Just made a print of this photo I shot of Motorhead in 1981. I remember Lemmy offering me some speed on the end of a screwdriver after I took the shot. Before he started Motorhead, Lemmy was in the band Hawkwind and worked as a roadie for the Jimmy Hendrix Experience.
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October 20th, 2011
The New York chapters of the American Brotherhood, Dirty Ryderz, Condemned Few, Hells Angels, Unforgiven, Trashed, Lost Boys motor cycle clubs had a party on Bond and Bowery last Sunday. So many gorgeous bikes lined up on Bowery and surrounding streets.
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October 20th, 2011
Black culture had a big influence on the punk and skinhead scenes in the UK. British youth loved Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Ska and combined the dress styles of the musicians with their Dr Marten boots, braces (suspenders), Harrington jackets and loafers.
I photographed Laurel Aitken (above) at home in Leicester in 1980. He was known as the ‘Godfather of Ska’ and had moved to England from Jamaica in 1960. His flat reflected his personality, everything from the Mona Lisa and family photos to his immigration permit was on display.
This week acurator features my photographs of that scene.
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October 6th, 2011
On Friday a huge crowd gathered at Liberty Plaza a few blocks from Wall Street. The demonstrators, organized by the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ group, say ‘Our system is broken … 25 million are unemployed .. corporations, politicians, media, the police have failed as institutions’
A large police contingent tried to control the crowd that included everyone from students and trade unions to Grannies for Peace. In at an atmosphere that was part politics and part ‘Woostock’ there was music, dancing, a library, media centre, free rolled cigarettes, food and art supplies to make banners.
On Saturday, day 14, of the protest, they published and distributed a free newspaper ‘The Occupied Wall Street Journal’ . In the afternoon about 500 people from the Occupy Wall Street protest movement were arrested on New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge,
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October 2nd, 2011
Twenty years after its initial vinyl release by Sleeping Bag records in 1981, the late Arthur Russell‘s avant-disco album 24 -> 24 Music is reissued by the Traffic Entertainment Group, the box set features some photographs of Arthur that I shot for The Face. Journalist Simon Reynolds writing for Melody Maker in 1986 said : “This is an impossible dance music, jumbling your urges. making you want to move in ways not yet invented .. a work of genius”
Arthur Russell was a shy genius – he did not like having his photo taken – and after some discussion, for no particular reason, we decided to make him a paper hat out of the NY Times.
Still so good to hear Arthur’s classics like Loose Joints ‘Is It All Over My Face‘ and ‘Wax the Van‘. The 4 x LP box set has hand pulled screen printed outer box and LP sleeves – it is a piece of art in itself.
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September 24th, 2011
I first met The Islington Twins, Chuka and Dubem Okonkwo, in 1977 when they were attending the college in Clerkenwell where I was teaching photography. I spotted them one lunchtime leaning against a wall in the school yard impeccably dressed in identical parkas, pork pie hats, Sta-Prest trousers, Frank Wright loafers and sunglasses, finishing each other’s sentences, and asked if I could photograph them. That photo ran full page in The Face mag in 1980 – soon after they became local celebs, hosting ‘The Bar’ an informal gathering which took place daily by ‘the bar’ the yellow and black horizontal pole that stopped cars from entering the road to Islington tube station. I discovered we lived on the same street in Highbury and later I photographed them again for The Face in perfect ‘Rude Boy’ style, Fred Perry shirts, Loafers, Harrington jackets, matching sunglasses and black berets, on our street.
Those clothes are still relevant today Fred Perry is launching a line designed by Amy Winehouse Brands like Kangol are making new ‘pork pie’ and ‘beret’ styles. Loafers are still popular, as is the skinny trousers and sunglasses look, a requisite for every hipster.
The Autumn/Winter issue of British GQ Style a bi-annual magazine features my original photo of the ‘Rude Boys’ and the Twins’ who are still stylin’ today. They are wearing Dunhill shirts, Lock & Co Hats, and Trickers brogues, classic brands.
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September 20th, 2011
The Concert Artists Guild celebrated it’s 60th anniversary last week with a concert at WQXR in NYC. Sarah Wolfson (below) sang a piece from Kurt Weill that was just amazing. I have been photographing their classical musicians for a few years. Everyone from Phylis Chen who plays classical music on toy pianos, the violinist Michi Wiancko and her indie rock alter ego Kono MIchi, classical pianist and snow boarder Alpin Hong (above), Jenny Koh with her Stradivarius on Delancy St and Sebastian Baverstam who played cello for me on a street in the East Village. Rock on CAG.
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September 19th, 2011
Fashion designer Pam Hogg and a guy from the hood posing on Bowery a few years ago. Pam always had more rebel street style in her tattooed little finger than most.
It is Fashion Week in NYC, I’m excited about working on a new project with an eye wear company tomorrow.
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September 8th, 2011
Just got the book ‘Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label‘. I’ve known the author, Bill Adler, since he walked into my studio in 1985 with a young LL Cool J for LL’s first promo shot. The book’s is designed by brilliant art director and artist Cey Adams.
To compare Def Jam to Motown seems right to me – I grew up with Motown it changed my life – just as Def Jam introduced hip-hop, a new kind of music and lifestyle to the 80’s generation.
I remember meeting Lyor Cohen, who started Rush, the management division of Def Jam, in his scrappy office on Broadway back before Def Jam was on Elisabeth St. He was yelling at someone on the phone, smoking a fat cigar, sneaker clad feet on his desk.
Rick Rubin,co-founder of Def Jam, was working with the Beastie Boys when I took this photo for Rolling Stone around that time – I love his style -beyond cool – powder blue puffy coat, sunglasses, holding a drink from Blimpie’s sandwich shop and a gun
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August 29th, 2011
We just survived an earthquake and Hurricane Irene in NYC – high winds and floods but we escaped what could have been a very serious disaster.
I shot this photo of a soldier below Canal Street a couple days after 9/11 – the city below 14th street was closed except for army, police, firemen and medical services. The air was polluted, stores shuttered, life as we knew it had stopped. Those of us that were in the area volunteered to do what we could, from making sandwiches for the responders on the West Side Highway, to collecting medical and clothing supplies from stores. But there was a feeling of unity in the city, people were actually helping each other. Since then we have seen corporate greed destroy a lot of what we had built
The tenth anniversary of 9/11 marks the start of another time that years later has had an aftermath but not an end.
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August 29th, 2011