From Ultimate Classic Rock.
Louisa Livingstone, the black-robed woman on the cover of Black Sabbath‘s debut, has spoken about the experience in recognition of the album’s 50th anniversary.
At the time, Livingstone was a model in her late teens, and photographer Keith “Keef” Macmillan chose her, in part because she was only five feet tall, thereby making the scenery around her look big. Macmillan chose Oxfordshire’s Mapledurham Watermill, a historic building that dates back to the 15th century, because he thought it fit the dark, gothic sound of the band, and the two went there one morning.
“I remember it was freezing cold,” she told Rolling Stone. “I had to get up at about 4 o’clock in the morning. Keith was rushing around with dry ice, throwing it into the water. It didn’t seem to be working very well, so he ended up using a smoke machine. It was just, ‘Stand there and do that.’ I’m sure he said it was for Black Sabbath, but I don’t know if that meant anything much to me at the time.”
“She wasn’t wearing any clothes under that cloak because we were doing things that were slightly more risqué, but we decided none of that worked,” he added. “Any kind of sexuality took away from the more foreboding mood. But she was a terrific model. She had amazing courage and understanding of what I was trying to do.”
Despite her work on the cover, Livingstone, now an electronic musician who works under the name Indreba, never gravitated towards the music. But for Macmillan, the cover shoot was an entry into a whole new world. “To be honest, it was the first time I really enjoyed that kind of heavy rock,” he said. “But that album made me a fan for life.”
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- Black Sabbath - Paranoid - 1st - Wide - EX - UK - 7" vinyl - £20.00, $25.40, €24.00 (Back In Stock) (arrived 19-Nov-2024 08:40)on November 20, 2024 at 2:38 pm
BLACK SABBATH Paranoid (1970 UK wide centred 7" vinyl single, also including The Wizard, Vertigo company die-cut paper sleeve. The vinyl remains in excellent condition with just a few light surface scuffs to show for fifty years!)1
- Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £55.00, $69.85, €66.00 (New Item) (arrived 12-Nov-2024 14:38)on November 20, 2024 at 2:38 pm
BLACK SABBATH Heaven And Hell (1980 UK 8-track vinyl LP, a return to form for Sabbath despite Ozzy's departure, with the former Elf & Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio proving a more than worthy replacement. The glossy picture sleeve shows justlight shelfwear to the edges while the vinyl has the odd faint cosmetic hairline mark and minimal signs of play)
- Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy + Insert - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $44.45, €42.00 (New Item) (arrived 05-Nov-2024 18:00)on November 20, 2024 at 2:38 pm
BLACK SABBATH Technical Ecstasy (1976 UK first issue 8-track vinyl LP on the Vertigo 'spaceship' label with 'Mely's' hand scratched in the run-out groove. The picture sleeve remains off white and in Excellent condition with minor shelfwear andthe rare lyric insert has a little foxing while the vinyl has only light signs of play)
- Black Sabbath - Headless Cross - UK - 7" vinyl - £15.00, $19.05, €18.00 (New Item) (arrived 05-Nov-2024 18:00)on November 20, 2024 at 2:38 pm
BLACK SABBATH Headless Cross (Limited Edition 1989 UK 7" vinyl single, also including Cloak & Dagger, glossy flipback picture sleeve. The sleeve displays some minor general wear and the vinyl shows only light signs of play EIRS107) ***Limited to only 2500 copies***
- Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! - 180gm - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $44.45, €42.00 (Back In Stock) (arrived 06-Nov-2024 18:00)on November 20, 2024 at 2:38 pm
BLACK SABBATH Never Say Die! (2001 UK Limited Edition re-issue Audiophile quality 180 Gram Heavyweight Vinyl 9-track LP in picture sleeve. The sleeve shows minimal wear and the vinyl appears barely played CMHLP244)
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