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Mick Rock
London in the late Sixties and early Seventies was a hotbed of creative interchange. The prevalent hippy philosophy united all manner of artists, musicians, filmmakers, models, designers, actors, writers and photographers. This was the atmosphere in which Mick Rock began his collaborations with the artists of the new decade. The first band Rock photographed was the Pretty Things in 1969; soon he was photographing the likes of Syd Barrett, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Queen, Roxy Music and Iggy Pop, emerging artists who would rapidly become international stars. Rock states, “They were all special people to me. They weren’t “stars” when I first met them. To me, they were free spirited visionaries.”
Mick Rock began travelling back and forth between New York and London, covering tours and capturing the music scene in all its decadent glory. In 1977, Rock moved permanently to New York, and quickly immersed himself in the burgeoning underground new wave scene, capturing the nihilistic spirit of the music of the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads. As rock and roll has evolved, Rock has continued to capture the essence of the fresh and new. Mick Rock has been instrumental in creating many key visual images of the last three decades. His photographs have been called as significant ’as Andy Warhol’s paintings in constructing the images we hold in our minds of the larger-than-life figures of our popular culture’. Rock’s accomplishments extend beyond photography and include art direction, music video production and three Grammy nominations.
In recent years, Mick Rock has photographed stars such as Kate Moss, John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the Chemical Brothers and The Moldy Peaches (to name a few), as well as continuing to shoot the likes of David Bowie and Deborah Harry. Rock also has several book projects in the works. Currently released is his retrospective of the Glam Rock scene titled Blood & Glitter (published by VisionOn). In addition he has recently released a retrospective of Syd Barrett photographs titled Psychedelic Renegades (Genesis Publications). July will see the release of Moonage Daydream, a co-collaboration with David Bowie of the Ziggy Stardust era and Killer Queen with a foreword written by Queen guitarist Brian May, which will also be released by Genesis Publications in September.
Photo: by Natalie Rock.
Mick Rock began travelling back and forth between New York and London, covering tours and capturing the music scene in all its decadent glory. In 1977, Rock moved permanently to New York, and quickly immersed himself in the burgeoning underground new wave scene, capturing the nihilistic spirit of the music of the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads. As rock and roll has evolved, Rock has continued to capture the essence of the fresh and new. Mick Rock has been instrumental in creating many key visual images of the last three decades. His photographs have been called as significant ’as Andy Warhol’s paintings in constructing the images we hold in our minds of the larger-than-life figures of our popular culture’. Rock’s accomplishments extend beyond photography and include art direction, music video production and three Grammy nominations.
In recent years, Mick Rock has photographed stars such as Kate Moss, John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the Chemical Brothers and The Moldy Peaches (to name a few), as well as continuing to shoot the likes of David Bowie and Deborah Harry. Rock also has several book projects in the works. Currently released is his retrospective of the Glam Rock scene titled Blood & Glitter (published by VisionOn). In addition he has recently released a retrospective of Syd Barrett photographs titled Psychedelic Renegades (Genesis Publications). July will see the release of Moonage Daydream, a co-collaboration with David Bowie of the Ziggy Stardust era and Killer Queen with a foreword written by Queen guitarist Brian May, which will also be released by Genesis Publications in September.
Photo: by Natalie Rock.