A mate of mine (who is a HUGE Jethro Tull fan, just to put this in context-although he didnt recognise Gerry, which loses him points), posted the following elsewhere, his tongue is firmly in his cheek, hope you enjoy as much as I did...
Imagined conversation at Fairport Towers in Cropredy, late 2006:
Simon Nicol: 'Well, lads, the new album's nearly finished, time to think about the cover. Will it be the usual leaves-surounding-acoustic-guitar-and-a-fiddle' type of thing? Should we have a horse or even
some horses, or dogs, maybe, in a field perhaps?
Ric Saunders: 'That's all so
boring. I'm fed up of meeting fans who don't even know we have a new album out. How can we get people talking about the album, ideally in the 35+ male hoary old rock fan sector of the audience which has always been our target?'.
Simon Nicol: 'Well, we can't afford a freelance marketing team, since we spent all that money on period instruments for that song about badgers (hard stare at Chris Leslie). Dave, you were in Jethro Tull, how does rock genius Ian Anderson apply his mighty brain to tackling this sort of problem?'
Dave Pegg: Well, lads, you may not like it, but Ian always makes sure he has specially designed for the band the
worst album covers you could possibly imagine, and he makes certain the band is photographed looking like utter twannets who've just kecked our trousers. That got the fans talking in a 'how are the mighty fallen' mode, and you picked up a good few sympathy buyers as well who assume we can't possibly be as bad as we look. I happen to have brought along a few examples, anticipating that this thorny issue might come up...''.
(excited murmuring from around the table)
Whoever-the-Fairport-drummer-is-these-days: 'Like it, like it! I certainly always used to look at these Tull efforts and then praise God I wasn't in that band (assuming I wasn't, which is ******g unlikely come to think about it)... But it got me wondering about it, it got the album noticed! I mean, I don't think anyone
at this table even remembers what our last album was called, and that can't be right (looks round table at averted eyes and embarrassed coughing). I think it's a winner! But can we come up with something so utterly, utterly naff that it will do the trick?'
Simon Nicol: 'Yes we can! We'll give it the old Fairport spirit! We SHALL come up with an album cover so putrid that come the February 2007 release date, a large percentage of our 35-60+ target audience of sad blokes with beer bellies WILL know it, WILL be talking about it, they WILL be able to recognise it anywhere as the Naff New Fairport Album! And we'll have photos taken that by comparison will make Jethro Tull look like the
******g some-new-band-who-look-young-and-trendy-and-preferably-female!'
Dave Pegg: 'Oh God, what have I done...?'
Rest-of-band: 'You really
have kecked your pants this time Dave! Har harr har har har!'
and Fairport were better than their word, and the new album, A Sense of Occasion, did NOT die, for in the words of marketing and musical genius Ian Anderson:
They were toooooo oh oh old
To rock and ro ro roll
But they were too young to die.please note: Fairport have never recorded a song about badgers on period instruments as far as I am aware - I made it up for comedic effect. 
