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 - Technical Ecstasy + Insert - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £55.00, $67.65, €62.15 (New Item) (arrived 22-Mar-2023 14:32)on March 23, 2023 at 8:17 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 but the vinyl has only light signs of play)
- Black Sabbath - Nativity In Black (A Tribute To Black Sabbath) - Black Swirl Vinyl - US - 2-LP vinyl set - £49.99, $61.49, €56.49 (New Item) (arrived 10-Mar-2023 17:21)on March 23, 2023 at 8:17 pm
VARIOUS Nativity In Black (A Tribute To Black Sabbath) (2020 US Record Store Day exclusive limited edition 12-track 2-LP set pressed on Clear With Heavy Black Swirl Vinyl,first time pressing on vinyl in the US. Featuring a great collection of Black Sabbath covers, originally released in 1994, housed in a gatefold picture sleeve. Although not sealed, this remains in a 'near as new' condition)***Limited to only 3000 copies***
- Black Sabbath - Never Say Die! - 180 Gram - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £26.99, $33.20, €30.50 (New Item) (arrived 27-Feb-2023 16:34)on March 23, 2023 at 8:17 pm
BLACK SABBATH Never Say Die! (2020 UK/EU limited edition 9-track LP pressed on 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl - originally released in 1978 this was their last studio album to feature the original line-up, and the final album to feature OzzyOsbourne as vocalist, before Ronnie James Dio stepped up. Includes the classic title track and Hard Road. Picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed)
- Black Sabbath - Paranoid - 3rd - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £75.00, $92.25, €84.75 (New Item) (arrived 01-Mar-2023 11:12)on March 23, 2023 at 8:17 pm
BLACK SABBATH Paranoid (1972 UK third issue of the 1970 8-track vinyl LP on the Vertigo label with the small 'swirl' logo and Vertigo lettering above the tracklisting side of the label, housed in a laminated gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve displays some light storage wear keeping its orginal colour with all text visible whilst the vinyl displays a noticable hairline to side 2 causing no real impact on play) #Top 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time
- Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - UK - vinyl LP - £19.99, $24.59, €22.59 (New Item) (arrived 02-Mar-2023 16:05)on March 23, 2023 at 8:17 pm
BLACK SABBATH Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (2015 UK/EU-pressed issue of the 1973 8-track LP on Heavyweight Black Vinyl, housed in a deluxe replica gatefold picture sleeve with the lyric inner. The packaging is Near Mint & the vinyl is Exellent withjust the odd light paper scuff to show play BMGRM057LP)
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