Prefab Sprout: Steve McQueen

Shot on a wintry afternoon in 1984, with a vague, antique motorbike- equals-Steve-McQueen-theme, the cover of Prefab Sprout’s breakthrough second album was always rumoured to be have been shot in Paddy McAloon’s mum’s back garden. In fact, the band are freezing to death in a field in Lanchester, County Durham.

“Why did we say it was shot in my Mum’s garden? I’ve no idea,” says bass player and Paddy’s brother, Martin. “I think it just sounded good at the time. All I remember is it was bloody cold. It started to snow at one point and we just thought we wanted to look hard so we stood there in bloody T-shirts.”

The bike itself was hired from a shop in Newcastle and became the band’s toy.

“I rode up and down on it,” says McAloon, “That was all I dared do because I wasn’t insured. It was lovely. But I also remember it toppled over on us. No one was hurt and there were no scratches on the bike either. We just leaned on it the wrong way. We needed stabilisers.”

Location: Acorn Nurseries, Ford Bank, Lanchester, County Durham.