Eugene Adebari's work instantly touches an emotional chord in you in the same way that the very best of photographic portrait work does. It has a very special quality of intimacy and intensity that could be expressed as a contradiction in terms - 'hard-hitting sensitivity'. It is dependent on an enviable level of trust he has earned from his subjects, portraying them in a thoughtful and intimate fashion. Brandt could. Bailey and Liebovitz can.
Largely self-taught, having joined the internationally renowned agency Rex at the age of 16 as a tea boy, Eugene developed his career in the classic fashion from the ground up.
For his first shoot, Adebari was commissioned to photograph Marvin Gaye in Los Angeles, which led directly to a portrait session with Michael Jackson during the Billie Jean campaign and he has never looked back.
Eugene went on to photograph major music events, including Live Aid and many of the world's most successful, prolific and famous artists. His informal yet intimate approach to portraiture led to him to being specially commissioned by performers such as Madonna, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, INXS and Michael Jackson to spend time documenting their travels on the road with unprecedented access. His works have appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide, including Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, NME, Vogue, GQ, Spin, US, Sunday Times Magazine, Q, Elle and CNN. Eugene's work also encompassed film and he visited film sets as a 'specials' photographer, documenting the making of movies and shooting images for film posters. He was currently working on a major project shooting in Kerala in India.
"I've had the fantastic opportunity and good fortune to photograph some of the most talented and interesting personalities and have often been lucky enough to have the access to capture them in unusual, informal and casual situations".
Eugene Adebari 1960 - 2008
Backstage at the video shoot for the hit single 'You'll See' shot in Spain, October 1995
Rolling Stones onstage on their celebrated Steel Wheels Tour in Los Angeles in October 1989
Mick Jagger & Keith Richards performing onstage during The Rolling Stones 1989 Steel Wheels Tour in October 1989.
Los Angeles October 1989, Keith Richards performs onstage on The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour
Sex Pistols on the set for the 'Pretty Vacant' video shoot at the ITN Studios, London in June 1977
In the studio in Santa Monica, California in 1980, Bob Dylan is captured whilst leaning on his guitar case.
Angus Young, from AC/DC, captured in a small street outside a press meeting in Copenhagen in 1977
Shooting promotional films for the singles Rain & Paperback Writer at Chiswick Park Gardens in May 1966
The Stranglers are one of the most enduring bands to have come out of the punk scene with an uncompromising attitude and idiosyncratic style
Fleetwood Mac are one of the world's greatest rock bands having sold over more than 100 million records over the last 50 years
Lou Reed was one of music's most influential icons. His music defied all definitions of genre & left a legacy that has inspired generations
The Ramones' loud, fast, straightforward musical style was influenced by music that the band members grew up listening to in the 50s & 60s.
Our contact sheet collection is a rare opportunity to look back at the hidden moments surrounding some of rocks most iconic images.
The USA has given us many of the world's greatest music artists - we celebrate the best of the best
Jill Furmanovsky is one of the greatest ever rock & roll photographers with a huge archive of iconic shots of the world's best music artists
For eight years photographer Brian Duffy worked with David Bowie and shot his most iconic and enduring images. View his fantastic collection
