Bob Egan's PopSpots: Tracking Down Iconic Album Cover Locations

Photographer Bob Egan has spent years tracking down the exact locations where iconic pop-rock album covers were photographed. His project, PopSpots, combines vintage cover images with contemporary shots of the same sites, creating a visual archive of music history. Egan's detective work has uncovered spots in New York, London, and beyond, including the Abbey Road crosswalk where The Beatles posed in 1969, the Berwick Street location for Oasis's "What's the Story, Morning Glory?", the subway platform for Simon & Garfunkel's "Wednesday Morning", and the field in Ely, England, used for Pink Floyd's "The Division Bell". The project also documents the alley behind CBGB where Ramones shot "Rocket to Russia" (1977) and the staircase at The Clash's Camden recording studio for their 1977 debut album. PopSpots exists as both a photographic series and a website with detailed records, period images, videos, texts, and even Google Maps coordinates. Egan's work transforms album covers into geographical markers, bridging past and present through the enduring power of these visual icons.