Banned on the Run: 20 Shocking Classic Album Covers [NSFW]
Join us as we take a look at 20 of the most shocking, banned classic album covers of all time.
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (1974)
Shifting away from his alien Ziggy Stardust image, David Bowie took the form of a half-man, half-dog for the gatefold cover of Diamond Dogs. To some people's dismay, when the original cover was unfolded the dog's anatomy was featured in all its glory. To Bowie-dog's dismay, the troublesome bits were excised in the revised cover. Nuts.


Great White - Hooked (1991)
For their fifth full-length, Hooked, the consummate gentlemen in Great White chose a design of a naked woman straddling a large hook being hoisted from the sea. Following objections, the cover was reprinted so that the model and hook were partially submerged in the ocean. Well played, sirs.


Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Welcome to the bungle. When retailers took exception to the robot rapist scene on the original cover of GN’R’s Appetite for Destruction, the band opted to go with the far more tasteful, and now-classic, cross-and-skulls design.


Hurricane - Slave to the Thrill (1990)
The enigmatic cover art for Hurricane’s third album featured a naked woman sitting on a biomechanical, H.R. Geiger–style machine seat/penetrator. This unnerved enough people for Hurricane to remove the woman altogether from the scene in all additional pressings.


The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (1968)
For this classic double-album, Hendrix originally wanted his label, Reprise, to use a photo of his band surrounded by children in front of the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in NY’s Central Park. The label didn’t go for it, and pressed the album with a blurry red-and-yellow shot of Hendrix instead. A third version also went to print that U.S. audiences didn’t see. Released in the U.K. and Germany, it featured a harem of naked women.


John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (1968)
Is it really surprising that no one wanted to look at two naked, hairy hippies, even if one (guess who) ranks among the best songwriters of all time?


Related
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mklotz
January 17, 2013 at 9:33am
And we claim to be the most free county in the world?? What a joke, we are lame. It's art, get a grip. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
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guitarladd
January 16, 2013 at 9:51pm
I still have my Mom's Apple Pie album that I found in the cut-out bin in the '70s and bought after giving the cover a second glance. Haven't had a turntable in years and can't remember what they sounded like. I out to sell it on Ebay, maybe I could make a few bucks.
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slawbag44
January 16, 2013 at 4:21pm
actually scorpions had four covers changed taken by force and love at first sting being the other two
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johnnycnote
January 16, 2013 at 3:41pm
The original cover to Golden Earring's "Moontan" was censored as it contained nudity on the front and back. The front was a stylized topless girl with a big ostrich feather, while the back was the singer (from the rear) with someone in an asbestos fire suit resting his elbow on the singer's shoulder.
I once came across it in the most unexpected place, a super discount (as in junky) store that had a small record section. It's the album with "Radar Love", their one big US hit, but there were a number of other songs that were really great. In fact, the album only had 5 songs, all long.
I saw them live twice, the first time opening for Robin Trower and then they opened for Santana the 2nd time. Both shows were great and they were much better than the headlining acts, or so was the consensus of the people who'd been there that I talked to. They played essentially the same set each time.
If you get a chance, check out YouTube for a live version of "Big Tree Blue Sea". That was always my favorite song. After nearly 40 years I still like it . . .
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slawbag44
January 16, 2013 at 4:24pm
i saw them in 83 when twilight zone(the other airplay song lol)was out.they opened for triumph and were great.very underrated musicians
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johnnycnote
January 18, 2013 at 6:35pm
I think they were one of those bands that prefers touring over the studio and has less radio-ready material. I fully agree that they've been underrated. Those who do remember them usually think of "Radar Love", or "Twilight Zone", and stop there. I'm definitely glad I got to see them when I did.
Here's my favorite song, Big Tree Blue Sea, live from the time period when I saw them: http://tinyurl.com/af642qk
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BVC
January 16, 2013 at 3:07pm
First thing I thought of was also "Mom's Apple Pie," (which I LOVED when I saw it)! But almost no one's ever heard of it, apparently. You and me, SR71, and that old band! It's a funny thing: I agree with not offending people. I myself don't write offensive lyrics, for example. But I DO lament the loss of a little outrage, and a wilder sense of humor than many people have. Zappa, The Beatles, Stones and many others relied on it, and it gave us surprises and laughs along the way. Now so-called "shock" is normal, and incredibly boring, and unrelenting "PC-ness" is the at-least-equally-boring order of the day. I wish we COULD come back to a little visual outrage, where we again have the ability to be creative, laugh a bit at ourselves, and wake others up as we go. Happy New Year!
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number1slashfan
March 23, 2009 at 7:25pm
Dude, those are the weirdest ablum covers I've ever seen!!!!!!!!!! But GUITARWORLD once again found something very interesting to write about!
GOOOOOOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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devilmaycry1979
March 16, 2009 at 8:47pm
Thants just plain tasteless no matter who you think you are..
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an00bis
March 16, 2009 at 10:29am
where is manson? His are more disterbing to me then most of those. But the virgin killers one was really bad x-p
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zipcity
March 09, 2009 at 4:30am
One obvious bit of "no one will stock this" cover artwork you missed was the HEADACHE EP by Big Black. The version you'll find in stores today has a weird looking cartoon of a fist coming up through someone's skull, but the original cover was far more offensive -- it featured autopsy photos of a man whose head had been split in half by a shotgun blast. Both covers can be seen on the page linked below, but don't click on the links for the "limited edition" cover if you're easily freaked out:
http://petdance.com/actionpark/bigblack/discography/
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icenerveshatter
March 06, 2009 at 3:28pm
I always thought Witchfinder General were the most Spinal Tap-ish in their album cover choices. "Burning a Sinner"















