Everyone has got very used to Mumford & Sons being enormous by now. But it only truly dawned on me the other day when I overheard a woman on a non-music related radio show, saying that the three biggest selling artists in the USA this year are Adele, Lady Gaga and Mumford & Sons…
I shot their album cover in 2009. Its strange thinking that over two million people have bought a package, physically or digitally, that is fronted by my photograph. Obviously it feels great - but with album artwork having a fraction of the impact it once had - it certainly doesn’t feel as great as it should.
Anyway - I thought I’d post an offshoot. I had wanted to shoot some form of this idea for a while, originally as a press shot, so when the guys asked me to shoot it as a cover, I was pretty excited. It was a boiling hot day, they were late (as usual…) and we had to deal with traffic, window reflections, strange choices of outfit (mainly Winston and Ben) and the pub next door full of happy drunk people watching the Wimbledon final.
It was a really tough day but despite my cynical opinions on the state of artwork and the roles of creatives in the music industry - I am really pleased these guys have done so well and thankful that my photograph has been along for the ride with them.
