John Lennon Discussed How Salvador Dalí Inspired The Beatles' Butcher Cover
John Lennon once explained how Salvador Dalí and boredom inspired The Beatles' butcher cover. He contrasted it with the cover of his album 'Some Time in New York City'.
Even today, The Beatles‘ butcher cover is one of the most controversial album covers in classic rock history. John Lennon once explained how Salvador Dalí inspired the Fab Four’s disturbing album art. He also contrasted the reception of that album cover with another one created by Yoko Ono that features a nude Richard Nixon.
The Beatles’ butcher cover shows the Fab Four dressed like butchers, smiling, and covered in raw meat and dismembered baby doll parts. It’s pretty unsettling, especially for a band once known for cute hits like “Eight Days a Week!” During a 1980 interview from the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John gave fans insight into the image.
“That was a repackage for the Americans called Yesterday and Today,” he recalled. “The original cover was The Beatles in white coats with figs ‘n’ dead bits o’ meat and dolls cut up. It was inspired by our boredom and resentment at having to do another photo session and another Beatles thing. We were sick to death of it. Also, the photographer was into Dalí and making surreal pictures. That combination produced that cover.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
