METAL URBAIN
'PARIS MAQUIS'
(RT 001, 1977)

When it comes to sleeve design, the early 7"s released by Rough Trade are virtually without peer.

The DIY brio and focussed energy of these cover images, invariably created by the bands themselves, is as startling now as it must have been back in 1977, when Geoff Travis first realised that he should found a label, having already established the Rough Trade shop and distribution network.

Over the next 10 pages, we pick our favourite 7" covers from the first three years of Rough Trade's existing, each bearing the stamp of post-punk perfection: an RT ### catalogue number.