Oh, and there's music, too.

There is a fine article in today’s Times, in which they discuss the ten worst classical album sleeves of all time. Of course, it is all highly subjective as all the best things are, but I have to say that they have come up with some corkers.

Many, if not all, derive from the 1970s and were issued primarily (in their selection at least,) on the Westminster Gold label, which I am delighted to say has a website where you can buy many of these fine classical recordings on CD, with reproductions of the original LP sleeve art.

The Times has picked the cover from Holst’s The Planets issued around 1970 as the worst and you can certainly see why, but I have to say that I’m not sure that it is qualitatively different from many of the others and any opinion on which is the most cringe-worthy has to be finely shaded.



I have to say that in my personal view, the cover to The Best of Brahms beats it hands down. Ay least I can see how they got from The Planets to a bizarre low budget Buck Rogers pastiche. The link between Brahms and a fry up eludes me entirely.



I think we should do a sampling of the worst rock/pop album covers. Anyone care to set the ball rolling?

Oh, and there's music, too.

There is a fine article in today’s Times, in which they discuss the ten worst classical album sleeves of all time. Of course, it is all highly subjective as all the best things are, but I have to say that they have come up with some corkers.

Many, if not all, derive from the 1970s and were issued primarily (in their selection at least,) on the Westminster Gold label, which I am delighted to say has a website where you can buy many of these fine classical recordings on CD, with reproductions of the original LP sleeve art.

The Times has picked the cover from Holst’s The Planets issued around 1970 as the worst and you can certainly see why, but I have to say that I’m not sure that it is qualitatively different from many of the others and any opinion on which is the most cringe-worthy has to be finely shaded.



I have to say that in my personal view, the cover to The Best of Brahms beats it hands down. Ay least I can see how they got from The Planets to a bizarre low budget Buck Rogers pastiche. The link between Brahms and a fry up eludes me entirely.



I think we should do a sampling of the worst rock/pop album covers. Anyone care to set the ball rolling?

Mediaeval ASBO!

A rare document about a public nuisance in 14th century London shows that the neighbours did not like Alice Wade’s poo…


700 years ago, these would have been rather slimier than
they are now...

And the word "loo" dates from medieval times, says Worsley, presenter of BBC Four's If Walls Could Talk, a history of our homes to be broadcast on 13 April.

"Ordinary people would use a chamber pot, and when they wanted to empty it, they would open a window and shout out 'gardez l'eau' - watch out for the water. Gardez l'eau became loo."

And that’s where Muckrakers comes from, too…

Mediaeval ASBO!

A rare document about a public nuisance in 14th century London shows that the neighbours did not like Alice Wade’s poo…


700 years ago, these would have been rather slimier than
they are now...

And the word "loo" dates from medieval times, says Worsley, presenter of BBC Four's If Walls Could Talk, a history of our homes to be broadcast on 13 April.

"Ordinary people would use a chamber pot, and when they wanted to empty it, they would open a window and shout out 'gardez l'eau' - watch out for the water. Gardez l'eau became loo."

And that’s where Muckrakers comes from, too…