Tom Waits

The photo was taken at The Victoria Apollo. The Stage was set up like an atmospheric old bar with a lamp-post outside that Tom Would lean against smoking numerous cigarettes. Although it looked good, it... read more was a nightmare to photograph as there was only one spotlight above him when he played piano and his hat brim kept his face in darkness. Tom Waits has great manarisms and gestures and when he lifted his hands off the keyboard, the light from his hand reflected onto his face and I was able to get this shot.

He pulls The Hat furtively out of his shirt (‘my wife doesn’t like me wearing my hat’). It’s a quiet street, but whenever The Hat goes on, he’s instantly the focus of genial... read more honking, waving, and shouting from passing traffic, and we keep stopping so gobsmacked pedestrians can say ‘hi’.

Tom drove into town in a battered, sky blue, Cadillac Coupe de Ville and loped into this Chinese diner wearing a mangled hat. He was clearly a regular because the owner greeted him warmly and the food... read more was very good. He is reading a book called The Mammoth book of Oddities by Frank O'Neil. Jill Furmanovsky Edition 30 images are made from the original negatives or transparencies in a total edition of 30. These are mostly at 20”x16” size, but in a few specific cases, custom size prints can be made as part of the edition or as artist proofs.

Tom Waits in San Francisco in 1999.