The wonderful Storm Thorgerson, Pink Floyd's album cover designer through most of their career, was the subject of a fascinating interview in The Times yesterday.

Tying in with his stunning, and essential, new book, Taken By Storm (more details below), the interview touched on a number of subjects, not least talking of a couple of suggested Pink Floyd projects that will excite many if they come to fruition!

The interview (which can be read in full at www.timesonline.co.uk) finds Storm in excellent form, talking candidly and honestly about himself, the art, and the people he has worked with over the years.

One of the things that the interview - and, the picture gallery at the Times website - point out is that very rarely does Storm turn to using any kind of computer enhancement to the pictures he takes. Rather, he would prefer to do things properly so that they look right, instead of resorting to a computer to do an approximation. However much effort that might take! "Somehow, some things are just not captured in the computer."

Growing up in Cambridge, he met Roger Waters and Syd Barrett at grammar school. “I was friends with Roger indirectly because our mothers were friends, and still are, at 88 and 94 respectively.

“It was a very interesting place, Cambridge; student towns can be great fun, even if you’re not studying there. There’s a lot of culture... and a lot of girls. Most of whom actually seemed to end up with Syd. I still know all these guys; I would have known Syd still, too, till he died, if he hadn’t gone off the rails.”

Storm continued: “His death was more or less so sad there’s nothing one can think to say. The band have always felt very strongly about Syd, so tabs were kept, as it were, money was paid; as best they could, they looked after him.”

The Times then note that "it’s a rare moment of vulnerability from a self-confessed egomaniac, a man with the chutzpah to persuade a doubtful record company to release Wish You Were Here wrapped in black plastic (to symbolise absence, professor), or to release Led Zeppelin’s In Through the Out Door with six alternative sleeve designs — and then cover it in a brown paper bag."

They also note that Storm, along with Dan Abbott, have suggested a 40th anniversary re-release of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, and the publication of a book of Syd's sketches, in tribute to him. Quite a revelation! Should anything develop with either of these, we will of course keep you posted...

The interview can be read in full through this link.

Storm's new book from Omnibus Press - "Taken By Storm: The Album Art of Storm Thorgerson" - is published on May 3rd 2007. It provides a major, and fascinating, retrospective of his finest work over the years, including many pieces done for Pink Floyd.

This superb collection of images, from one of the most prolific and imaginative graphic designers, will be an absorbing read for all those interested in music and the associated imagery - Floyd fans will be just one chunk of those who will enjoy this book.

This large-format, paperback book consists of around fifty percent old and previously published material, and fifty percent of new, previously unseen work - a showcase for his recent pieces over the last six years and an anthology for his previous works covering the preceeding 35 years. Included in this will be examples from the company he set up with Aubrey "Po" Powell, Hipgnosis, his own work, and the most recent commissions he has done as part of StormStudios.

The art is presented with full, indepth analysis of each image, including the themes and motivations that inspired the works as well as the practical details involved with producing each image. With many of the covers designed before image manipulation software such as Photoshop, Storm used just photography, paint and sculpture instead to create these masterpieces.

With Storm's own commentary on the pieces, the book promises a fascinating and illuminating look at some of the most inspiring, absorbing or even just plain bizarre pictures he has given the world.

For those who haven't seen it, our interview with Storm in September 2004 should give a good flavour of his honesty and irreverent attitude - you can read the interview here.

"Taken By Storm" looks truly an essential purchase - we've seen a sample of what the book has to offer and just from that taster, we can heartily recommend it. 

To order a copy, for delivery upon release, and (at time of writing) at a healthy discount, you can use the following special links: Amazon UK, Amazon US/International, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, or Amazon France. For those not in these countries, don't despair - Amazon stores will ship the book worldwide. Also, using our Amazon links helps with the running costs of the site and we really do appreciate it!