A fascinating website with the source photos for the people on the cover of Sgt. Pepper

Here's a guy who, for the last several years, has been trying to track down the source photos of the people who appeared on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles' eighth studio album.

The collage was designed by Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth, and the cut-outs were assembled in Michael Cooper's London photographic studio. Michael and his team toiled hard to construct the 'cast of extras', using a mix of photos sourced from the BBC Hulton Picture Library, images from private collections, waxworks and personal artifacts, including a gnome owned by Ringo Starr.

My first search was for Olympic swimmer and Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller (the picture behind Ringo and Paul). When I eventually located the source image, with the unexpected chimp and horn, it was so bizarre and out of context it piqued my interest.

I've now set myself the challenge of hunting down all of the original pictures on the sleeve. Any other oddities I discover on the way will also be added here.

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Mae West: Hollywood actress. Mae initially refused to appear on the cover, stating that she would never be in any Lonely Hearts Club. After some gentle persuasion she eventually agreed. Mae's final movie, Sextette (1978), features Ringo playing a film director called Laslo Karolny – and includes the Beatles' song "Honey Pie." McCartney later dedicated a verse to her in his song "Move Over Busker."
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Stuart Sutcliffe: Artist, original Beatles bass player and John Lennon's best friend at art college. Stuart died in 1962 aged 21. Paul McCartney: "It was John and Stuart who thought of the name. They were art students and while George's and my parents would make us go to bed, Stuart and John could live the little dream that we all dream: to stay up all night. And it was then they thought up the name. One April evening in 1960, walking along Gambier Terrace by Liverpool Cathedral, John and Stuart announced: 'Hey, we want to call the band The Beatles."

[Thanks, Seth!]