Why should I just write about the how and why of Billy Squier’s Warhol portraits on the cover of his 1982 hit album Emotions In Motion, when we can hear it from the rocker himself. This is Billy Squier in an interview on “Rolling Stone Magazine Rock Revue”, aired in the week of May 17, 1982:
Billy Squier, Emotions In Motion, Capitol/EMI, 1982, front cover portrait. Released July 23, 1982.
Billy Squier, Emotions In Motion, back cover portrait.
Capitol records Emotions in Motion press folder and photographs.
Various 7 inch covers for the hit singles Emotions In Motion and Everybody Wants You.
Japanese 12 inch promo only DJ single of Emotions In Motion. DISCO BOMB!! Other side of the record is Voyeur by Kim Carnes.
In the late 80’ies photographer Timothy Hursley has made a truly brilliant series about Warhol’s last Factory address, on 34th and Madison. Most of the pictures are of the interiors, but some also feature Warhol, Fred Hughes, Vincent Fremont, Keith Haring, Bianca Jagger and others at the Factory. The series can be found on Hursley’s website.
Reason I mention this here, is a picture in which you can see Warhol had framed copies of Diana Ross’s Silk Electric and Billy Squier’s Emotions In Motion, two albums for which he created cover portraits. Judging from the colors, a golden record for Diana Ross, and platinum for Billy Squier.
Inside the Factory, with framed gold (Diana Ross) and platinum (Billy Squier) records, guarded by Warhol’s taxidermied Great Dane ‘Cecil’. PHOTO TIMOTHY HURSLEY
A bit off topic, but too funny not to mention: Warhol bought the stuffed Great Dane from an antiques dealer, who claimed that the dog once had belonged to the legendary movie director Cecil B. DeMille. Although there seems to be no confirmation of this story, Andy for one chose to believe it, and named the beast Cecil. The impressive dog can still be admired at The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. In fact this particular Great Dane during its short lifetime was a famous price winning dog named Ador Tipp Topp, born in Germany in 1921, and died in 1930. You can read the full story here.
Andy Earhole 
Another inspired article, Guy! Thank you.
About Cecil the great dane—as you know, Andy had met a great dane once before when in 1964 Dorothy Podber came to The Factory with her great dane and asked Andybif she could shoot some pictures. Andy assumed she meant take photos, but Dorothy pulled out a gun and shot through four Marilyns propped up against a wall. Andy was shocked but not so fazed as not to see a commercial angle. He sold them as ’Shot Marilyns’!
Perhaps he bought Cecil as a remberance?
Cheers, Richard
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Haha Richard, that’s a great story! It seems Warhol bought the stuffed dog in the late 60’ies, for $300, so yeah, probably with that incident still in mind. In 1976 he did painted portraits of Cecil. He loved dogs.
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Another great job, and thank you for letting me discover the Japanese 12 “promo.
I note that there is, but you certainly already know, even the South African version of “Emotions In Motion” 7″ with another slight variation of the cover.
Ciao, Maurizio.
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Hello Maurizio, thanks for your note. Glad you like my blog. And no, I did not know about the South African version. Do you have a picture? If so, please send a scan to my email address gumi99@telenet.be
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Hi Guy, yes, I really like your blog, it is always interesting and you provide particular information and anecdotes, congratulations! I’ve sent you the pictures of South African “Everybody Wants You” ( and not “Emotions in Motion”, sorry for the mistake, I hope you may be interested in this too ).
Ciao, Maurizio.
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