The pictures weren’t worth much back when I was taking them, I can tell you that.”
– Mick Rock
On board the luxury liner the QE2, Southampton, UK, January 1973. Copyright- © Mick Rock
In 1972, David Bowie (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016) released the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Mick Rock (21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) caught it all on camera in thousands of photos. Between 1972 and 1973, Rock was the singer’s photographer and videographer.
“You can easily argue it was fortuitous, that I was in the right place at the right time – but the fact is, I was in the right place at the right time, and nobody else was,” said Rock in 2016. “I don’t think that means I’m a prophet, but I was where I wanted to be. I don’t really know how it happened, other than that I was totally immersed, a true believer, you might say. I was there, and I bore witness.”
These images appear in Mick Rock. The Rise of David Bowie, 1972–1973 – published by TASCHEN.
Worcester Gaumont Theatre, UK, June 4th, 1973. Copyright- © Mick Rock
“David never said ‘No. He never told me he didn’t like any of my pictures. He was a great encourager.”
– Mick Rock
Bournemouth Winter Gardens, UK, Summer tour, May 25th, 1973. Copyright- © Mick Rock
Life On Mars? really hit me. But what also really registered was the Velvet Underground references he’d put in. Y’know, the Velvets hadn’t exactly sold a billion records. But I was a fan, one of those know-it-alls who’d discovered the Velvets and The Stooges, so I thought…Hmmm.”
– Mick Rock
UK Summer tour May–July 1973. Copyright- © Mick Rock
Rock first met Bowie backstage at Birmingham Town Hall, where Bowie played to a small audience.:
“I went backstage, asked if I could take a couple of pictures and he joked about my name – and I joked back that my name was actually my name, and his, of course, wasn’t. And we got on. Then I went back to his place in Beckenham a couple of days later for our first real session.”
Empire Theatre Liverpool October 10th 1973. Copyright- © Mick Rock
They started to talk about me as ‘Bowie’s official photographer’ – it was part of the hype. Y’know: when we went on the American tour that autumn, he had three bodyguards, and he didn’t really need any bodyguards. But, by the time he returned to Britain, he definitely needed bodyguards. There was a game being played: David has an official photographer, David has bodyguards, it was all theatre. And all part of this projection, which Ziggy was all about, that David was making himself a star. By then, all this activity was just swirling around David – the things he was doing with Lou and Iggy. He was like a ringmaster.
– Mick Rock
UK Summer tour May–July 1973. Copyright- a © Mick Rock
This story is from 202o.
Via: Damien Love in The Royal Photographic Society Journal, April 2016
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.
