Scotland's oldest outdoor pool in Gourock features on new Blur album

Swimmers have enjoyed the facilities at Gourock outdoor pool for more than a century

A photograph of Scotland's oldest outdoor heated swimming pool has been used for the cover of Britpop band Blur's new album.

The group chose the image of the salt water lido in Gourock, Inverclyde, as the artwork for their ninth album.

The picture was taken by British photographer Martin Parr in 2004 and shows a lone man swimming in the pool.

The man was unaware of the photo being taken but found out years later when a friend saw it in a Glasgow exhibition.

Blur chose a picture of a man swimming in the lido, looking across the Firth of Clyde, for their new album cover

Mr Parr told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that he sent Ian Galt a print when he contacted him to say he was the swimmer.

"But then I had someone else say it was them, so it's a bit of a mystery who it really is," he added.

Mr Parr, one of the most celebrated and influential British photographers of the last 30 years, was commissioned to take the snap by Scottish architect John McAslan.

McAslan is from Dunoon in Argyll and Bute - which sits on the other side of the upper Firth of Clyde, a short ferry journey from Gourock.

"He asked me to photograph the A8 (road) - in other words, from Glasgow where you get the ferry across to Dunoon," Mr Parr explained.

The outdoor pool at Gourock, pictured here in 1930, opened in 1909

"This is one of the pictures I took. It was in the summer and you have the blue of the lido but there was that grey sky so familiar in Scotland.

"I thought this is going to be a great backdrop. I just stood there for maybe half an hour, waiting for the right person to swim by.

"It turned out to be one of most popular pictures I have ever taken. I am very grateful to have had that opportunity."

Ian Galt, now a retired dentist, was the lone swimmer captured in the photograph

The swimmer depicted in the photograph is Ian Galt, a retired dentist from the Inverclyde town.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime he got a "big surprise" when he stepped off a plane from Cape Town on Friday and became inundated with messages about the album cover.

The retiree recalled the weather was atrocious on the day the photograph was taken, and described the image as a "nice upbeat picture showing the Clyde at its fiercest."

Mr Galt has been a regular at the pool since he was in a car accident and still tries to visit every day.

He said: "After two months in hospital I resolved that no matter what the weather was like I was going to go swimming every day in Gourock pool.

"It's a fantastic facility because the water's nice and warm, you get a fabulous view over the wall and can see the Waverly paddle steamer going past, you can maybe spot porpoises in the sea."

It's not the first time the photo has brought fame to the retired dentist as it also featured in an airport advertising campaign for a bank.

He joked: "People used to phone me from Hong Kong, San Francisco and New Zealand and say 'Hey I came all this way to get away from you and the first thing I see at the airport is your photograph'."

Mr Galt said he intended to buy the eagerly awaited album when it was released in July.

The band are playing two dates at Wembley Stadium this summer

Blur, led by singer Damon Albarn, announced details of the album "The Ballad of Darren" - their first new music in eight years - on Thursday.

"I've actually met Damon, I did his portrait once," Mr Parr said.

"I don't quite know how they found the photo but I'm very happy to supply it, and of course you get paid as well!

"Over the years I have done quite a few album covers, so it's great to revive that."

The outdoor pool at Gourock was opened in 1909 and has had a water heating system - maintained at a minimum of 29C - since 1969.

The popular leisure facility opens from early May to early September every year.