Put the Needle on the Record [Hardcover]

"1980s single cover art was cheeky, sexy, punchy, and glam. Matthew Chojnacki vividly chronicles the best of the bunch, illuminating the way music looked via comments from rock stars and art directors with a strong eye for the visual." --Michael Musto, The Village Voice

"Brilliant. Insightful. Revealing." --Nina Blackwood, MTV

"The 1980s. The spin point of a time where the collision of art, culture, class, nation, and government was fueled by the steroids of technology. Put the Needle on the Record is a great read on an era that many consider the new '60s." --Chuck D, Public Enemy

"Put the Needle on the Record proves that the '80s wasn't the decade that taste forgot - but rather the era where single artwork came of age and caught up with its LP predecessor... before CDs changed the landscape for good." --Jason Draper, Record Collector Magazine

"As a dyed in the wool, long-term record collector, I loved this survey of picture sleeves from the 1980s. This decade was really the end of the vinyl singles period as we know it, and these images were ephemeral icons that would be lost in the mist of time without this kind of labor of love." --Terry Stewart, President & CEO, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In the 1980s, music defined the moment: "Video Killed the Radio Star" ushered in MTV, "Don't You (Forget about Me)" ruled The Breakfast Club, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" became the anthem of a generation. The 1980s were also the most visually provocative era of the last millennium. Every new vinyl single hit the stands wrapped in eye-catching sleeves that reflected the latest trends.

Put the Needle on the Record is pop culture historian Matthew Chojnacki's definitive guide to 7- and 12-inch vinyl single artwork from the '80s. He presents and compares more than 250 vinyl single covers, representing nearly every prominent musician of the decade. Read the previously untold stories behind the 1980s' most iconic images from the designers and visual talent behind Madonna, Prince, Adam Ant, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Kate Bush, and more.

Coupled with exclusive commentary from more than 100 of the '80s biggest musicians, including Annie Lennox, Duran Duran, Run-DMC, Gary Numan, The B-52's, Erasure, OMD, Scorpions, The Knack, and Yoko Ono, this is an authoritative journey back to the songs and images that continue to influence our culture.

Contains a foreword by Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and an afterword by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran.

Matthew Chojnacki is a freelance writer and music/pop culture historian living in Cleveland, Ohio. All sleeves in Put the Needle on the Record are from Chojnacki's extensive vinyl collection, and quotations were pulled from an archive of several hundred hours of personal interviews with '80s musicians, cover artists, and record executives. His first 12-inch was "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang.