Description

Brian Duffy photographed David Bowie for Aladdin Sane in January 1973, probably on Sunday 21 January, at his studio at 151a King Henry's Road in Swiss Cottage, north London. The red-and-blue lightning bolt across Bowie's face was painted by make-up artist Pierre Laroche, who stayed on as Bowie's make-up artist for the rest of the 1973 tour. Where the bolt came from is disputed: Duffy believed it was inspired by Elvis Presley's "TCB" ring, with its lightning flash, while another account has Duffy and Laroche copying the logo from a National Panasonic rice cooker in the studio.

Philip Castle, who had painted the poster for A Clockwork Orange, then airbrushed the image, adding the silvery sheen to Bowie's body and the drop of liquid in the hollow of his collarbone. The teardrop was Duffy's idea. "He just popped it in there," Bowie said. "I thought it was rather sweet." With his eyes closed and his skin washed in pale purple, Bowie looks less like a rock star than a death mask.

The sleeve was designed by Duffy and his business partner Celia Philo. Bowie's manager, Tony Defries, insisted on a seven-colour printing process instead of the usual four, partly to make sure RCA took the album seriously, and at the time it was said to be the most expensive album cover ever made. Its reception was divided, but the image endured: the Guardian's Mick McCann later called it "the Mona Lisa of album covers."

Credit

Cover design and artwork by Brian Duffy, Celia Philo and Philip Castle; photography by Brian Duffy; makeup by Pierre Laroche.