I’m at the point in my life when, according to experts, I’m supposed to be getting rid of stuff. And I agree. I’ve got crates of motorcycle and bicycle stuff I’ll never use again. I have enough t-shirts to sew quilts for every child in an Eskimo village. I’ve got five Running-When-Parked motorcycles. And I’ll never wear all the Converse Chuck Taylors in the closet. I don’t plan to add anymore stuff to my life except for one addiction I can’t seem to shake. I love collecting vinyl records with motorcycles on the cover. My obsession started around twenty years ago when Norman, a riding buddy who is also a radio DJ, keyboardist, theremin maestro, zine publisher, minibike rider and memorabilia collector, introduced me to The Scamblers, Cycle Psychos album. Dave Ekins is the seeing-double coverboy (I got to meet Dave a few times) and the album contains such classics as Turn Her On, 250 Scrambler, Steel Shoe and Around The Oval. I was hooked.
My searching began by bin diving at record stores (unfortunately, I’ve never found a record store that has a “Motorcycles on the cover” section) and searching eBay (where HDhog outbid me on everything). Discogs has made searching easier (and way more expensive).
THE BLONDE
While searching a European record store, I came upon Golden Oldies From The 50’s and 60’s. The Harley-Davidson on the cover was straddled by a cute couple. I scooped it up while wondering why motorcycle companies haven’t showed couples in their ads since the Honda ads of the 60’s? I mean, that’s why most guys got into motorcycles.
About a year later I saw the same bike and couple. This time they were gracing the cover of The Woodland Busters. For album collectors, that a big deal. But this was just scratching the surface. She ditched the dude and that Blonde (and Harley) kept selling albums. I’m up to 6 covers that she and the Harley have graced.
The covers were shot by Michel Laguens who was a French photographer, label manager, producer and arranger. He died in 2012 at the age of 72. Michel’s album covers, with or without motorcycles, were sexy, eye catching and intriguing.
I still keep an eye peeled for Astrid because I’m sure there are albums with her on the cover that I have yet to uncover.
