The Magical Mystery Tour can still divide fans. Earlier in 1967, much is known about the ornate Beatles album cover of Sgt Pepper which was put together and organized by noted designer and artist, Peter Blake with his associate on the LP – Jann Haworth.
However, it seems not as much is known in Beatles collecting circles about the designer to one of the follow-up releases that appeared after the death of Brian Epstein when Paul McCartney began to step into Brian’s role to keep the Beatles as a working and thriving entity and to organize the group’s recording activities.
The follow-up to the Sgt. Pepper design was the Magical Mystery Tour cover. The following photo features both the signatures of one of the engineers on some of the recordings, Ken Brown, and the designer of the album cover, John Van Hamersveld. I have seen only a few Beatles items signed by John Van Hamersveld over many years of collecting. I pounced on this signed album cover on eBay as a result!
John Van Hamersveld – Mystery Tour Artist
Here is some background of Van Hamersveld
John Van Hamersveld (born September 1, 1941, Baltimore, Maryland) is an American graphic artist and illustrator who designed record jackets for pop and psychedelic bands from the 1960s onward. He designed the covers of The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and the Rolling Stones. Exile on Main Street. His first major assignment, in 1963, was designing the poster for the surf film The Endless Summer.
Possibly Van Hamersveld’s most famous design
The Endless Summer (John Van Hamersveld illustration)
Did you like Magical Mystery Tour? What do you think? Let me know below.
Buzz
