June 1, 1967 marked the UK release date for the Beatles’ eighth LP, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, though in parts of the country the launch was pushed to May 26. From the moment it left the factory, the album became a defining symbol of 20th-century popular culture, heavily shaping its famous cover. The artwork shows the four Beatles in vivid military uniforms surrounded by a diverse gallery of characters and objects. Of the 61 real people depicted, only five were alive at the time of release. Yet there is a surprising twist: a sixth participant remains hidden, and his name carries significance beyond the obvious.
this is the story
Even now, fifty-five years after Sergeant Pepper hit the shelves, many people learn that the iconic image on the cover is a photograph, not a collage. The shot was taken by photographer Michael Cooper at Chelsea Manor studios in London on March 30, 1967. The faces of famous figures, with the Beatles in uniform, were real people placed within life-size cardboard cutouts. Artist Peter Blake, a co-creator of the album’s graphic design, later recalled, “I was crafting a piece of art in my head, not just a record cover.”
Paul McCartney conceived the cover idea around the Lonely Hearts Band concept, imagining the Fab Four in Edwardian poses with bright military attire and instruments in hand. He also oversaw the inclusion of photos featuring various dignitaries, idols, and friends connected to the group.
The project gained momentum when gallery owner Robert Fraser suggested enlisting Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth to contribute. They proposed a staged scene rather than a flat collage, prompting a list of personalities to include. Ringo Starr remained mostly silent, muttering, “What the others say goes with me.”
Different accounts exist about who chose each guest, making a complete tally tricky. John Lennon reportedly wished to feature his early friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who left the band in 1961 and died young. He also considered figures from literature such as Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allan Poe, and Oscar Wilde, along with Liverpool footballer Albert Stubbins. Jesus Christ appeared on Lennon’s list but was ultimately excluded for a practical reason, and Adolf Hitler would also be left out for cautionary reasons.
Paul McCartney favored avant-garde composer Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, dancer Fred Astaire, and writers William S. Burroughs and Aldous Huxley. George Harrison proposed Bob Dylan, comedian Lenny Bruce, Carl Jung, and Mahatma Gandhi. EMI executives decided against including Gandhi and several other figures during the final stages of design, while Fraser and Haworth suggested other names, and Blake and Haworth added stars from cinema, music, and art to the procession.
Of the 61 people appearing on Pepper’s cover, 28, including the Beatles themselves, were alive at the album’s release. To avoid permission issues, EMI asked everyone to consent to using their likeness. Shirley Temple requested an autographed cover for her children, while Mae West resisted until finally consenting. Leo Gorcey initially refused payment to appear and was later airbrushed from the final image; he died two years later, on what would have been his birthday. The album cover gained traction in the United States as part of the broader rollout.
Since that time, twenty-three of the portrayed figures have died, leaving only a handful who could still recognize themselves on the cover: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Dion DiMucci, and Larry Bell. Yet there is another presence to note.
During the shoot, some figures were partially hidden. Writers James Joyce and Stephen Crane, actress Bette Davis, and physicist Albert Einstein appear with gaps or masking in the final picture. There are also cases where visible gaps exist, and certain participants appear only as partial glimpses. Some contributors were depicted only through cardboard or wax substitutes, while others remained entirely off the final scene.
Photos taken during the session, including the making-of material, reveal the hidden moments and the choices that shaped the final look. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, pictured in a broader frame, were ultimately not shown in the final cover as wax figures took their place near the Beatles on the matting day at Madame Tussaud’s London museum.
In the end, the cover remains a layered portrait. Sophia Loren, aged eighty-seven, can be viewed as the sixth person to “survive” in the sense of persistent cultural memory around Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.