Coldplay, Led Zeppelin Album Covers Featured On New British Stamps

Album art from Pink Floyd, Blur and David Bowie also included.
By James Montgomery


Coldplay's new British stamps
Photo: Royal Mail

On Thursday (January 7), the U.K.'s Royal Mail unveiled a series of 10 new stamps, honoring the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years.

The albums featured in the new series are the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin's IV, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, The Clash's London Calling, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Blur's Parklife and — the most recent album on to make the cut — Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head.

Meant to honor "the most potent graphic images of modern times, many of which have provided a visual soundtrack to people's lives," the series is the end result of a lengthy research process by the Royal Mail, who looked through thousands of album covers by British artists before deciding on the final list. And, during a Wednesday night BBC Radio broadcast, it was revealed that the queen herself actually approved each design.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page — who helped design the cover for IV — was on hand to celebrate the release of the stamps and recalled the mysterious nature of the album's iconic imagery.

"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him," he said. "That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time."

Of course, any great honor is befitting of an equally great contest, so, on the same day the stamps were made available to the general public, Coldplay decided to give one of their Rush of Blood stamps away. In a message on their official site, the band held a contest to send one lucky fan "a letter using a Coldplay stamp, postmarked with today's issue date."

"We visited our local post office earlier today and bought some of the Coldplay stamps," the message read. "Very nice they are too."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1629227/coldplay-led-zeppelin-album-covers-featured-on-new-british-stamps.jhtml

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Lady Gaga's Stylist Captured 'Swagga' For 'Judas' Video

'Nicola Formichetti is the most brilliant man in fashion,' gushes Gaga's creative director, Laurieann Gibson.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias


Laurieann Gibson
Photo: MTV News

On Thursday, after her "Judas" video premiered, Lady Gaga laughed off any controversy she might receive from the Biblical-themed clip. "In my opinion, the only controversial thing about this video is that I'm wearing Christian Lacroix and Chanel in the same frame," she joked with E! News.

The fashions featured in the "Judas" clip are certainly far from controversial. They are over-the-top, romantic, tough and truly couture. Gaga wears fanciful dresses, biker jackets, crowns, heavy crosses, flowing capes and Victorian-cut silhouettes, as seen in the video's final scene, where she dons a big, white wedding gown.

The designs were all styled by Gaga's longtime friend and Mugler creative director, Nicola Formichetti, who seamlessly combines old-fashioned garb and modern styling for a look that is truly unique to the world in which Gaga's Mary Magdalene character, her two loves (Jesus and Judas) and her apostles live.

The style credits for the video include designers at the top of any fashionista's list. With vintage Christian Lacroix (barroom outfit, wedding dress), Mugler (purple catsuit, gloves), Alexander McQueen (boots) and, yes, even the Haus of Gaga (cape, velvet undergarments), Gaga is really paying homage to the apostles of the fashion bible with her, at times, very literal (there are lots of crosses) take on Biblical fashion.

Laurieann Gibson, who co-directed "Judas" with Gaga, explains that Formichetti perfectly captured the look the two had envisioned for the video.

"Nicola Formichetti is the most brilliant man in fashion and I must tell you I love him and adore him," Gibsonshe told MTV News. "And, my God, the clothing! The idea when we spoke [we told him], 'Nicola, it's a metal gospel.' You know, for me, Nicola is just brilliant at executing what it looks like in the clothing and the swagga to make everyone look so cool, he did a great job."

When the "Born This Way" video dropped earlier this year, Gibson expressed similar warm, fuzzy feelings for one of the most vital members of the Haus of Gaga. "We found Nicola and he just got it. So when we're on set, the Haus is such a collaboration, and Nicola is inspired and loves the passion of the dance," she said. "He is fashion, and him and Gaga together are magic. To see them push and pull, it's just a real process. It's like the Factory. It's very [Andy] Warhol how we operate."

What do you think of the fashions Nicola Formichetti created for Gaga's "Judas" video? Share your opinions in the comments.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1663428/lady-gaga-judas-nicola-ormichetti-laurieann-gibson.jhtml

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