I’m placing my faith in MN to answer a question that has been bugging me since 1984

[Pinkarsedfly]

...and it’s a very important one, so brace yourselves.

What the fuck is Tina Turner holding on the cover of the Private Dancer album?

This has been annoying me on and off since 1984 when my big sister brought the damn thing home.

I’ve peered at it, I’ve googled it, I’ve asked DH (who can’t make it out and for some reason doesn’t seem to think it’s important, the weirdo) and I’m no nearer the truth.

I’ve considered the possibility it’s a bit of Easter egg, as it seems to be the right shape and colour, but it wasn’t released at Easter and there’s no reference to Easter on the album.

I wondered if it was a cat treat, given the presence of a cat - but la Turner appears to be eating something and, although she possesses a certain feline beauty, I don’t think that’s down to the consumption of Dreamies.

Can anyone help? Does anyone definitively know?

Thirty five years, this has been bugging me. Do a sister a favour, please...

You need to send the photographer a link to this thread OP, so he can see the level of interest

Maybe it’s catnip!?

The photo makes a lot more sense if they've photoshopped out a fag and a lighter, doesn't it?

Cuddly comfort blankie in the left hand, charity 'stop the sexual commodification of women' wristband in the right. Or, failing that, a delicious deep-deep fried onion ring.

I think it's a cat toy stuffed with cat nip, that cat has definitely sniffed something.

RIP cat and your now famous due to Mumsnet

Yes, nowlook!

Far be it from me to glamourise smoking, filthy delicious habit etc, but a smouldering fag would definitely fit the image better than a manky bit of meat, especially as it was the 80s and everybody smoked.

Glamorise, ffs. Even my spelling has gone back to 1984.

Of course, from the cat's point of view, the question would be 'What's this big intrusive thing trying to steal the attention from ME in MY photo shoot?'

The answer being, obviously, 'It's a Tina Turner'.

I think it's a dead mouse!

Trouble is you can also readily imagine either a pool cue or trombone. Maybe the right and left hand were more connected than we thought.

The photo makes a lot more sense if they've photoshopped out a fag and a lighter, doesn't it?

Either that or a whip in the left hand and a hula hoop in the right. You know, like kids used to play with 'in the past' [source: The Beano pre-1990].

A trombone

I wish I had photoshop skillz. This could be a very funny thread.

I want to add a set of bagpipes.

I need to know!

Prawn

This thread is Mumsnet at its best

Looks like she's possibly eating something with the other hand? So I'm going to go with some sort of fish or jerky that's she's eating and then trying to entice the cat with a small piece in her other hand?
Perhaps this wasn't a 'staged' photoshoot but rather Tina sitting down for a quick snack inbetween singing and a random cat ran over and a photographer (who happened to be hanging about just at that precise moment) thought it would be a great photo for the album? Tina eating a snack with a random cat?

Now I am cross with the tidydancer reference (and the tiny tiger/panther!!)

See tidydancer makes me think of Elton John but now that and private dancer are merging into one, I can now see Tina with a white suit and big glasses and Elton in fish nets tempting a cat with bilatong. off topic but blowing my mind

Whenever I saw this cover, I always thought she looked as though she was putting lipstick on but had forgotten the lipstick, and I was so obsessed by that, I didn't notice the small cat treat in her other hand.

Is it a real cat though, it looks a bit to obliging to pose?

The Thing looks like a baby boomerang, but why would it be a baby boomerang?

It's a cat toy not a treat!

I always thought it was the cats lead.

A cat on a lead would be suitably pissed off.

In that Pinterest alternative picture it’s defnitely a fish (you can see the tail and fins), so I’m going with fish tail 🤷‍♀️