February, 1986

Tracks Cover Art – The Next Best Thing to a Surfing Time Machine

A Tracks cover always stirs up a heady dose of welcome nostalgia. At a glance the images can transport you to another time and place, evoking feelings and memories connected to your favourite surfing icons or most treasured surfing experiences. The alchemy of stellar photography, cutting-edge design, and catchy text lines make the covers timeless pieces of pop art. Hang them on the wall at home or work, or purchase one as a gift that won’t disappoint. Hell, grab a few and dedicate a whole wall to these perfect timestamps of surfing history.     

The 80’s Tracks Cover Art Collection

Epic contest battles, kaleidoscopic characters and commercialisation. There was never anything understated about the 80s. We drowned in the sounds of power-pop bands and kitsch crooners, fashion was splashed liberally with ostentatious colours and in Australia, our prime minister skulled yard glasses and granted days off for winning boat races. The decade belonged to those willing to unashamedly express whatever it was they were thinking or feeling. Surfing preserved its status as a unique counter-culture, however, its 80s evolution reflected everything that was going on around it.

Meanwhile, Tracks retained its regular black and white broadsheet format but immortalised surfers on its covers in full colour. Likewise, an exponentially expanding surf industry developed a fluoro fetish and couldn’t resist running its ads big and bright. Alongside the black and white editorial copy neon surfers clad in sponsor’s garb leapt from the pages. Some purists felt that surfing had sold out but although at times it was frivolous there was something undeniably fun about the 80s. With strong support from companies in and out of the industry, pro surfing went into the next stratosphere. Gladiatorial duels defined the decade – MR vs Cheyne, Curren vs Carroll, Occy vs Curren, Kong vs the world. Although the tour was a relentless circuit that often championed bums on beaches before good waves it still seemed to the rest of us like these guys had the best jobs in the world. Meanwhile, the average surfer was dealing with a rapidly expanding surfing population, protesting against the sewage outlet at their home break and saving for a trip to G-land.

If you wish to dive deeper into the Tracks archive and explore every issue from the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s in their entirety you can do so by becoming a premium member. Click here for full details.

Note: All Tracks cover art is scanned from original Tracks Magazine issues so in their authenticity there may be some imperfections such as marks, folds, or discolouration.