Business News Obituaries

Storm Thorgerson 1944-2013

By | Published on Monday 22 April 2013

Storm Thorgerson

Graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, who designed album artwork for many bands from the late 60s up to the present day, died last Thursday, aged 69. He had been suffering from cancer.

Thorgerson was best known for his work with Pink Floyd, with whom he worked throughout his (and their) career. His association with the band went back to childhood, when he attended primary and secondary school with Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. He also met Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour as a teenager, and was the best man at Gilmour’s marriage to second wife Polly Samson in 1994.

In the late 60s, Thorgerson founded album artwork design group Hipgnosis with Aubrey Powell, their first job being Pink Floyd’s second album, ‘A Saucerful Of Secrets’. This led to continued work with the Floyd, notably ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, as well as with many other bands. By the time Hipgnosis dissolved in 1983, they had worked with artists including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Peter Gabriel and Yes.

After this, Thorgerson began directing music videos, working with artists such as Paul Young, Dave Gilmour, Robert Plant, Nik Kershaw, Yes, Rainbow, Bruce Dickinson and Pink Floyd between 1983 and 1994. In 1987 he also launched a new design company, Storm Studios, continuing to produce iconic album covers. In recent years, he designed artwork for artists including Muse, Biffy Clyro, Pendulum and The Mars Volta.

In 2003, he suffered a stroke but made a good recovery. He was later diagnosed with cancer, and it was this that caused his death last week.

He is survived by his mother Vanji, his wife Barbie Antonis, his son Bill, and two stepchildren children, Adam and Georgia.



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