The seminal rock-and-roll chronicler dives into the story behind one of his most defnitive images: a portrait captured during his time as David Bowie’s personal photographer.
As told to Gary Grimes
BEFORE DAVID COULD EVEN GIVE HIS RECORDS away for free, he became a friend of mine. He trusted me. We met in 1972, backstage at a gig at Birmingham Town Hall, where I’d been sent by a magazine to photograph and interview him. Soon after, I became known as his personal photographer, travelling with him around the UK and the US on his Ziggy Stardust tours. Believe me, I have some interesting photos of him that will never be published.
This one was taken in 1973 for the Pin Ups album. I was the art director and we needed some pictures for the back and inside sleeve. We were able to get a studio but no one really gave me a budget – people didn’t do that then. David didn’t realise what a big deal the whole thing would become. I don’t think anyone did.
At this time, it wasn’t even set in stone that I was a ‘photographer’. I was still doing a bit of writing here and there but I also had to make a living. It was more a case of, ‘Well what am I going to do to pay the rent this week?’ So I became open to doing many things. David thought because I’d gotten a degree in Modern Languages and Literature from Cambridge, I must know everything. I had to explain to him that I just knew a lot about a few things.
I liked this session, there was something about it. It’s little things like the way his feet are turning in: he just understood these things. You wouldn’t have to tell him what to do, just ask him to move about a bit, which is what he did. And everything he did was fabulous. I know some photographers say they want to get the truth of the person they’re shooting. But I don’t fucking give a shit. I want their aura. To me, that is what’s magical.
The thing with David, certainly as far as the media was involved, was that he kept changing his look. He was so intellectually bright, and very curious. After a while, though, he did back off a bit from all the provocation. He didn’t
