Why is there a man in pink pyjamas on the cover of Paranoid?
A man in a pink outfit and a helmet, a sword in one hand, a shield in the other, jumping out of the dark. If you have ever wondered what he has to do with the word Paranoid, the honest answer is: nothing at all.
Look at him for a moment. A pink outfit, a motorcycle helmet, a sword in one hand, a round shield in the other, caught mid-leap in the dark. He is blurred, he is glowing, and he does not look paranoid at all. He looks like he is about to start a fight. On this poster you even get him twice.
That is because he was never meant to be paranoid. He was meant to be a war pig.
An album called War Pigs
In 1970 Black Sabbath were working on their second record, and its working title came from the long anti-war song that opens it: War Pigs. The sleeve was designed to match. A warrior with a sword and shield, half soldier, half nightmare.
Then the record company changed the plan. The story goes that the band knocked out one more short song in the studio to fill the album, a fast three-minute track called Paranoid. Released as a single, it went to number four in the UK charts. With the war in Vietnam still going on, a hit single on one side and a title like War Pigs on the other, the label went for the safe choice and named the whole album Paranoid. It came out on 18 September 1970.
The title was changed. The picture was not. And so a war pig in pink has been standing on one of the most famous metal albums ever made, under a word that has nothing to do with him.
Who made the picture
The cover was shot by Keith Macmillan, known as Keef, a photographer and designer who worked with the band from the start. He also made the cover of their debut, with the ghostly woman standing in front of an old watermill. For Paranoid he worked at night, with long exposures and coloured light, which is why the figure looks smeared across the frame, as if he moved faster than the camera.
The warrior was not a model or a member of the band. Reportedly it was someone from Keef's own team, dressed up for the night. Whoever it was, he never became famous. His costume did.
The band were not fans
Black Sabbath themselves were never happy with the sleeve. Ozzy Osbourne later put it simply: the title has nothing to do with the cover, so why did nobody change the cover? Fifty years later nobody has, and that is part of the charm. Every fan who has stared at it has asked the same question, and now you know the answer.
About the poster
This is the Paranoid sleeve printed as a large 75 × 55 cm (30 × 22 in) landscape poster, from 2023. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Ghost on the back.
Browse all original Black Sabbath posters.
Quick answers
Why is the Paranoid cover a man with a sword?
The album was going to be called War Pigs and the cover was made for that title: a warrior with a sword and shield. The record company renamed the album Paranoid after the hit single, but kept the picture.
Who took the Paranoid cover photo?
Keith Macmillan, known as Keef, who also shot the cover of Black Sabbath's debut album.
When was Paranoid released?
On 18 September 1970.
How big is the poster?
75 × 55 cm (about 30 × 22 inches), landscape. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
A Ghost poster. The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which side goes on the wall.