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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.
![](https://blog.eil.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/b85a261f-6a3e-4919-8bed-8c178cc69c32.jpg)
“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 - T.V. Crimes - UK - 12" picture disc - £35.00, $45.15, €41.65 (New Item) (arrived 24-Jul-2024 13:51)on July 26, 2024 at 9:38 am
BLACK SABBATH TV Crimes (Limited Edition 1992 UK 3-track 12" Picture Disc single, also featuring Letters From Earth - Alternative Version & Mob Rules - Live, housed in a PVC sleeve with illustrated backing insert 12EIRSPD178)
- Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $38.70, €35.70 (New Item) (arrived 19-Jul-2024 16:19)on July 26, 2024 at 9:38 am
BLACK SABBATH Never Say Die! (1978 UK 'spaceship' label 9-track LP, complete with illustrated credits inner, fully laminated picture sleeve. The sleeve shows just a little light shelfwear & the vinyl remains in excellent condition with just afew light surface scuffs to show for over forty years)
- Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 2nd + Inner - VG + Ticket stub - UK - vinyl LP - £75.00, $96.75, €89.25 (New Item) (arrived 09-Jul-2024 11:52)on July 26, 2024 at 9:38 am
BLACK SABBATH Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973 UK second issue 8-track vinyl LP on the black & silver label with silver 'WWA' label logo, housed in matt gatefold picture sleeve with the inside image going all the wayto the outer edges without a border. The rear of the sleeve states manufactured and printed in England with no reference to 'Howards Printers' and has 'album concept and design: Pacific Eye & Ear...' credit printed in a bold print on the back.This copy also contains the original lyric inner that has no tears or seam splits. The sleeve displays some general shelfwear, and the vinyl itself has a handful of inaudible cosmetic surface marks that do not affect play. A superb play copy of this fantastic Sabbath album WWA005)
- Black Sabbath - Paranoid - 2nd - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £95.00, $122.55, €113.05 (New Item) (arrived 09-Jul-2024 14:59)on July 26, 2024 at 9:38 am
BLACK SABBATH Paranoid (1970 UK second issue 8-track vinyl LP on the Vertigo label with large 'swirl' logo, matt gatefold picture sleeve without the 'Big Bear' credits on the inside and comes complete with the poly 'swirl' inner. The sleeve displays some light general wear, with a catalogue sticker to the front and a small area of paper loss to the reverse. The labels are both clean with some light spindle marks and the vinyl has a scattering of light scuffs. Overall a Very Good example, and still a respectable play copy) #Top 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time
- Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits - Textured Sleeve - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $32.25, €29.75 (New Item) (arrived 12-Jul-2024 12:55)on July 26, 2024 at 9:38 am
BLACK SABBATH Greatest Hits (1977 UK NEMS issue 10-track vinyl compilation LP including Paranoid, Changes, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, War Pigs and more. The textured picture sleeve shows a little evidence of shelfwear and the vinyl has just a fewlight scuffs leaving it Excellent NEL6009)
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