Mick Rock

b.1948 - d.2021
Mick Rock is known as "The Man Who Shot the 70's – the inimitable rock photographer who launched his career with an unknown David Bowie in March of 1972. Backstage in Birmingham England, at one of Bowie's early shows performing as Ziggy Stardust, Mick poked his head into the greenroom to introduce himself. “I like your name. It can’t be real…” Bowie said. From the first photo shoot he developed a two-year relationship as Bowie's official photographer. During this time, Rock documented the rise and descent of Ziggy Stardust, and shot promotional films, album jackets, posters, artwork, thousands of photographs, as well as videos like "Life on Mars" and "Space Oddity."

Rock's career continued to soar with key 70s images like Lou Reed's Transformer, Iggy Pop's Raw Power and Queen's Queen II as well many of the Sex Pistols' infamous shots. In 1977, he moved permanently to New York, where he quickly became involved with the underground music scene pioneered by The Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie. His pictures, including The Ramones End of the Century cover, captured the revolutionary spirit of this groundbreaking period and made him one of the most sought-after photographers in the world.

In the early 2000s, Mick Rock worked with stars like Kate Moss, Michael Stipe, Johnny Marr, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Foo Fighters, The Raconteurs, Primal Scream, The Strokes, and The Chemical Brothers. He has produced several highly-acclaimed retrospectives of the Glam Rock era, including Blood and Glitter - Glam: An Eyewitness Account; a collaboration with David Bowie: Moonage Daydream; Raw Power: Iggy and the Stooges and Psychedelic Renegades/Syd Barrett. His retrospective at Tokyo's Metropolitan Museum of Photography in 2003 was hailed as 'one of the most exciting exhibitions of pop culture imagery to ever reach these shores.'

In 2016 he collaborated on a film about his life and career called Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock, that allowed Mick to tell his own story woven in amongst archival footage and photographs from his personal archive.

Sadly, he passed away November 18, 2021 - he was a dear friend and he will be missed!