Description

The face on the best-selling reggae album of all time was never meant to be used. The British photojournalist Adrian Boot took the picture informally at a children's birthday party in London, with no art director and no studio lights. "It was never intended to be released," he said. He picked about fifteen shots, sent them to the client and filed the negatives. Years later, when Island asked for more pictures, Boot was away photographing Fela Kuti in Africa, so his wife sent them over, and a focus group chose the cover.

Island had a clear goal. Three years after Marley's death in 1981, the label wanted to sell his greatest hits to a much wider audience, and Dave Robinson, who led the marketing, felt the existing images were wrong. Marley "was always photographed in camouflage clothes and he looked a bit hard," he said. The team searched for about three months for "a softer picture, a more contemplative picture." The chosen portrait shows Marley resting his chin on his hand, and Robinson noted that it was "the only picture I think that had that ring in it," a ring that had belonged to Haile Selassie.

The strategy worked beyond anyone's hopes. Released on 7 May 1984, Legend has sold around 25 million copies worldwide and is certified 18 times platinum in the United States, making it the best-selling reggae album ever. The gentle, thoughtful face on its cover has become the image of Bob Marley known all over the world. As Boot put it, "It is interesting that, that shot has become so iconic."

Credit

Cover photography by Adrian Boot