The Story Behind George Michael’s 1990 “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1” Album Cover

Simon Halfon is a graphic designer and film producer most noted for his work with the Jam, the Style Council, and Paul Weller. He has also worked with Oasis, Nick Heyward and George Michael, among others. His work on the Style Council’s house music efforts was noticed by Michael, who had Halfon apply a similar approach to his Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 album in 1990.

“Working with George on Listen Without Prejudice – was a big moment for me,” Halfon said in an interview. “He was truly one of the good guys and a great friend. It’s still probably my personal favorite sleeve. Great record from a great artist.”

The album cover for Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 does not feature George Michael himself. Instead, it features a 1940 photograph of a crowded Coney Island beach by Arthur “Weegee” Fellig. The decision to omit his image was a deliberate one, reflecting his desire for the music to stand on its own and not be solely associated with his celebrity.

Here is Halfon’s description of how the album cover came about:

“George had in mind that, with this record, he wanted to be judged solely on the music, with no image of himself on the cover. His initial thought was a completely plain sleeve – his preferences were blue or white, with silver lettering. I’d been down that particular road with The Style Council, and the orange cover for The Cost of Loving, so I needed no further encouragement. Management on the other hand were not quite so convinced… explaining, in no uncertain terms, that no one would even stock this record with this cover. He could be quite convincing so it was, quite literally, back to the drawing board.

“I’d bought George a coffee table book for his birthday in June. It was an anthology of 20th Century photography, and we started flicking through it for some kind of inspiration, now that the blue cover had been nixed. Immediately, Weegee’s 1940 image of (what was estimated to be) over a million sunbathers jumped off the page. We both looked at each other and said, ‘That’s the cover.’ No typography on the front, just letting the image speak for itself. We were both fans of Peter Saville’s work and I think there was a little bit of that influence on this sleeve. Rolling Stone magazine in 1991 listed this as one of the LP covers of the year, which was pretty cool. Such a great LP; in my opinion it’s the definitive George Michael album.”