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
The Rolling Stones 'take a bow' at the end of their Los Angeles concert during their Steel Wheels Tour in 1989
Adam Ant photographed by Jill Furmanovsky during a cover shoot for The Face magazine in February 1981
Jarvis Cocker performing one of his signature moves with Pulp on The Park Stage during the 2011 Glastonbury Festival
The Clash on stage at the the first large scale Rock Against Racism/Anti Nazi League carnival at Victoria Park, April 1978.
Oasis was an English rock music band formed in Manchester in 1991, to date the band has sold over 70 million records worldwide.
A unique collection of images of Pink Floyd, one of the worlds most successful and influential rock bands.
Amy Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter known for her deep expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres.
Blondie is a American rock band founded by Debbie Harry & Chris Stein that pioneered the New York new wave & punk scenes of the 1970s.
Here are the very latest prints we have added to our collection. We hope you love them as much as we do.
Artist Morgan Howell's paintings of record sleeves have become cult classics. We are delighted to introduce a range of his affordable prints
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
Our contact sheet print collection is a rare opportunity to look back at the hidden moments surrounding some of rocks most iconic images.