Famous Album Covers Shot in London (And Where to Stand)
Seven sleeves you know by heart — and the exact London spots where the cameras stood.
- Every spot here is a public street or building you can see for free, and several let you recreate the shot.
- They're spread right across the city, from St John's Wood to Battersea to Walthamstow, so pick the ones near you.
- A few sites have changed — Walthamstow Stadium is now housing, EMI House is gone — but the recognisable parts often survive.
- This is a great one for photographers: most of these are designed to be stood in front of.
- A free app can play the album's track at each spot as you arrive.
An album cover can fix a place in the imagination forever. A zebra crossing, a power station, an ordinary Soho street — once it's on a record sleeve that millions have stared at, it stops being just a location and becomes part of the music. London is full of these spots, and the strange pleasure of visiting them is how unremarkable most of them look in real life.
Here are seven of the most famous, with the exact places to stand and an honest note on what's changed. Bring a camera — several of these are practically begging to be recreated.
▶ Come Together — The Beatles
1. Abbey Road — the zebra crossing
The most copied album cover in history, shot on 8 August 1969 in a few minutes by photographer Iain Macmillan up a stepladder. The crossing outside Abbey Road Studios in St John's Wood is still here and still working — which is exactly the problem, because it's on a live road and there's usually a queue of people trying to recreate the walk. Be quick, be safe, and mind the traffic. Free. Address: Abbey Road, NW8 9AY.
▶ Ziggy Stardust — David Bowie
2. Ziggy Stardust — 23 Heddon Street
On a freezing night in January 1972, Bowie posed in this dead-end off Regent Street under an illuminated "K. WEST" sign for the cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust. The sign is gone and the street is now full of restaurants, but a commemorative plaque marks the spot — the first official plaque to a record sleeve in Britain. Free, public street. Address: 23 Heddon Street, W1B 4BQ.
▶ Pigs (Three Different Ones) — Pink Floyd
3. Animals — Battersea Power Station
For the 1977 cover of Animals, Pink Floyd floated a giant inflatable pig between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station. On the shoot the pig broke loose, drifted into Heathrow's flight path and briefly grounded planes — a story almost as famous as the cover. The power station, derelict for decades, is now beautifully restored and open to the public. Address: Battersea Power Station, SW11 8DD.
▶ Wonderwall — Oasis
4. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? — Berwick Street
That blurry shot of two figures passing on a London street is Berwick Street in Soho, then the heart of the city's independent record shops. It was photographed here at dusk in 1995, and a couple of those record shops are still trading. Stand in the middle of the street and you're inside the cover. Free, public street. Address: Berwick Street, W1F 0PH.
▶ Parklife — Blur
5. Parklife — Walthamstow Stadium
The greyhounds tearing round the track on the cover of Blur's Parklife were photographed at Walthamstow Stadium in east London. The track closed in 2008 and the site is now housing — but the stadium's listed Art Deco frontage and its glorious neon sign were preserved, so the most recognisable bit is still standing. Address: Chingford Road, Walthamstow, E4 8SJ.
▶ White Riot — The Clash
6. The Clash — a Camden yard
The cover of the Clash's 1977 debut album was shot by Kate Simon in a grubby yard directly across from Rehearsal Rehearsals, the band's practice space near Camden's Stables Market. The graffiti-streaked stairwell and walls were pure Camden of the era. The market has been smartened up since, but the location sits in the heart of the area's music history. Address: Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AH.
▶ Please Please Me — The Beatles
7. Please Please Me — EMI House, Manchester Square
For the Beatles' 1963 debut album, photographer Angus McBean leaned the four of them over the stairwell railing inside EMI House at 20 Manchester Square. The shot was so good they recreated it years later for the Red and Blue compilations. EMI House was demolished in 1995, but the Georgian square survives — stand where the doors once were. Free, open square. Address: 20 Manchester Square, W1U 3PZ.
Is it worth seeking these out?
For music fans with a camera, absolutely — this is one of the most satisfying ways to see musical London, because the whole point of these spots is that they were photographed. The honest caveats: Abbey Road is often crowded and genuinely tricky to shoot safely on a busy road, and a couple of sites (EMI House, the Walthamstow track itself) are gone or changed. But Battersea is spectacular and easy to visit now, Berwick Street and Heddon Street are quick wins in the centre, and there's a real thrill in matching the sleeve in your hand to the place in front of you.
How Sonic City fits in
The fun of cover-hunting is completing the picture — standing on the exact spot with the right song playing. That's what Sonic City does. It's a free app that uses your phone's GPS to play the track tied to each landmark the moment you arrive, so "Come Together" starts as you reach the Abbey Road crossing and "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" plays as you look up at Battersea. No reading a map and a track list at the same time.
A few honest limits: it's London only for now, iPhone only, and it plays through Apple Music today (Spotify is coming soon). It's free, there are no accounts to create, and it doesn't collect your data. If you'd rather just use this list and your own playlist, that works too — everything here is free to visit either way.
Sonic City plays London's music history as you walk past it — free, on your iPhone.
Get Sonic City — freeFrequently asked questions
Where is the Abbey Road album cover crossing?
On Abbey Road in St John's Wood, directly outside Abbey Road Studios, at NW8 9AY. The zebra crossing from the Beatles' 1969 cover is a working crossing on a live road, so wait for a gap and be quick. It's free to visit.
Was the Pink Floyd Animals pig really flown over Battersea?
Yes. For the 1977 Animals cover, an inflatable pig was floated between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station. During the shoot it broke free of its moorings and drifted into Heathrow's flight path, briefly grounding flights. The power station is now restored and open to the public.
Where was the Oasis Morning Glory cover photographed?
On Berwick Street in Soho, then the centre of London's independent record shops. The cover of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? was shot there at dusk in 1995, showing two figures passing on the street. It is free to walk.
Can you still see the Walthamstow Stadium from the Blur Parklife cover?
The greyhound track on the cover of Blur's Parklife closed in 2008 and the site was redeveloped into housing, but the stadium's listed Art Deco frontage and its famous neon sign were preserved, so the most recognisable part is still there to see.