The Roll of Toilet Paper: Rolling Stones’ Rejected Beggars Banquet Cover

The original cover for Beggars Banquet was a photograph of a scrawled-on, filthy public toilet—complete with graffiti that read “God is alive and well in Argentina.” The sleeve was meant to be a satirical nod to the album’s socially conscious, bluesy turn, but it looked more like a prank than political art. Decca Records, the band’s UK label, flat-out refused to release it, fearing it would offend retailers and the public.

The band swapped it for a plain, elegant white sleeve printed to resemble a formal invitation. The front just said “Beggars Banquet” in a classic serif font, while the back listed the tracks. The Stones fought back by issuing the toilet cover as a poster inside early pressings—a middle finger in a tuxedo. The whole dispute delayed the album’s release from summer 1968 to December, but it only made the record more legendary.