TERRY QUIRK
A freelance illustrator, writer, and sometimes poet. Born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, Terry Quirk has now been a member of the Ilford community in the UK for the past 40 years where he has become known locally for his work with schools and charities. He is widely known for creating the album artwork for The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle and Still Got That Hunger.
Terry Quirk, who attended grammar school with Chris and Colin, went to art school with Chris, and shared a flat in North London with Chris and Rod when the band was recording the LP in 1967. When it came time to come up with a cover for 2015’s Still Got That Hunger album, Terry was called into service once again. He is a deeply rooted member of The Zombies family.
The artwork is today instantly recognisable due to the spelling error which sees Odyssey spelt with a misplaced “e”. In fact, the sleeve is so far embedded into rock history that it can be seen in The British Music Experience exhibition at The O2 Arena.
“I ended up spelling odyssey wrong, so that’s my claim to fame. There’s lots of theories online about why it’s spelt wrong, but there’s no conspiracy.”
Of his iconic 1960s cover, Terry recalls being in the studio with the band when the idea began to take shape. “I can remember sitting on some stairs,” he explains, “and it was around half past one in the morning, and they were thinking of titles. I had a pad and a pencil, and they were having a discussion, and out came the word ‘odyssey,’ and I just wrote it in this floral writing. And then out of it came ‘oracle,’ and I wrote that down. When the guys came back from a break, I showed it to them and said, ‘How about this?’ And they said, ‘Perfect, absolutely perfect – color it in, put some figures in. You know what the songs are about.’ And that was it.”
GALLERY
