Clockwise from top left: Elvis Presley, the debut album, 1956; The Clash, London Calling, 1979, designed by Ray Lowry, photo by Pennie Smith; Tom Waits, Rain Dogs, 1985; Monkeys of Syion, Superficial Lover, 2009; K D Laing, Reintarnation, 2006; Big Audio Dynamite, F-Punk, 1995.

London Calling features at #9 on Q Magazine’s Top Album Covers Ever whilst the Elvis cover doesn’t feature at all. On Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Album Covers the Elvis cover comes in at #40, one behind London Calling at #39. Funny really how the London Calling cover has become iconic, even though it was a blatant copy, but the bottom three, which are really just copies of copies, have no redeeming features at all. The Tom Waits cover, supposedly also inspired by the Elvis or Clash cover, has become fairly iconic in its own right.