Free exhibition of deliberately bad record sleeves from the collection of Steve Goldman, staged in aid of the stroke charity Different Strokes.
Worst Record Covers in the World is at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester, running from 26 September 2026 through to 17 January 2027. It's an exhibition of exactly what the title says: record sleeves that went horribly wrong. It's on through half term, so it's an easy one to fit in with the kids if you're looking for something to do over the break.
The whole thing comes from the collection of Steve Goldman, a computer programmer from Huddersfield who's been collecting bad record covers for about forty years. It started when he picked up Roadstar by Peter Rabbitt in a bargain bin for 10p, drawn in by a cover of rabbits being pulled out of a hat with the band's faces amateurishly superimposed. He spent the next few decades hunting for sleeves that were deliberately dreadful and unintentionally funny, and the hoard now tops 700 items. His rule is that the designer must have been trying for something that went horribly wrong, and it has to remain good, clean, family fun.
It's not just a local curiosity, either. The exhibition has been touring the country since 2021, first showing in Huddersfield, and has featured on BBC's Have I Got News For You, Radio 4's Front Row and BBC Breakfast, with praise from Radio DJ Mark Radcliffe. Goldman himself suffered a stroke in 2020 at the age of 53, and he stages the show in aid of Different Strokes, a charity that supports young stroke survivors. If you want to take something home, there's a calendar and his book, The Art of the Bizarre Record Sleeve, on sale too.
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Entry is free, though donations are welcome, and it runs until 17 January 2027, so there's plenty of time to catch it.
