21092022 Album Covers

The Eagles-eyed among you may have noticed an addition to the matchday playlist this season, so we thought we'd Take That opportunity to explain in more detail.

From introducing local acts to having fan-requested takeovers, the playlist has been a key part of the matchday experience at The Memorial Stadium over the years, but our return to League One has led to a Nirvana for album art lovers.

Last season may have ended in somewhat of a Blur, but the focus this season is firmly on the visual of iconic album covers - each one with a Rovers-style makeover - as we look to Little Mix it up a bit.

IMG_0253.jpg

First out of The Doors was a take on the classic AC/DC album Back in Black, aptly marking our first home game of the season against Forest Green Rovers, before Captain Gas made a guest appearance on the Kanye West-Country classic The College Dropout.

The artwork for the original The College Dropout was designed by Eric Duvauchelle, who was part of Roc-A-Fella's in-house brand design team based in Boston, New York, and features the famous 'Dropout Bear', which was a theme throughout Kanye's first three albums.

IMG_0252.jpg

Our covers, meanwhile, are all designed with a lot of TLC by Alex Holland, a graphic design Wizard and Rovers season ticket holder, then brought to life by our Motley Crüe in the social media team.

Alex's next design incorporated Rovers players; he Mused for a while but eventually went for John Travolta/Marquis as the star of Saturday Afternoon Fever, supported on the dancefloor by Bee (Belshaw) and Gees (Gibbons and Gibson).

IMG_0251.jpg

Lance Cook, our resident matchday DJ and MC, said: "The albums range from the classic to the modern day and will incorporate elements of the club, from the players to Captain Gas, over the course of the season. My thanks go out to the club’s media department for bringing it to life, and to Alex for his graphic Kraftwerk, as we all work in One Direction to make the matchday experience special for the fans."

The most recent effort, for the Accrington Stanley game, features Aaron Collins replacing Bruce Springsteen on the iconic Born to Run album cover (pictured above) to celebrate his Massive Attack stats so far.

Keep an eye out for which album will be getting The Specials treatment next; we've got a planned set-list, but there may be a New Order depending on our opponents...

Read Time: 2 mins