Jann Haworth sets the record straight over her role in Sgt Pepper album

Rarely has someone been so written out of pop history than Jann Haworth, the co-creator of one of the most famous album covers in history, writes David Lister

The American artist created the 1967 album cover with her then husband Peter Blake (PA/Rex)

Who was responsible for the most famous album cover in pop history, that of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band? Most people think they know the answer – Peter Blake. The most devoted Beatles fans are sure they know the answer – Peter Blake. Virtually every Beatles biography, including the current and excellent one by Craig Brown, gives the answer – Peter Blake. But they are all wrong.

Pop artist Peter Blake was the co-creator of the 1967 album cover, with its colourful depictions of key characters from pop culture and from history. His fellow co-creator was his then wife and fellow artist, Jann Haworth. Rarely, I would venture, has someone been so thoroughly written out of history, or at least pop history.

When I first met Jann more than 20 years ago, I was astonished by this omission and championed her involvement in the pages of The Independent. But as the regular flow of books and articles naming Peter Blake and only Peter Blake show, her contribution to a pop-culture icon remains largely unacknowledged.