Like What You Do: Bling Faith

The song Do What You Like is a 15-minute jam by the English supergroup Blind Faith, which was released on their self-titled album in 1969. The album cover features an 11-year-old topless girl named Mariora Goschen holding a silver-painted model airplane, which was designed by jeweler Mick Milligan. The cover art was created by Bob Seidemann, a friend and former flatmate of band member Eric Clapton, and sparked mild controversy in the British press due to the model airplane's phallic shape and the young age of the girl.

The song 'Do What You Like' was written by Ginger Baker and performed by Blind Faith

"Do What You Like" is a song written by Ginger Baker and performed by the supergroup Blind Faith. The song was released on the band's self-titled album, "Blind Faith", in 1969. The album topped the charts in the UK, Canada, and the US, and was later certified platinum by the RIAA.

Blind Faith consisted of Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech. The band began working on songs in early 1969 and recorded their album at Morgan Studios in London in February and March of that year. The recording was interrupted by a tour of Scandinavia and the US, and the album was released in August 1969.

"Do What You Like" is a 15-minute jam and is one of only two songs on side two of the album. The song features Eric Clapton on vocals and guitar, Steve Winwood on organ and vocals, Ric Grech on bass guitar and vocals, and Ginger Baker on drums and vocals.

The "Blind Faith" album cover, created by photographer Bob Seidemann, caused controversy due to its depiction of an 11-year-old nude girl, Mariora Goschen, holding a silver-painted model of an aircraft. The cover was deemed too controversial for the American market and was replaced with an alternative cover featuring a photograph of the band. However, the original cover art was later reinstated on a subsequent reissue.

The cover art for the Blind Faith album was created by photographer Bob Seidemann

Seidemann first approached a 14-year-old girl on the London Underground, but she proved to be too old for the effect he wanted. Instead, the model he used was her younger sister, Mariora Goschen, who was 11 years old. Seidemann titled the image "Blind Faith", and it became the inspiration for the band's name. The cover art features Goschen holding a silver-painted model of an aircraft, sculpted by Mick Milligan.

The cover caused some controversy in the British press, with some interpreting the model airplane as phallic. The American record company issued the album with an alternative cover featuring a photograph of the band. However, the original cover art was later reinstated on a subsequent reissue.

In an advertising circular from the mid-1990s, Seidemann explained his thinking behind the image:

> "The spaceship would be the fruit of the tree of knowledge and the girl, the fruit of the tree of life. The spaceship could be made by Mick Milligan, a jeweler at the Royal College of Art. The girl was another matter. If she were too old it would be cheesecake, too young and it would be nothing. That temporal point, that singular flare of radiant innocence. Where is that girl?"

The cover features a 11-year-old girl, Mariora Goschen, holding a silver-painted model of an aircraft

The cover of the album "Blind Faith" by the English supergroup of the same name features an 11-year-old girl, Mariora Goschen, holding a silver-painted model of an aircraft. The photograph was taken by Bob Seidemann, a friend and former flatmate of band member Eric Clapton, who is known for his photos of Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. Seidemann's concept for the image was to symbolise "the achievement of human creativity and its expression through technology", with the spaceship serving as the "material object" and the young girl representing "innocence".

Seidemann envisioned the spaceship as the "fruit of the tree of knowledge" and the girl as the "fruit of the tree of life". He wanted the model to be at the beginning of the transition from girl to woman—a "temporal point" of "radiant innocence". Seidemann initially approached a 14-year-old girl on the London Underground, but she proved to be too old for the effect he wanted. Instead, he used her younger sister, Mariora Goschen, who was 11 years old.

The silver-painted model of an aircraft was sculpted by Mick Milligan, a jeweller at the Royal College of Art. The cover caused mild controversy in the British press, with some interpreting the model airplane as phallic. The American record company issued the album with an alternative cover, featuring a photograph of the band. However, the original cover inspired the band's name, "Blind Faith", and the image was later reinstated on a reissue of the album.

Mariora Goschen, the girl featured on the cover, recalled that she was coerced into posing for the picture by her sister, who said, "They'll give you a young horse. Do it!". She was instead paid £40. In a 1994 interview, Goschen commented on the impact of the cover, saying, "I'm thrilled to bits" when people tell her about the effect the cover had on them. She also added, "By the way, I'm still waiting for Eric Clapton to ring me about the horse."

The cover caused mild controversy in the British press due to the model's nudity and the phallic shape of the aircraft

The cover of the album "Blind Faith" by the English supergroup of the same name caused mild controversy in the British press. The cover features an 11-year-old girl, Mariora Goschen, in a state of undress, holding a silver-painted model of an aircraft. The model was sculpted by Mick Milligan specifically for the album shoot. The photographer, Bob Seidemann, a friend and former flatmate of band member Eric Clapton, explained his artistic vision for the cover art in the mid-1990s. He wanted to capture the "transition from girl to woman" and sought to find a girl embodying "radiant innocence."

Seidemann initially approached a 14-year-old girl on the London Underground, but she proved to be too old for the effect he desired. Instead, he used her younger sister, Mariora Goschen, who was 11 years old at the time. Seidemann's intention was to symbolise "the achievement of human creativity and its expression through technology" by using a spaceship as the material object. The young girl represented innocence and was meant to be the bearer of this new creation into the universe. He titled the image "Blind Faith," and it ultimately inspired the band to name themselves after the artwork.

The cover art generated controversy due to the model's nudity and the phallic shape of the aircraft she holds. The American record company responded to the controversy by issuing the album with an alternative cover featuring a photograph of the band. However, the original cover art was later reinstated on a subsequent reissue. Band member Steve Winwood acknowledged the controversial nature of the cover, especially in light of him becoming a parent.

The cover of "Blind Faith" remains one of the most controversial in rock history, sparking debates about artistic expression, the objectification of minors, and the sexualisation of young girls. The controversy surrounding the cover art added to the intrigue and fame of the album, with some fans recalling the impact it had on them when they first saw it.

The image inspired the band's name, Blind Faith, and was titled the same by Seidemann

The cover art for the album "Blind Faith" by the English supergroup of the same name was created by photographer Bob Seidemann, a personal friend and former flatmate of Clapton's. Seidemann's concept for the image was to symbolise "the achievement of human creativity and its expression through technology", with a spaceship as the material object. He envisioned that the ideal bearer to carry this new spore into the universe would be a young girl, as innocent as Shakespeare's Juliet. Seidemann wanted to capture the fleeting moment between girlhood and womanhood, a "temporal point, [a] singular flare of radiant innocence".

Seidemann first approached a 14-year-old girl on the London Underground, but she proved too old for the effect he wanted. Instead, he used her younger sister, Mariora Goschen, who was 11 years old. Seidemann titled the image "Blind Faith", and it became the inspiration for the band's name, which had not yet been decided when the artwork was commissioned.

The cover art features Goschen holding a silver-painted model of an aircraft, sculpted by Mick Milligan. The image caused some controversy in the British press, with some interpreting the model aeroplane as phallic. The American record company issued the album with an alternative cover, featuring a photograph of the band.

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