Michael Cooper

Who was Michael Cooper?

Michael Cooper was a British photographer who is remembered for his photographs of leading rock musicians of the 1960s and early 1970s, most notably the many photos he took of The Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s.

His best known work is the cover photography for the 1967 LP Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. The "Welcome the Rolling Stones, Good Guys" sweatshirt worn by the "little girl" figure on the far right of the photo was provided by Cooper's young son Adam, the product of his marriage to Rose, his muse and model. Cooper also took the 3-D cover photograph for the Rolling Stones 1967 LP Their Satanic Majesties Request.

In 1964 Cooper met London art dealer Robert Fraser, through whom he was introduced to leading figures in music, art and literature, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Eric Clapton, artists Cecil Beaton, Andy Warhol, Peter Blake and David Hockney and writers William S. Burroughs, Jean Genet, Terry Southern and Allen Ginsberg.

Cooper was one of those present at Keith Richards' house, "Redlands", in Sussex, when a party being held there was raided by police in the late afternoon of 12 February 1967, leading to drugs charges being laid against Richards, Mick Jagger and Robert Fraser.