Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ Building To Become Concert Venue

Pink Floyd's album cover for 1977's Animals has been an unforgettable image for many music fans for nearly 50 years. Now, the building pictured on the album art is set to become a concert venue.

Apple announced today (Sept. 22) that they have opened a new state-of-the-art live music venue inside London's legendary Battersea Power Station -- which is already home to the company's European headquarters. Apple Music Hall will offer fans a chance to see special intimate concert performances at the 600-capacity event space.

“Apple’s deep love for music dates all the way back to the very beginning, from the launch of the iPod to the long-running iTunes Music Festival to the debut of Apple Music,” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and International Content shared in a press release. “Today, with the opening of Apple Music Hall, we are once again taking an unprecedented step further in our commitment to artists and fans by supporting live music in ways only Apple can do.”

Apple Music Hall Event Space — Courtesy of DKC / Apple Music Hall

How Pink Floyd Captured the Iconic 'Animals' Album Cover

For close to a decade, the British rock legends had been working with Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis to design their album art concepts. "We knew that the music and lyrics were fueled and characterized by anger," Thorgerson explained in the 2008 Hipgnosis book For the Love of Vinyl.

He had an interesting initial concept, which featured a child opening the door to his parents' bedroom, where he found them making love. The "animals" the designer was thinking of, involved human behavior, so that spurred the visual he had in mind.

"Does he see it as a loving, though passionate, act or as a violent act? Does it excite, confuse or traumatize him? Are they suddenly animals in his eyes and no longer his loving parents?"

Bassist and songwriter Roger Waters had a different thought and suggested that they could use a photograph of Battersea Power Station -- which was near where he lived -- with a pig floating between its chimneys.

The artist wasn't impressed, at the time.

"I thought Roger’s idea of the pig was a tad silly, not to mention low on mystery and meaning,” he said. "We asked if we might submit alternatives which they could take or leave, for they could always return to the pig if necessary. ‘Okay,’ they said. ‘Try your luck.'”

In the end, Waters and the pig (now nicknamed "Algie") would get their way -- but it took Hipgnosis three tries across three separate days to capture the final image of Battersea Power Station. There were tense moments, including the 40-foot helium-filled pig getting loose, causing all area flights at the nearby airport to be grounded.

Once Thorgerson finally got the shot of the building that he wanted, there was another problem -- it was too sunny. So he returned to a more appropriately dark shot from the first day and superimposed the pig on the photograph. Pink Floyd finally had their Animals album cover and Algie would become a familiar presence at the band's concerts for years after that.

Will There Be a Pig at the New Concert Venue?

Good question! We don't know that, but it would be appropriate for Algie -- a smaller version, we're guessing -- to have representation somewhere in the new space.

But fans can expect a cool live experience when they go to see a show at Apple Music Hall and even better, the space is equipped so that the performances can easily be filmed by 16 cameras or more as a multi-track audio recording rolls in the background.

The 38-foot wide stage can accommodate arena levels of production and bands/artists can either perform in a traditional setting or in the round. The 48-speaker sound system presents a spatial audio experience for all who are in the room. And if you can't be in the room, the good news is that Apple plans to livestream performances from the venue.

Honoring the history at Battersea, the new venue incorporates heritage brickwork, fluted arches, and bronze balconies reminiscent of the historic oriel windows. A giant glass wall further enhances the visual connection with the historic building, offering a panoramic view of the concourse and the river beyond.

The official opening of Apple Music Hall is set for Sept. 28 and fans can sign up at the venue website to find out what the initial concerts will be.