The Man Who Shot the Seventies
Born in 1948 in London, England, Mick Rock is an acclaimed British photographer known for his iconic shots of David Bowie, Queen, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Syd Barrett, the Sex Pistols and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with recent subjects including Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, Jimmy Fallon, Daft Punk and The Black Keys. His 2003 retrospective exhibition of 186 prints at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography was described in the Japanese media as “one of the finest collections of pop art to ever reach these shores.” He was known as David Bowie’s official photographer, and his newest publication by Taschen, The Rise of David Bowie 1972-1973, will be available in September 2015. In August 2015, he began hosting his own TV show On the Record with Mick Rock on the Ovation Channel. Tokyo Journal’s Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie rapped with Mick Rock about his four decades of memorable musical imagery.
TJ: First of all, can you tell us what your real name is?
ROCK: My real last name is Rock! If I have a gimmick, it’s that Mick Rock is my real name: Michael David Rock.
TJ: Before we talk about your rock photography, can you tell us about your kabuki pictures?
ROCK: In 2003, I did an exhibition at the Metropolitan Exhibition of Photography in Tokyo. Before I headed back to New York, they wanted to do something else with me. I said, “I want to see some kabuki theater,” so they introduced me to Kanzaburo Nakamura. They invited me to spend a few days photographing him at rehearsal, backstage, in preparation, makeup, performance… everything! The following year, I did a big exhibition there and Kanzaburo and I did a couple of books called Tamashii. I love Japan and Tokyo. I’m a big fan. Very early on, a guy called Lindsay Kemp tutored David Bowie in mime and turned him [and me] onto noh and kabuki theater. That was why I was very keen to shoot it. All the dressing up and the themes — sex, drugs, murder, betrayal — that go on in kabuki theater, it’s totally rock and roll.
TJ: What do you like about Japan?
ROCK: I have been there probably about five times. The first thing I noticed [about Tokyo] was how little rubbish there was on the street. I’ve never been to a city that’s so clean. My first wife was Japanese-American. I had a couple of other Japanese girlfriends, so the ladies I also find very attractive. [In] Tokyo, there is an amazing blend of the futuristic and traditional. There are all these modern shops and buildings, and then you go around the back streets and you find all this traditional stuff. I do love Japanese temples. I remember going to Kyoto, meditating [at the foot of some mountains] and that was a fantastic experience.
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