How a Fan’s Zoom on the 'Atom Heart Mother' Cow Ear Tag Identified the Actual Cow in Somerset

For decades, the cow on the cover of Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother was just a faceless bovine in a field. In 2014, a fan on a Pink Floyd forum decided to zoom in on the ear tag number visible in the high-resolution image. The tag read “LULU 3.” That one detail led to the cow’s home farm in Somerset, run by farmer Derek Avery.

Avery confirmed the cow was named Lulubelle III, a pedigree Jersey. He remembered the photo shoot: the album’s designer, Storm Thorgerson, had simply asked for a cow in a field. Avery brought Lulubelle out, she stood still long enough for the shot, and that was it. The