A Momentary Lapse of Reason - Packaging

Packaging

Careful consideration was given to the album's title. The initial three contenders were Signs of Life, Of Promises Broken, and Delusions of Maturity. For the first time since 1977's Animals, designer Storm Thorgerson was employed to work on a Pink Floyd studio album cover. His finished design was a long river of hospital beds arranged on a beach, inspired by a phrase from "Yet Another Movie" and Gilmour's vague hint of a design that included a bed in a Mediterranean house, as well as "vestiges of relationships that have evaporated, leaving only echoes." The cover shows 800 hospital beds, placed on Saunton Sands in Devon (where some of the scenes for Pink Floyd The Wall were filmed). The beds were arranged by Thorgerson's partner, Colin Elgie. A hang glider can be seen in the sky, a clear reference to "Learning to Fly". The photographer, Robert Dowling, won a gold award at the Association of Photographers Awards for the image, which took about two weeks to create. To drive home the message that Waters had left the band, a group photograph, shot by David Bailey, was—for the first time since 1971's Meddle—included in the gatefold. Richard Wright's name appears only on the credit list.