Every now and then something will catch the eye and make you do a James Finlayson-style double-take, and today something did indeed catch my eye in such a manner…
The long-running American music band Eagles (sometimes mistakenly called “The Eagles”) are well-known for such hits as “Hotel California”, “New Kid in Town”, “Take it Easy” and “Desperado”. All of those songs, and more, are featured on their 1980 live album Eagles Live…
Fans of British comics might well have noticed that the typeface for the album’s name is remarkably similar to that used by the famous Eagle comic, which, as noted on this blog, recently celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary…
When I made this logo I was unable to find the actual typeface to construct the “75 Years” part so I made it up: we already had the E and the A and I used them as the basis for the other characters.
The Eagles Live logo is even more clear on the 1989 CD re-release of the album, which zooms in on the image:
Let’s get even closer…
A coincidence, maybe? Well, I doubt it. I haven’t been able to find design credits for the original album, but the liner notes on the above CD re-release give us this:
Design & Art Direction by Kosh
“Kosh” is John Kosh, the highly-accomplished designer of album covers, logos, posters and much more, rightly lauded for such classic album designs as The Beatles’ Abbey Road and Spın̈al Tap’s Break Like the Wind… and countless others. Seriously: check out his astonishing gallery.
It’s unknown exactly when John Kosh was born (neither his website nor his Wikipedia entry gives his year of birth) but we do know that he was born in London, and if he worked on Abbey Road he must have been an adult in 1969 when it was released, so I reckon it’s a safe bet that he encountered Eagle comic somewhere on his travels.
So, yeah, I’m gonna say that it’s not a coincidence. Perhaps it’s a nod to Mr Kosh’s favourite childhood comic? Certainly, that’s the sort of thing I would have done if I thought I’d be able to get away with it.
Note: It’s possible that this has been noted before: If so, forgive me: I searched (a bit) and came up empty-handed, so I promise I’ve not ripped off someone else’s idea!
