Robert Fraser (art dealer) first met John Lennon. Fraser art-directed the cover for The Beatles' 1967 LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – he dissuaded the group from using the original design, a psychedelic artwork created by the design collective The Fool, instead suggesting the pop artist, Peter Blake, who created the famous collage cover design. Fraser also gave McCartney a small painting of an apple by René Magritte which is believed to have been the inspiration for the name and logo of the Beatles' record company, Apple Records. It was also through Fraser that Richard Hamilton was selected to design the poster
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band were requested by Lennon, but ultimately rejected. The actor Leo Gorcey's image was painted out after he requested a fee. When McCartney was asked why the Beatles did not include Elvis Presley among the musical artists, he replied: "Elvis was too important and too far above the rest even to mention ... he was more than merely a ... pop singer, he was Elvis the King." The final cost for the cover art was nearly £3,000 (), an extravagant sum for a time when album covers would typically cost around £50 (). "Sgt. Pepper" was previewed on the pirate radio