Stephen Averill has spent nearly five decades shaping how some of Ireland’s most important music looks.
From his beginnings with The Radiators From Space to a remarkable creative relationship with U2 spanning Boy, War, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and beyond, Stephen has helped create images that became inseparable from the music itself.
In this episode of The Ireland Podcast, Fender Jackson talks to Stephen about the art of the record sleeve: discovering album artwork as a young music fan, designing before computers, working with musicians and photographers, the relationship between music and image, and what makes an album cover become iconic.
They also discuss Stephen’s work beyond U2, the changing Irish music scene, the creative possibilities that come from limitations, and what happens to album artwork as music moves from vinyl and CD into the digital age.
Relevant Links
https://www.stephenaverill.com/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:33 When Album Covers Became Art
04:07 How Record Sleeves Changed
06:11 Creating a Visual Identity for a Band
07:16 How Stephen Designs an Album Cover
10:00 Designing for U2
11:02 Art vs the Record Company
13:17 Can an Album Cover Sell the Music?
16:08 Working with Great Photographers
18:15 When Record Labels Change Your Artwork
20:20 How Limitations Can Improve Creativity
22:59 What Makes an Album Cover Iconic?
24:00 U2, Success & Creative Relationships
26:22 Logos, T-Shirts & Band Identity
26:49 Stephen Averill's Archive
27:44 From Advertising to Album Design
31:01 Designing for Ireland's Music Scene
32:01 Outro
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