Eg & Alice – 24 Years Of Hunger

WEA, 1991
Design by Michael-Nash Associates
Photography by Andrew MacPherson

Why do I love this album sleeve so much? I have to admit that I am prejudiced slightly by the fact that it is my of all my all-time favourite records. But, there is more to it than that…

The album came out in 1991. Eg White and Alice Temple recorded it in Eg’s flat but despite that (or maybe because of that) the music is flawless, beautiful pop; lyrically stunning. For this reason, the sleeve didn’t need to be anything over the top. For publicity shy Temple and White, it was the music that had to do all the hard work here.

Shot by London-born photographer Andrew MacPherson, the same two photos not only graced the back and front of 24 Years Of Hunger but the two singles (Indian and Doesn’t Mean That Much To Me) that it spawned. The photography stayed the same, it was the design treatment for each that changed. Every so slightly.

Whether these two shots were the only two that Temple and White liked from a whole shoot, or whether their repeated use was planned, only those involved know. But it’s a successful work of genius anyway.

Where others may have overdone the artwork, my opinion is that such a  great, beautifully crafted album, didn’t need anything more than the simple black and white photography and a couple of strips of Dymo tape to make it successful. Twenty years on, although the album never did become the hit it so deserved to be, neither the sleeve or the artwork has dated one bit.

Since the release of 24 Years of Hunger, Alice Temple has returned to music occasionally while Eg White has found incredible success writing hit songs for Will Young, Natalie Imbruglia, James Morrison, Duffy and more. Photographer now works out of LA where he continues to shoot musicians and other celebrities.