Bomber ~ Motörhead

Bomber is the third studio album by English rock band Motörhead. It was released on 12 October 1979 by Bronze Records, their second with the label.
Adrian Chesterman illustrated the album cover, depicting Lemmy, 'Fast' Eddie Clarke and a bug-eyed Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor bearing down from the gunner cockpits of a Heinkel 111 bomber in the Blitz. Fascinated by military regalia, Lemmy insisted the plane be German because: "The bad guys make all the best shit".
Chesterman explains: "I suggested the Heinkel plane. They wanted this photo-realistic effect, so I designed the thing with the detached bomb coming towards you.
"I worked in airbrush in black and white, which I would then tint", he adds. "That's why my work always looked very doomy. To get the lighting right, I got a little Airfix kit of a Heinkel 111, made it up and sprayed it black". He then took photos to get the reflection underneath. Chesterman took the call on a Friday and met up with the band the next day.
"They wanted the artwork within a week, I suggested meeting them at midday. I don't think they were accustomed to getting up that early, because they all looked decidedly grumpy. Phil had a tin of Special Brew in his hand. The pictures of them in the plane were so small, I needed passport-sized photographs, which I cut out and painted in. I had to get them to snarl and look like they were shooting machine guns. Lemmy is curling his lip up. And Phil just had that expression permanently".
Despite Clarke being "a bit pissed off" at his "girly hair", Motörhead loved it. The effect was completed by a chrome Snaggletooth on the side of the plane. Such was the sleeve's impact that the band insisted on the now infamous Bomber lighting rig for their accompanying tour – a 40-foot (12 m) Heinkel replica that moved from side to side over the stage.

Dead Men Tell No Tales 00:00
Lawman 03:05
Sweet Revenge 07:01
Sharpshooter 11:16
Poison 14:34
Stone Dead Forever 17:29
All the Aces 22:26
Step Down 25:51
Talking Head 29:34
Bomber 33:17