Exciting news for Led Zeppelin IV fans as the figure on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV is identified
On the 52nd anniversary of the album's release, the mystery of its cover star has been solved by a visiting research fellow at the University of the West of England. The picture shows a late-Victorian black and white photograph of a Wiltshire thatcher called Lot Long, a widower from Mere.
Led Zeppelin fans will know this image well: a previously unidentified man carrying a bundle of hazel on his back.
The research fellow, Brian Edwards, came across the image while following up on some early photographs of Stonehenge. As a Lez Zeppelin fan he recognised straight away it as the one so famous for a very different grouping of rock(er)s.
“Led Zeppelin created the soundtrack that has accompanied me since my teenage years, so I really hope the discovery of this Victorian photograph pleases and entertains Robert, Jimmy and John Paul.” Brian Edwards.
The album artwork was totally devoid of any lettering. The photo of the thatcher, often mistaken for a painting, was stuck on the inside wall of a half-destroyed suburban house to form the full LP cover.
Robert Plant allegedly discovered the framed photograph in an antique shop near guitarist Jimmy Page’s house in Pangbourne, Berkshire - just up the road from Hypergallery, incidentally!
For more details of this discovery visit the news article on The Guardian's website.