Eddie Van Halen, Neil Peart, And More Are Featured In ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Montage

British artist Chris Barker unveils the latest version of his annual Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover art tribute, which includes the faces of public figures who passed away this year.

The new 2020 montage has Eddie Van Halen, Neil Peart, Little Richard, Peter Green, Spencer Davis, among others. Also included are Sean Connery, David Prowse, Max von Sydow, Kirk Douglas, and Ian Holm.

He also featured the end of Donald Trump’s presidency and the global death toll caused by COVID-19. 108 deaths are commemorated, with almost all of the faces wearing PPE masks.

“Early spring I thought the devastating wildfires in Australia would be the defining moment of the year but, goodness me, 2020 just kept piling it on. So I had a couple of options of how to show this year was a year like no other. My immediate thought was social distancing – to have the characters all really spread out. But that would have proved really impractical,” he shared to Billboard.

Using the Beatles’ 1967 album as his inspiration, Barker started the trend in 2016 which he described as an “emotional journey”. This year, he was most affected by the loss of Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider, actress Diana Rigg, and Monty Python team member Terry Jones.

He reflected on it, saying: “Every line a reminder of a life taken, a family ripped apart. However detached I may get from the subject matter while I’m in the thick of the Photoshop [work], when I put the list together for the key at the end and look at it, it is a quite sobering moment. … I know a lot of people who have lost family members this year, and I always try to remember that all the people I am including have left people behind, too. I have to try to be respectful to everyone and to pay tribute to them and the way they lived their lives.”