originally released, producing a cover with a man on fire meant resorting to rather more dangerous techniques than used by artists in the digital age.
The cover by Hipgnosis, headed up by long time Pink Floyd collaborators Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, involved setting stuntman Ronnie Rondell Jr. on fire to capture this now iconic image. Shot on a Warner Bros. studio lot, Ronnie was doused in gasoline and set on fire whilst Aubrey took several photos.
During the last set of photos, a gust of wind blew the fire right round the front of Ronnie's face, setting fire to his moustache. The stuntman then ran out of frame into some foam blankets, before declaring that he could do no more. Thankfully, Powell had captured the lot. As a result, this final photo of Ronnie's moustache catching fire proved to be the best photo and was chosen for the cover of Wish You Were Here.