The Sgt. Pepper Album Cover

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is probably the most iconic album in the history of popular music, and it certainly has one of the most iconic covers (sleeves) – on which approximately 70 named people (and a few anonymous ones) are depicted.

The people depicted on the cover do come up in quizzes from time to time, so this page lists them. I haven't bothered to hide the names as many of the people are too similar to be singled out in quiz questions.

Some of these people could obviously fit into more than one category. The people in italics were intended at one point to be there, but were removed for various reasons or are not visible.

It's often said that Shirley Temple appears three times. This is highly debatable, IMHO; you can read what I think, and what I managed to find out about this assertion, here.

The following anonymous or fictional people can be found in the main group:

Peter Blake later said that apart from three of the four Beatles, he suggested some people himself and so did Robert Fraser (a London art dealer who was part of the Swinging Sixties scene). I'm guessing that it was Fraser that came up with most if not all of the artists – only one of whom I'd heard of before I came to compile this page. Blake couldn't remember if Brian Epstein made a list.

Blake added that Dion (DiMucci) was one of his own selections.

The Hindu gurus were all suggested by George, and they were his only contributions. (Ringo didn't come up with anybody.)

Some other people who might not be familiar:

Huntz Hall was one of the Dead End Kids – a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They proved to be so popular that they continued to make movies until 1958, under various group names including the Little Tough Guys, the East Side Kids, and the Bowery Boys.

Bobby Breen was a Canadian–born American actor and singer. Born in 1927, he was a popular male child singer and actor during the 1930s, reaching major popularity through his film and radio appearances.

Timothy Carey was an American film and television character actor, best known for portraying manic or violent characters who are driven to extremes.

Issy Bonn was a British actor, singer and comedian, most famous for his recording of My Yiddishe Momme.

Leo Gorcey was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying the leader of the Dead End Kids (see above). Always the most pugnacious gang member, he was a prototype of the young punk.

Albert Stubbins played 159 League games for Liverpool FC between 1946 and 1953, scoring 75 goals, and was the centre forward in the 1946–7 championship–winning side. One suspects that the Beatles, who are known to have had no interest whatsoever in football, were simply taken by his name; his main claim to fame today (at least outside Liverpool) is that he was one of only two sports people to appear on the Sgt. Pepper album cover.

Terry Southern was an American writer, noted for his distinctive satirical style. Part of the Paris postwar literary movement in the 1950s and a companion to Beat writers in Greenwich Village, he was also at the centre of Swinging London in the 1960s. Among his most influential work was on the 1969 film Easy Rider.

Stephen Crane was an American writer who died of tuberculosis in 1900, aged just 29. His best-known work is probably the 1895 novel The Red Badge of Courage, set during the American Civil War.

© Haydn Thompson 2020