Sir Paul Smith and Sir Anish Kapoor amongst the many artists to take part in this year's Secret 7"

Over the course of its six-year history, Secret 7" has captured the imagination of music fans, art connoisseurs and record collectors alike, and 2018 is proving to be no exception to this rule. Today, the project which is bringing together music and art in aid of mental health charity Mind, can finally reveal the first of the world-class list of artists who will be creating record sleeves for this year’s event, hosted at The Jetty on Greenwich Peninsula.

Written By: Katy Cowan

1 May 2018

Among the 700 contributors for 2018 are Sir Anish Kapoor, one of the world’s most influential sculptors and winner of both the Turner Prize and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale; Sir Paul Smith, Britain’s foremost designer and sartorial national treasure; Jake & Dinos Chapman, one of the most dominant and subversive forces in British contemporary art; and conceptual video and installation artist and Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller.

Joining them will be Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson; esteemed taxidermist Polly Morgan; one of the most influential figures in the history of punk, The Clash bassist and painter, Paul Simonon; photographer Pennie Smith, who captured one of the most iconic images in rock history when her shot of Simonon smashing his bass was used as the cover for The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ album; and set designer to the likes of Kanye West, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and U2, Es Devlin.

All designers have created one-of-a-kind artwork for their choice of this year’s seven tracks: ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ - Jeff Buckley; ‘I’m Not Down’ - The Clash; ‘I Saved The World Today’ - Eurythmics; ‘Castles Made of Sand’ - Jimi Hendrix; ‘Help’ - London Grammar; ‘No Surface All Feeling’ - Manic Street Preachers; and ‘Damaged’ - Primal Scream.

For the uninitiated, the concept is simple: Secret 7” chooses an iconic track from seven world-renowned artists, and presses up 100 copies of the recording on 7” vinyl. Hundreds of the world’s most influential creative forces - including artists, designers, photographers and illustrators - then create a unique one-of-a-kind piece of artwork for each of the 700 records.

All 700 records will go on display in a free exhibition at the vibrant summer hub, The Jetty, on Greenwich Peninsula from Friday 8 June until Saturday 23 June. On Sunday 24 June at 10 a.m., every record goes on sale for the set price of £50. The twist? The identity of the sleeve designer remains a closely guarded secret until it’s in the buyer's hands. Therein lies the secret. All profits from the sale will go to mental health charity Mind. Here, we share just a sneak peek at a selection.