Brett Anderson

I knew from the word “go” that a shoot with Brett Anderson from Suede had great potential. He has always been a man of style. From his glam days as a lead singer in Suede until today, he’s stayed true to his cool image. Although a little toned down now from his younger days, his skinny jeans and sleek look is still a strong look. So, when deciding how to shoot Brett I was determined to move away from stereotypical “male imagery” and brought in pink, pink and more pink. I made an educated guess that he’d be wearing black and if anyone could make pink overload work, then it would be Brett. Brett famously described himself as “a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience” - so the femininity that is traditionally, (and I emphasise the word ‘traditionally’) associated with pink would surely pass.

I also chose to have a second setup playing with lots of different colour gel, an idea I had, giving a visual nod towards the late 80’s and the glam period that saw Suede at their biggest.

Brett came in to the room and didn’t flinch at the big pink backdrop and pink chair. He introduced himself with confidence and introduced a small selection of outfits. Brett was engaged in the image process and showed great interest in the images. Not in a critical and disapproving way, but agreed with the direction and let me know his own favourites.

Great man to work with, bringing both style and character to the shoot.

Observer New Review

Gene Simmons

I checked out a little about the legend Gene Simmons before I went to shoot him in a small hotel room in Soho. It was obvious that this was a man who knew about marketing himself and I was prepared for it. I expected logos, books, action figures and all other merchandise that could point us in his direction, and if needed I would negotiate a golden middle way. However, all that was in the hotel room was a safe/vault, (his new ultimate record collection comes in the form of a vault,) and nothing else. I quite liked the vault, included it in one of my setup ideas and Gene entered the room.

Gene was a taller than I expected. A handshake soon changed into a fist bump and off to the wonderful world of Gene we went. He took the Mick out of the cockney accent, with a not tooooo bad of an impression. (It’s the first time I have heard an American criticise the Brits for not pronouncing their ’t’s’.) His playlist, played off his phone, was unexpected, finishing with a tune that left us all speechless, with goosebumps and a tear in the eye. If you don’t react to Nat King Cole’s rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s song ‘Smile’ then you are cold as ice.

The shoot didn’t feel as a shoot in many ways. I didn’t control the timings as I had Gene’s attention for a couple of minutes before he’d decided he’d had enough of that setup. Don’t get me wrong, Gene was generous with his time, he just didn’t want to hang around for that infamous ‘just one more shot’. It was then for me to move around and try something else, and again he would accommodate and contribute for a couple more minutes, and so it went. 10 min chat and laughs followed by a couple of minutes photography. At the end I had to ask - ‘bathtub??’ - and in he went. No water though, that may have been going too far, and as he was still in his rock outfit, it would leave him wet for the rest of the day. Anyway, I wasn’t really aiming to show Gene in the bath getting clean, but wanted more to create a “rock’n roll” image, giving a hint to the rock star that finds himself in the bathtub at the end of a hard night.

Gene’s team was present, hoping he wouldn’t be too vocal on certain issues and in the hope that their presence may prevent Gene from telling a few un-pc jokes. It may have restricted him a little but a Willie Nelson joke was still served on a silver platter in exchange for a promise not to publish it. The manager was urging Gene not to say it as ‘It’s a delicate climate nowadays and we all have to watch what we say.’ I can imagine that the manager has his work cut out trying to keep Gene on the right side of political correctness, but where would Rock rock be if they obeyed by the rules of Political Correctness and health and safety?

Noel Gallagher

It seems a life time ago since I photographed Noel for the first time, and as far as my photography career is concerned, then it probably was. Last time I was restricted to a small boardroom, so it was a pleasure to have a whole studio space to play with. Noel rocked up that late Monday afternoon, (I don’t know if Noel can actually just ‘arrive’ at a destination - he is most certainly a ‘rocked up’ kinda guy). Guitar in hand and looking sharp, even though he himself said he was knackered having just had a whole weekend of events. One of them being the Manchester memorial concert “We Are Manchester”, where he was amongst a group of musicians invited to play at the reopening of Manchester Arena after the terror attack in May. And what better act to reopen a space like Manchester Arena after a tragedy than Noel and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. The tune is not only personal to Gallagher but also rings true in so many situations.

The shoot itself was casual. We talked about love for South America, particularly Buenos Aires, his new album and life in general. It was the kind of chilled shoot that should allow for a sit down and an ice cold Mojito. However, 45 minutes and a few setups to work through meant no time for play. And I am sure that after a busy weekend Noel would rather go home, fill the bathtub with some bubbles and gobble up the caviar, than sit and chat to some photographer at a random studio. Maybe I’ll suggest bathtub and caviar for the next shoot?!

Shot for Sunday Times Culture

Barry Gibb

There are few people around the world who have not tapped their feet to a bit of Bee Gees. In my case, I’d go as far as having walked to the rhythm of You Should be Dancing with etc sound of my cord flares swishing to the beat, I have pointed to my belt followed by a point to the disco ball above on several occasions to the sound of Staying Alive, I’ve had collars so big that they slapped me in the face as I was moovin’ and groovin’ to Saturday Night Fever, I’ve tried to do the Jive Talking with little or no success and I’ve had teenage moments on the dance floor to How Deep is your Love, followed by a long journey home, feeling FOR SURE that I was in love. Who would have thought that I would one day meet the great man, Barry Gibb himself. We found ourselves in an Indian Restaurant not far from London. Barry Gibb’s favourite restaurant near his UK home. The interview that preceded the shoot involved a journalist who was looking for a ghostly aura around Mr Gibb with two metal sticks. Yes - this shoot was never going to be ordinary.

When I finally got Barry Gibb’s full attention I met a modest and friendly man. A man that seemed to be still buzzing from a recent performance at Glastonbury. A moment that would parr with some of his many big moments. This is a man who helped shape the fashion, music and style of the 70’s. This is a man who made hairy chests and open shirts sexy, he made skin tight flares the talk of the town and found a walk to match it. Yet - this is a man, that carried off being a man, yet having a voice 10 bars higher than the sweetest of angels. Barry Gibb did not only create timeless music that will always make people jump up on the dance floor, strut and stride, want to dance cheek to cheek and whispers sweet nothings…. but this man re-wrote the rule book of how to be a man. Respect!!!

Chvrches

A long trip up to Glasgow but all worth it to meet the Indie band Chvrches. Their last album was a great success and no doubt this will be a great follow up.

We were to meet at their studio, a small basement flat in an old victorian building, right in the middle of an eclectic industrial area of Glasgow. Not an easy place to squeeze in to do a studio like cover shoot, but we made it work after having moved a few items around. The second half of the shoot was a little easier as we had a few blocks of industrial buildings and some greenery to use as backdrop.

The band were themselves very low key and chilled. That they were happy to wander the streets with me and do the shoot in such a calm fashion was especially surprising as they had just received the masters from the new album a few minutes before my arrival. I am sure they would rather sit and soak in every note of the album instead of wandering the local streets with me and imposing on local businesses in order to get good backdrops.

Chvrches feels like one of those bands that will always have their feet firmly planted on the ground. Maybe that’s the Scottish thing or maybe it’s just that they are the types that don’t let their heads expand with fame and success. I have always had a soft spot for the Scottish and it’s for exactly this reason. If you see a Scott that’s got a big ego then you know his or her fellow country men/women will soon let them know otherwise. They have a nice way of keeping everyone on the same level.

Alt-J

I remember hearing about the band Alt J a few years back. A genius name as it really get’s everybody thinking what it stands for and then trying it out on the keyboard (quietly hoping that it doesn’t erase all content on your computer for good). Buttons pressed, a slight sigh of relief as everything on the screen is as it was but at the same time a slight disappointment to find out that it only produced a small symbol which is not far from a capital A without the legs: ‘∆’

I then looked up what it meant and found out it’s a delta symbol meaning ‘change’ or ‘difference’. The name had again become something unusual and interesting, but maybe not destructive.

The guys have just come out with a second album and it is just as good, if not better than the first one. The second album is always the hardest one if the first one has succeeded but the 3 guys in Alt-J have managed to prove to us all that it was not just beginners luck.

They turned up at my office and the idea was to walk around Hackney for an hour or 2 before setting up for a possible cover shoot inside. The guys were fresh back from holidays and nice and relaxed. A kind of quiet before the big storm which we are now in the middle of, with Alt-J playing on all radio stations and playlists.

The idea of using paint for the cover shot came from seeing the artwork of the new album. The cover is a white cover with some primary colour paint marks on it. The guys were happy to play ball and we we had some fun with paint like we were all Tom Hanks in BIG. The guys didn’t hold back and gave it all.

Joe, Gus and Thom, the members which make up the band Alt-J were surprisingly different. It’s not a likely combination of guys but maybe that’s the magic, maybe that’s what makes Alt-J work so well. As the name indicates too - ‘difference’ is what’s made this triangle of guys into a perfect fit.

Beady Eye

Once again I had the pleasure of collaborating with Craig McLean. This time it was to shoot Beady Eye. The band formed in 2009 and many of the members are old Oasis members, Liam Gallagher being the most renowned of them. I don’t worry too much before going to shoots anymore, but this time I was slightly apprehensive – I did not want to be on the receiving end of Liam if he decided that I was a ‘prick’!

All band members turned up early. My first thought was ‘what’s happened to rock’n roll??’ – surely they should keep me waiting for at least 3 hours before they turn up red eyed and stinking of booze. The guys were as friendly as they come, all amicable and willing to play game. Liam was maybe the one with the fewest words, but if he had been my best mate from the word go then I would have felt a little hard done by, as if all that media exposure was a load of bull.

The shoot took place at a studio and after that we headed up to the rehearsal studio where I got the chance to stand face to face with the man, Liam, himself. Only when I was 10 cm away from Liam’s face whilst he was singing ‘Flick The Finger’ did I feel that I could get a slap in the face, and probably deserve it.

Slash

Guess who!?

 A perfect design in himself. He can be photographed in silhouette, from above, from below, just a small part of him in a shot and in many other ways – yet there would be no doubt of who is in front of the camera.  A legendary guitarist and a walking, talking visual logo!
I was given a guitar showroom to shoot Slash in. I felt that it was too obvious, too cliché and maybe lacked proper character.  So – having noticed the parking lot as I parked my car, I found this location to be a lot more representable for this image of cool.
He turned up in a car with blacked out windows, the only way to travel when you’re as recognisable as Slash. Nice and chilled, and when I said I was from Norway he started to educate me on my own country and the history of Norwegian Horror films. To be honest – I didn’t even know there were any Norwegian horror films. So – I take my hat off to someone who gave me the soundtrack to 1992 and will continue to impress with his music for many years to come.