Genesis’ covers indisputably are pieces of art, every single one of them. Whether it’s the cover for ‘Foxtrot’ by Paul Whitehead or the cover for ‘We Can’t Dance’ by Felicity Roma Bowers, they all have been chosen carefully and in most cases they catch the mood of the music or interpret the individual songs on the record. The cover for ‘A Trick Of The Tail’ was created by Hipgnosis, the English art design group who produced many famous prog album covers like Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, Yes’s ‘Going For The One’ and Peter Gabriel’s ‘Scratch’. Hipgnosis had done the artwork for ‘The Lamb’ in 1974 so Genesis brought them on board again for their first album release since the departure of Peter Gabriel. The cover painting shows different characters that are captured in the lyrics of the songs. For example, the old lady who looks in the mirror and sees a reflection of her younger self represents the song ‘Ripples’. The villain in the middle losing his money and his gun presumably is a character from ‘Robbery, Assault and Battery’.
A friend of mine decided it was time to let these creatures out on the loose and so he tattooed them on his leg. It’s a tricky tattoo with lots of detail. The tattooist did an excellent job as you can see in the photos. If you’re inspired and want these characters to dance a carousel on your leg too please check out the Instagram page of Marcky Knuckles.