The debut album by Australian pop-rockers Skyhooks was released on 28th October 1974.
Artwork was by Niels Hutchison.
Read a memoir and album reflection here (previous post).
When the first of several re-unions eventuated in the early 80s the band toured and – surprise surprise – released an album Live in the 80s in 1983. What actually was surprising – and delightful – was the homage to the cover art of their first album…
A photo recreating a painting is rather cool, I think.
I enjoy the attention to detail (especially Red wearing red trousers).
Just a shame the budget didn’t run to painting the aeroplane.
![SKYHOOKS CALLING [COVERART #57]](https://vinylconnect.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/img_4225.jpg?resize=40%2C40){kind=small}
That’s cool as hell !
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Isn’t it just? Glad you liked it!
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That’s excellent … complete with the thumbs up and grin, too.
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We love attention to detail, don’t we!
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That’s really terrific! Thank you for sharing it 🙂
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It’s a beaut, that’s for sure. Really glad you enjoyed it Ryland.
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I’ve seen these 2 albums a million times and never made the connection (with the artwork)
Thanks for opening my eyes !
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My pleasure. It really is a great pair, isn’t it?
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HI.
My name is Niels Hutchison, & I did the original artwork for the “Living in the 70s” cover. The “Live in the 80s” cover is a ‘tableau vivant’ of the original. (The practice became common after the invention of photography, with people mimicking the poses of famous paintings.) The same cover appeared again in 1984, with the brown background overprinted with a semi-metallic gold ink for a commemorative ‘gold’ album.
One reason I’m posting this is I googled my own name. (Be warned, kids!) Both my names are mis-spelt in the post above, but it’s not your fault. They appear wrongly on the record’s gatefold. (There is also another error there – I was commissioned by the band, not their label, & assigned no copyright over the artwork to Mushroom Records.)
Ah, the sloppy practices of the music industry…!
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Hi Niels. Thanks a lot for visiting and taking the time to set the record straight. Would you have any interest in expanding your comment into a short email interview? I’d love to re-post this if you were interested.
– Bruce
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That could be fun…I can be a bit slow with the interweb thinggy, though.
Somewhere I think you mention attending a gig at Melbourne Uni in 1974. The photos for the gatefold were done in the dressing room there, prior to the same performance most likely. It was a bit of a rushed job – the gang was becoming a little precious with their time as they gained some popularity.
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Hi Bruce,
I think I’ve deciphered the email address (leave out all the spaces), so I suppose that would reach you directly, rather than through the comments page.
Niels
P.S. I’m not averse to meeting in person, if that makes it easier. I’m in North Melbourne, & I suspect you might be nearby…
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