1992 05 09 NME 40th Issue - best front pages

SOMETIMES WE GET IT RIGHT

"Never judge a book by its cover" goes the old adage. This is all very well if you're into those book-type things. If, however, top-selling weekly music papers are more your cup of tea, then this well-worn proverb goes right out of the window. To whit: ALWAYS judge the NME by its cover!

Page One, as it’s known, of this most influential organ, is like no other page. It is the one that speaks volumes, the one that counts, the sleeve upon which NME wears its heart. It’s the part that catches your eye on WH Smith’s ankle-height shelf, it is the visual reference point, the crux. Not only does it influence whether or not you fork out the requisite 65p, it can make or break a band.

Since 1972, it would be true to say that the NME cover cannot be bought. Prior to this date, the cover took the rather uninspired form of an A3 advertisement paid for by one of the big record companies. Cynics would suggest that an under-the-counter version of this system still applies—but they would be wrong.

The decision over who goes on the cover is one that causes all the wailing and gnashing of teeth and stamping of feet every week. Editors threaten to resign, partisan journalists are foolhardy enough to stake their reputation on an act charting the following week, anxious record company operatives jam the switchboard — and all over one editorial decision about which photograph to use.

There are only 51 of these decisions in a year, admittedly, and the kudos connected with ‘getting the NME cover' is a priceless commodity. Sometimes it’s a story that lends itself to cover status— from The Four Skins/race riot report in ’81 to the death of Will Synott last year—but more often than not, NME's prime site acts as a simple celebration of an act's greatness. That week.

As a handy visual rundown of rock’n’roll heritage, as a gallery of photographic brilliance, or, as an ordnance survey map of the NME’s changing landscape over 40 years, the covers provide a rich and colourful parade of faces, fads, guitars, deserts, baseball caps, and people’s backs.

Here then, is our own selection of some of the greatest NME covers of the past four decades. And if that’s too back-slappy for you, over the page is a spread of the worst. Enjoy.