David Costa (graphic designer)

David Costa (born 18 November 1947) is an English graphic designer, art director and musician.[1] Notable design collaborations include those for Queen, Elton John, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Beatles, Moody Blues, Genesis, Rolling Stones, Phil Collins and Nelson Mandela.

David Costa
2016 photo by Judith Costa
Background information
Birth nameDavid Costa
Born (1947-11-18) 18 November 1947
Westminster, London, England
GenresFolk rock
Occupation(s)Graphic Designer, Art Director, Musician
Years active1969–present
LabelsCBS, Rocket, Sony
Associated actsTrees, Casablanca

Early life

Costa was born in London, England, his grandfather a songwriter and pianist with the Savoy Orpheans, father, the popular 1930’s singer and post-war BBC radio celebrity Sam Costa. He attended Merchant Taylors' public school, pursuing Fine Arts at the University of East Anglia in 1966.

Career

In early 1969 he left university and brought together Barry Clarke, Bias Boshell, Unwin Brown and Celia Humphris to form the folk-rock band Trees, subsequently recording two albums: The Garden of Jane Delawney and On the Shore. In 1971 he left Trees to pursue freelance graphic design, eventually with Dick James Music in 1972, leading to a sequence of album sleeves for Elton John,[2][3][4][5] and subsequently as art director in the UK offices of Rocket Records. During this period, Costa and guitarist Barry Clarke went on to write, record and produce the band Casablanca and subsequent eponymous album[6] in 1973.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s freelance design projects included work with ex-Beatles press officer Derek Taylor to instigate the "Brighton Pier" label for Warner Bros. Records UK. From 1977 through 1979 Costa ran his studio Jubilee Graphics from the previous offices of Rocket Record Co. in Wardour Street, London. Over the ensuing decade he worked as a freelance designer/art director on the re-launched Tatler magazine with Tina Brown; redesign and art direction on the relaunched The Field; early visual proposals for Today, Eddie Shah’s publication that pioneered the use of computer systems with photo-typesetting and full-colour offset printing, and, the redesign and frequent illustration of covers for Encounter magazine.


Discography

Musician
Year Album Artist Label
1969     The Garden of Jane Delawney     Trees CBS Records, 2007 Sony Rewind, Sunbeam Records
1970 On the Shore Trees CBS Records, 2007 Sony Rewind, Sunbeam Records
1973 Casablanca Casablanca   Rocket

Graphic art, design and packaging
Year Album Artist Label
1973     Goodbye Yellow Brick Road[2] Elton John DJM
1975 A Night At the Opera Queen EMI, Elektra
1976 A Day At The Races Queen EMI, Elektra
1976 Blue Moves[3] Elton John Rocket
1977 Elton John's Greatest Hits II Elton John DJM
1977 First Thing in the Morning Kiki Dee Rocket
1978 A Single Man Elton John Rocket
1983 Secret Messages Electric Light Orchestra   Jet
1987 Cloud Nine[7] George Harrison Dark Horse
1987 Live in Australia Elton John Rocket, MCA
1988 Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 Traveling Wilburys Wilbury/Warner Bros. Records
1988 Reg Strikes Back Elton John Rocket
1989 Sleeping With The Past Elton John Rocket
1989 The Best of Dark Horse George Harrison Dark Horse
1990 Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 Traveling Wilburys Wilbury/Warner Bros. Records
1990 The Very Best Of Elton John Elton John DJM
1990 To Be Continued...[4] Elton John Rocket
1990 Serious Hits... Live! Phil Collins Virgin, Atlantic
1991 24 Nights Eric Clapton Duck Records/Reprise Records
1992 Rare Masters Elton John Polydor
1992 The One Elton John Rocket
1993 Are You Experienced? (repackage) Jimi Hendrix MCA
1993 Axis: Bold as Love (repackage) Jimi Hendrix MCA
1993 Electric Ladyland (repackage) Jimi Hendrix MCA
1993 The Ultimate Experience Jimi Hendrix MCA
1994 From The Cradle Eric Clapton Duck Records/Warner Bros. Records
1994 Time Traveller Moody Blues Polydor, PolyGram
1995 Made In England Elton John Rocket
1995 The Finer Things Steve Winwood Island
1996 Crossroads Two Eric Clapton Polydor
1996 Golden Heart Mark Knopfler Vertigo, Warner
1996 Dance Into the Light Phil Collins Atlantic
1997 Anyway the Wind Blows: The Anthology   J.J. Cale Universal
1997 Calling All Stations Genesis Virgin, Atlantic
1998 Genesis Archive 1967–75 Genesis Virgin, Atlantic
1998 Pilgrim Eric Clapton Reprise Records
1998 Hits Phil Collins Virgin, Atlantic
1999 Turn It On Again: The Hits Genesis Virgin, Atlantic
2000 Riding with The King[8] Eric Clapton Duck Records/Reprise Records
2000 Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992 Genesis Virgin, Atlantic
2000 The Very Best of Cat Stevens Cat Stevens PolyGram
2001 Vagabonds Kings Warriors Angels Thin Lizzy Vertigo
2001 Re-release of All Things Must Pass[9]    George Harrison Gnome Records
2003 Let It Be – Naked The Beatles Apple
2004 Love Songs Phil Collins Atlantic/Rhino/Virgin
2004 The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 The Beatles Apple
2005 The Concert for Bangladesh George Harrison Apple
2006 The Captain & The Kid[5] Elton John Mercury/Interscope

Books

Graphic art, design and packaging
Year Title Author/Artist Publisher
1990    Blinds & Shutters Michael Cooper Genesis[10]
1991 24 Nights Eric Clapton/Peter Blake Genesis[11]
1994 Liverpool Days Astrid Kirchherr/Max Scheler Genesis[12]
1994 Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book Brian Froud/Terry Jones Pavilion Books[13]
1995 Mason's Yard to Primrose Hill   Gered Mankowitz Genesis[14]
1995 Sometime in New York City Bob Gruen Genesis[15]
1996 Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells Brian Froud/Terry Jones Pavilion Books/Simon & Schuster[16]
1996 Stuart: The Life & Art of Stuart Sutcliffe Stuart Sutcliffe Genesis[17]
1997 Raga Mala Ravi Shankar Genesis[18]
1998 Eye-Contact Gered Mankowitz Genesis[19]
1998 Wyman Shoots Chagall Bill Wyman Genesis[20]
1998 The Rolling Stones: A Life On The Road Philip Dodd/The Rolling Stones Virgin[21]
1999 Hamburg Days Astrid Kirchherr/Klaus Voorman Genesis[22]
1999 The Vogue Book of Blondes Kathy Phillips Pavilion[23]
2000 The Beatles Anthology The Beatles Cassell/Chronicle Books[24]
2001 The Book of Rock Philip Dodd Pavilion[25]
2002 Shooting Sex: The Definitive Guide to Undressing Beautiful Strangers   Bob Carlos Clarke Bob Carlos Clarke[26]
2002 Martin Guitar Masterpieces Martin Guitars/Dick Boak Bulfinch Press[27]
2003 Punk: A Life Apart Stephen Colegrave/Chris Sullivan Cassell/Chronicle Books[28]
2005 Drawing Blood Forty Five Years of Scarfe Uncensored Gerald Scarfe Little, Brown Book Group[29]
2006 Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America    Country Music Hall of Fame DK Publishing[30]
2007 Genesis: Chapter & Verse Genesis Weidenfeld & Nicolson[31]
2009 Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World Mike Evans, Paul Kingsbury, Museum at Bethel Woods Sterling[32]
2011 No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan Robert Shelton Backbeat Books[33]
2013 Starting at Zero Alan Douglas/Peter Neal Bloomsbury[34]

Tour programs and books
Year Artist Tour
1976 Elton John Louder Than Concorde
1979 Elton John & Ray Cooper Back in the U.S.S.A.
1980 Peter Gabriel Tour of China 1984
1985 Elton John World Tour
1987 Prince Sign O' the Times Tour
1990 Phil Collins The Serious Tour
1994 Phil Collins Both Sides of the World Tour
1997 Phil Collins The Trip into the Light World Tour
1997 - 1998    The Rolling Stones    Bridges to Babylon
2002 - 2003 The Rolling Stones Forty Licks
2003 Simon & Garfunkel World Tour
2003 - 2004 Shania Twain Up! Tour
2004 - 2005 Anastacia Live at Last Tour
2004 - 2009 Elton John Red Piano, Las Vegas[35]
2005 - 2007 The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang
2005 Destiny's Child DC Weekly World Tour
2006 - 2008 Elton John The Captain and the Kid Tour
2007 Beyoncé The Beyoncé Experience
2007 Spice Girls The Return of the Spice Girls
2007 - 2008 The Police The Police Reunion Tour
2007 - 2010 Elton John Rocket Man: Greatest Hits Live
2008 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss   Raising Sand Tour
2009 Elton John & Billy Joel Face to Face 2009
2009 Elton John The Red Piano: Live in Europe
2009 Take That The Circus Live
2010 - 2011 Rihanna Last Girl on Earth Tour
2011 - 2018 Elton John Million Dollar Piano, Las Vegas
2011 Elton John Million Dollar Piano, 40th anniversary edition
2011 Elton John World Tour
2014 Elton John Showbook

References
  1. David Costa discogs.com, Accessed October 14, 2017
  2. Art Direction thanks to David Costa albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  3. Art Direction - David Costa albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  4. Art Direction and Design: David Costa and David Palmer for Wherefore Art albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  5. Art Direction and Design: David Costa for Wherefore Art? albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  6. Casablanca discogs.com, Accessed October 14, 2017
  7. Art direction: David Costa albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  8. Design by Wherefore Art? albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  9. Redesign and Art Direction: Sian Rance & David Costa for Wherefore Art? albumlinernotes.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  10. Blinds & Shutters ISBN 0904351378 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  11. 24 Nights ISBN 0904351424 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  12. Liverpool Days ISBN 0904351440 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  13. ISBN 0760711070
  14. Mason's Yard to Primrose Hill ISBN 0904351483 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  15. Sometime in New York City ISBN 0904351459 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  16. ISBN 0684832062
  17. Stuart: The Life & Art of Stuart Sutcliffe ISBN 0904351521 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 9, 2017
  18. Raga Mala ISBN 0904351467 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  19. Eye-Contact ISBN 0904351610 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 15, 2017
  20. Wyman Shoots Chagall ISBN 0904351629 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  21. The Rolling Stones: A Life On The Road ISBN 1852275324 isbnsearch.org, Accessed October 8, 2017
  22. Hamburg Days ISBN 0904351734 genesis-publications.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  23. ISBN 1862052611
  24. The Beatles Anthology ISBN 978-0811826846 chroniclebooks.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  25. ISBN 1862052921
  26. ISBN 0954346203
  27. Martin Guitar Masterpieces ISBN 0821228358 martinguitar.com, Accessed October 7, 2017
  28. ISBN 0304359874
  29. ISBN 0316729523
  30. 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' ISBN 0756623529 isbnsearch.org, Accessed October 9, 2017
  31. ISBN 0297844342
  32. ISBN 9781402766237
  33. ISBN 9781617130120
  34. Starting at Zero ISBN 9781408842140 bloomsbury.com, Accessed October 6, 2017
  35. The Red Piano ASIN: B002GXUBRQ, 66 p., 2004
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