2005 Interview with Laurence Stevens of LSD STUDIO
This interview is from 2005. To read our newest, exclusive 2021 interview with Laurence Stevens, click here.
Laurence Stevens is the graphic designer responsible for all of Eurythmics’ album artwork and sleeve designs – a unique collaboration that has spanned nearly 40 years. Click here to read his interesting bio. At the time of this interview, Laurence had been working on the much-anticipated Eurythmics album remasters and Ultimate Collection CD, due for worldwide release in early November 2005. He was also involved with a Eurythmics Art & Design exhibition which was on display at the Air Gallery in London for 5 days starting on November 1, 2005. I asked Mr. Stevens if he wouldn’t mind answering a handful of short questions about his involvement with Eurythmics and with the new remasters, and he agreed.
How did you get your start in the graphic design business and how did you initially hook up with Eurythmics?
I FIRST MET ANNIE & DAVE IN SEPTEMBER 1982. I HAD JUST OBTAINED MY GRAPHIC DESIGN DEGREE AFTER STUDYING FOR A BA [HONS] GRAPHIC DESIGN DEGREE AT THE ‘LONDON COLLEGE OF PRINTING’. I HAD BEEN OUT OF COLLEGE FOR AROUND THREE MONTHS. I WANTED TO DESIGN RECORD SLEEVES SO I WAS TAKING MY PORTFOLIO AROUND TO EVERY RECORD COMPANY IN THE HOPE OF GETTING TO WORK WITH ONE OF THEIR ARTISTS. I MANAGED TO ARRANGE A MEETING WITH RCA RECORDS ON THE SAME DAY THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE RELEASE OF THE EURYTHMICS NEW SINGLE. I MET ANNIE & DAVE AT THAT MEETING, AND SHOWED THEM MY WORK. THEY LIKED WHAT I DID, WE HIT IT OFF STRAIGHT AWAY, SO THEY ASKED ME TO DESIGN THE SLEEVE FOR ‘LOVE IS A STRANGER’. SO THAT BECAME THE FIRST RECORD SLEEVE I EVER DESIGNED AND THE FIRST HIT FOR EURYTHMICS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE NEW SINGLE SLEEVE FOR THE SONG “I’VE GOT A LIFE” WAS DESIGNED BY ME IN LONDON WHILE ANNIE & DAVE WERE IN L.A. RECORDING THE SONG AND I WORKED WITH A PHOTOGRAPH THAT THEY HAD ALREADY TAKEN IN L.A. DAVE SENT ME THE IMAGE AND SAID THAT THEY WANTED TO USE THAT FOR THE SINGLE SLEEVE. I PRESENTED THEM WITH A SERIES OF DESIGNS WHILE THEY WERE RECORDING THE TRACK AND THEY CHOSE THE DESIGN THAT THEY WANTED TO USE FROM MY VISUAL IDEAS EVEN BEFORE THE SONG HAD BEEN FINISHED. IN FACT IT WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE CALLED ‘I’VE GOT A LIFE [IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT’S MINE] AND THAT’S WHAT APPEARED ON THE FIRST SINGLE SLEEVE DESIGNS THAT I PRESENTED TO ANNIE & DAVE!
Did you collaborate with Annie and Dave to come up with certain sleeve or album designs, or were you given free reign to design things yourself, with final approval coming from Dave and Annie?
IT VARIES FROM ALBUM TO ALBUM. EACH PROJECT IS DIFFERENT. SOMETIMES I WILL SIT DOWN WITH ANNIE AND TALK ABOUT THE NEW LOOK AND FEEL FOR THE ALBUM. SOMETIMES I WILL PRESENT IDEAS TO THEM BASED ON THE ALBUM TITLE. SOMETIMES WE WILL SEE A PHOTOGRAPHER’S WORK AND FEEL THAT IT’S RIGHT FOR THIS ALBUM. I DON’T ALWAYS GET A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO ALL OF THE SONGS BECAUSE NORMALLY THE ALBUM IS STILL BEING RECORDED WHILE I AM WORKING ON THE ALBUM SLEEVE DESIGN.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE NEW SINGLE SLEEVE FOR THE SONG “I’VE GOT A LIFE” WAS DESIGNED BY ME IN LONDON WHILE ANNIE & DAVE WERE IN L.A. RECORDING THE SONG AND I WORKED WITH A PHOTOGRAPH THAT THEY HAD ALREADY TAKEN IN L.A. DAVE SENT ME THE IMAGE AND SAID THAT THEY WANTED TO USE THAT FOR THE SINGLE SLEEVE. I PRESENTED THEM WITH A SERIES OF DESIGNS WHILE THEY WERE RECORDING THE TRACK AND THEY CHOSE THE DESIGN THAT THEY WANTED TO USE FROM MY VISUAL IDEAS EVEN BEFORE THE SONG HAD BEEN FINISHED. IN FACT IT WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE CALLED ‘I’VE GOT A LIFE [IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT’S MINE] AND THAT’S WHAT APPEARED ON THE FIRST SINGLE SLEEVE DESIGNS THAT I PRESENTED TO ANNIE & DAVE!
Eurythmics fans know of the now-infamous photos for the “Be Yourself Tonight” album cover that were scrapped in
favor of video stills. Will photos from that scrapped shoot be included in the liner notes of the re-release of “Be
Yourself Tonight”?
YES THERE WILL BE A FEW IMAGES FROM THE ORIGINAL PRESS SHOOT IN THE RE-PACKAGED ALBUM SLEEVE BOOKLET. I WOULDN’T CALL IT ‘SCRAPPED’ ART WORK. DAVE AND ANNIE HAVE NEVER COMPROMISED ON THEIR VISUAL STYLE AND HOPEFULLY I HAVEN’T EITHER ON THE DESIGNS THAT I’VE CREATED FOR THEM.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THE SLEEVE FOR ‘BE YOURSELF TONIGHT’ THAT YOU REFER TO. WE DID DO A PHOTO-SHOOT FOR THE ORIGINAL ALBUM COVER OF ‘BE YOURSELF TONIGHT’ WHICH SHOWED ANNIE & DAVE WEARING ‘BIRD MASKS’, IT LOOKED GREAT BUT WAS TOO CONTROVERSIAL AT THE TIME. WE ENDED UP SHOOTING THE SLEEVE IN L.A. FOR 5 WEEKS. NONE OF THOSE IMAGES WORKED OUT. AND DAVE ENDED UP TAKING THE PICTURE OF ANNIE THAT APPEARS ON THE FRONT OF THE ‘BYT’ ALBUM SLEEVE OFF OF A MONITOR SCREEN IN THE CHAIRMAN’S OFFICE AT RCA IN LONDON! SO IT WASN’T AS THOUGH THE ORIGINAL IDEA WAS REJECTED, IT JUST CHANGES OVER THE PERIOD OF THE ALBUM PROJECT. AND ALSO LIKE A LOT OF CREATIVE PEOPLE, BOTH DAVE & ANNIE CHANGE THEIR MINDS DURING A PROJECT BECAUSE THEYARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO GET THE BEST IMAGE AND STYLE FOR THAT ALBUM
Personally speaking, out of all of the ones you have done for Eurythmics, what is your favorite sleeve or album artwork?
THE ALBUM COVER FOR ‘SWEET DREAMS [ARE MADE OF THIS]’ WILL ALWAYS BE AN IMPORTANT SLEEVE FOR ME BECAUSE IT WAS MY FIRST EVER ALBUM SLEEVE TO DESIGN AND IT SPAWNED EURYTHMICS’ BIGGEST AND MOST WELL KNOWN HIT SONG. BOTH ‘WE TOO ARE ONE’ AND ‘PEACE’ ARE FAVOURITE COVERS FOR ME AS I LOVED WORKING WITH BOTH JEAN BAPTISTE-MONDINO AND RICHARD AVEDON WHO TOOK THE ALBUM SLEEVE IMAGES. THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE FANTASTIC TO WORK WITH AS A DESIGNER. AND ALSO FOR ‘PEACE’ ALBUM TO NOT HAVE A PICTURE OF ANNIE ON THE FRONT COVER WAS CREATIVELY VERY INTERESTING TO WORK ON FOR ME. OF COURSE I ALSO LIKE THE ALBUM COVER FOR ‘TOUCH’ AS IT’S SO WELL KNOWN AS AN ALBUM SLEEVE. AND FOR THE FACT THAT ALL OF THE TYPE AND LETTERING FOR THAT SLEEVE WAS DESIGNED BY HAND, AND STILL LOOKS GOOD TODAY.
What was the hardest album or sleeve to design graphics for, in terms of getting just the right image and feel to put forth whatever Dave and Annie were trying to convey?
MY ROLE AS THE ‘EURYTHMICS’ ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER [OR FOR ANY OF THE OTHER BANDS THAT I DESIGN ALBUM CD
PACKAGING FOR] IS TO CREATE A VISUAL IMAGE FOR THE BAND’S ALBUM SLEEVE. THIS IMAGE/GRAPHICS WILL FORM THE BASIS OF THE PACKAGING FOR THE NEW SONGS THAT THE BAND ARE RELEASING. I NEED TO CREATE A VISUAL STYLE OR BRAND FOR THE ARTIST THAT CAN BE USED TO ADVERTISE THEIR NEW ALBUM AND WILL BE SEEN AROUND THE WORLD TO PROMOTE THE VISUAL STYLE AND LOOK OF THE BAND. THESE DESIGN IDEAS CAN COME FROM THE TITLE OF THE ALBUM OR FROM ONE OF THE SONGS FROM THE NEW RECORD. THIS WORK TAKES THE FORM OF COMMISSIONING THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND WORKING WITH HIM ON ART DIRECTING THE PHOTO-SHOOT BASED ON THE VISUAL IDEAS AND ‘LOOKS’ THAT I HAVE DISCUSSED WITH THE BAND. THE WHOLE CREATION OF THE SLEEVE DESIGN INVOLVES A NUMBER OF PEOPLE INCLUDING MYSELF AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER, THERE IS THE ARTIST, STYLIST, AIR AND MAKE-UP TEAM, PROPS, SET BUILD, LOCATION SCOUT, DIGITAL RETOUCHER, PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANTS ETC …….. ONCE THE PHOTO-SHOOT HAS FINISHED. I THEN HAVE TO DECIDE WHICH IMAGES WILL BE RIGHT FOR THE ALBUM OR SINGLE DESIGN. I DO THIS BY CREATING A SERIES OF MOCK-UP DESIGN VISUALS TO SHOW THE BAND AND WE THEN DISCUSS THE VARIOUS DESIGN OPTIONS, BASED ON THE BAND’S CHOICES FROM THE PHOTO-SHOOT. I DON’T HAVE A HARDEST ‘EURYTHMICS’ PROJECT, THEY’VE ALL BEEN INCREDIBLE TO WORK ON. BOTH DAVE AND ANNIE MAKE EACH PROJECT THAT WE WORK ON TOGETHER VERY INTERESTING AND EXCITING. AND ALSO IT’S A LOT OF FUN WORKING WITH THEM.
Sony BMG has announced that all of the remastered albums will feature “refreshed” artwork. What exactly is involved in the process of refreshing artwork?
IT HAS BEEN STRANGE AND EXCITING, RE-DESIGNING ALBUM SLEEVES THAT I ORIGINALLY DESIGNED SOME 20 ODD YEARS AGO FOR THE BAND. ESPECIALLY AS SOME OF THOSE ALBUM SLEEVES WEREN’T DESIGNED USING A MAC COMPUTER, BUT WERE DESIGNED ON THE DINING-ROOM TABLE IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE …. BEFORE COMPUTERS WERE AVAILABLE TO DESIGNERS. ALSO WITH THE RE-ISSUE PROJECT, IT ALLOWED ME TO GO INTO THE VAST EURYTHMICS ARCHIVE THAT I HAVE PUT TOGETHER OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, AND PULL-OUT UNSEEN IMAGES TO INCLUDE IN THE NEW CD BOOKLETS FOR THE OLD ALBUMS. I HAVE SO MUCH MATERIAL WE COULD HAVE MADE EACH ALBUM SLEEVE BOOKLET AT LEAST 40 PAGES…….
This is something I’ve always personally wondered about – there is a graphic in the liner notes for the “Revenge” album that looks like a sort of cursive letter R and letter E interwoven together. It looks like an R-E, the first two letters of Revenge. What exactly is it? Does it have any meaning (if any)?
NO IT DOESN’T REALLY HAVE ANY MEANING. IT REFERS TO THE FIRST LETTER OF THE BAND REALLY AND IS JUST USED AS A GRAPHIC TO FILL THE WHITE SPACE. LIKE A LOT OF THE EARLY LETTERING IT WAS HAND DRAWN AND WORKED VERY WELL AS A ‘FLOURISH’ TO ENHANCE THE PACKAGE DESIGN.
What other projects is LSD involved with at the current time? Are you working with any other bands or are you involved in something outside of music as well?
I’M WORKING ON A NUMBER OF OTHER PROJECTS AS WELL, INCLUDING SOME INTERESTING FASHION PROJECTS. THIS IS AN AREA THAT I WOULD LIKE TO DESIGN MORE FOR. I’M ALSO CURRENTLY WORKING ON DESIGNING THE ALBUM SLEEVE FOR A FANTASTIC NEW BAND CALLED ‘AIRMAN’ AND A NEW ARTIST ON POLYDOR RECORDS CALLED ‘VITTORIO’. I’VE ALSO BEEN CREATING GRAPHICS AND LOGOS FOR A NUMBER OF T-SHIRT RANGES FOR ‘I NEED STYLE’, ‘EXTRA NYC’, ‘AMANDA GREY’, AND ‘WAREHOUSE’. WE’VE ALSO RECENTLY COMPLETED THE NEW ALBUM & DVD SLEEVE DESIGN FOR THE LIVE ALBUM BY MUSE CALLED ‘HULLABALOO’.
