Let me take you back more than fifty years. When the artwork for one of the most famous albums of the 70’s was being designed, ‘Led Zeppelin IV’, they used an image called ‘the stick man’ of which his origins were shrouded in mystery. 

Let me take you back more than fifty years. When the artwork for one of the most famous albums of the 70’s was being designed, ‘Led Zeppelin IV’, they used an image called ‘the stick man’ of which his origins were shrouded in mystery. 

The original story was that someone within the band, or associated to it, bought an oil painting from an antique store. The picture was then put on a wall of a partially demolished house, photographed, and the rest is history. Go get your copy of Zep IV and have another look.

So, no one really knew who the stick man was. And after 50+ years we have an answer. This was not an oil painting but a hand-coloured photograph, most likely taken in 1892, of an English thatcher called Lot Long who worked in the Wiltshire region. This was discovered quite by chance by a researcher from the University of the West of England.

Think about this….some random acquisition of an image fifty years ago meant that this chap has been reproduced at least thirty-seven million times.

What other famous images from albums do we wonder about?

And if you don't have a copy of this iconic album, secure one today. We have a few copies available online.