Pink Floyd delivered another iconic cover for 1977's
Animals, but it took three attempts and a bit of post-production to get the image for the artwork.
As they had done on every record since 1968's
A Saucerful of Secrets, Pink Floyd turned to Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of the design firm Hipgnosis. Thorgerson's original
Animals concept featured a child opening the door to his parents' bedroom, only to find them in the midst of a lovemaking session.
"We knew that the music and lyrics were fueled and characterized by anger," Thorgerson explained in the 2008 Hipgnosis book
For the Love of Vinyl. "So was it an angry animal? A dull thought. Perhaps it was more like human behavior of an animal nature which gets described as animal-like, as in ‘Get your hands off me, you’re being an animal,’ etc., all of which have a degree of double meaning. What came to mind was a child, a three- or four-year-old boy, accidentally witnessing his parents having sex. Does he see it as a loving, though passionate, act or as a violent act? Does it excite, confuse or traumatize him? Are they suddenly animals in his eyes and no longer his loving parents?"