So convincing was Bowie as his androgynous extraterrestrial alter-ego Ziggy Stardust that the F.B.I. caught him in a sticky net and began to probe, to poke, to tickle him - to see what he was made of. It turned out that he was simply David Robert Jones of Brixton and so released back into the wild. So this super iconic album artwork, photographed in London’s Heddon street – which has now become something of a Bowie shrine - might have helped him enhance the illusion of his Starman persona but its success also came back to bite him in the bum – a standard test, they claimed. You win some, you lose some. (Not much of this is true.)

On one level this cover works simply because it’s got a big naughty word on it and is so lurid it would stand out amongst a mountain of liquorice allsorts. More than that however, the mix of random typography, intended to be reminiscent of a ransom note, along with the swearing and blinding palette provided a reflection of the spontaneity and rebelliousness of both the band and the movement itself.

How many albums can you peel? With The Velvet Underground disguising their dark, surreal themes and lyrics beneath a swathe of lush, exotic instrumentation, Andy Warhol, 60s art icon and the band’s manager, producer and figurehead, did a little disguising himself. A typically bold pop-art statement, the banana skin peeled back to reveal a suggestive pink flesh.

London’s never this vitriolic when we heed the call in the early hours of the morning for a trudge through sub-surface tunnels populated by the cranky and bitter. The cover of London Calling harks back to a bygone age – when the disenfranchised youth of the capital took rock and roll by the neck and shook it into an uncompromising and visceral form. Appropriating the type face from Elvis' debut placed the band as inheritors of youthful rebellion whilst simultaneously poking fun at the idea that early rock 'n' roll had any teeth at all.

'Michael Bolton' by Michael Bolton is, (in the words of Michael Bolton) 'Paradise', and in my opinion the best cover album of all time. Mostly because it's misleading.

After an initial glance, you think it's Cher after a bath... but you know it's not. You begin to think the jacket is cool... but you know it's not. And you think it's something your girlfriend would like to hear during your lovemaking...

1998 was a year when people didn't care how they looked and if in doubt, they looked like Michael Bolton.

The firm cheek bone structure, the hairy chest and a fringe like a spider's undercarriage.

The cover defines the themes of sex, grit and lava lamps.

The album features songs such as 'Fools Game', 'She Did The Same Thing' and 'Fighting For My Life', and with hair like that I'm not surprised.

But in all seriousness Michael was and still is a musical icon. A legend who doesn't care. Which is what music's all about. No matter what anyone thinks, you have to enjoy yourself. He stands here coolly, knowing that no matter what we think, what we say, or what any 26 yr old geek from Chiswick is gonna say about him, he's where he wants to be.

He will remain an icon forever this man, and this cover shows how iconic a musician can be...

Bolton Michael, Bolton!