Blog: My Stories, News, Concerts, and Uses

This photo of David Bowie wearing an eyepatch was made at Hilversum, Holland’s TOP POP television studios in 1974, during a playback taping of the song Rebel Rebel in 1974.

This photo of David Bowie was recently used on a t-shirt  by a major US clothing company. The choice of this photo was made by David Bowie’s management.

The Dire Straits were really big after the release of their first LP. They hated to pose for photos as a group. And so I taped a small piece of blue paper on the wall of their hotel lobby, next to a window for available light portraits, and waited all day for them to trickle in from their separate trips into Amsterdam. As you can see, the light was fading. The record company was looking for photos of them for their new Communique LP shortly after this session was made. These pictures were spotted in a Dutch magazine, and so the record company decided to use these photos, instead of bother the boys for a new photo-session. Just by coincidence, my background paper fit the Communique Blue of the album.

Released in June 1979 – Sold 7 million world-wide

I was recently contacted by a film company that was making a documentary produced by Dave Grohl on

the infamous Sound City Recording Studio. This photo of REO Speedwagon, made in the streets of Amsterdam in the late 70’s, was used in the rockumentary.

http://buy.soundcitymovie.com

 

This photo I made of The Police, before their big breakthrough, was rejected by management back then, because this did not fit in with their very serious (no smiling, & no clowning-around allowed) image.

But in 2009, Sting chose this photo, to be just one of a handful to be used in his book Lyrics.
I was the only photographer to show up at the Rock Planet TV Studios to shoot them. I read in Crawdaddy Magazine that they were going to be the next biggest thing. After doing some crazy playback in the tv studios, we went outside, in the cold Dutch winter weather, to shoot just one roll of 36 exposure black and white film. Soon after that, I was on a bus, with a bunch of members of the Dutch press, to go on a junket to see them in Paris. I photographed them again in Cologne, Germany and at PinkPop.

This photo of George Clinton was made in his hotel room while he was in Amsterdam for a concert with Funkadelic and The Brides of Funkenstein.

It was a completely outrageous show with flying saucers, strobe lights and great music.

Years later this photo was used on a CD cover.

JIP GOLSTEIJN

It was a great experience and pleasure to work together with Dutch pop journalist Jip Golsteijn.

He was unique – generous – incredibly knowledgeable- and a genuine rock & roller.

He is being missed very much by all who knew and loved him.

“And all the stories we could tell…”    rest in peace Jip

www.jipgolsteijn.nl

Constant Meijers

Music journalist Constant Meijers is responsible for my first photo being published in dutch

pop magazine Muziekkrant OOR in 1973.

He was sitting at the bar in Amsterdam, when I showed a contact-sheet of photos I made,

while on tour with the Rolling Stones, to my future wife.

He invited me to his office so that he could use a photo to say that the Stones were

on their way to Holland.

I made a print from what looked great from the negative. I didn’t like the print and threw it away

and showed him another one I had printed.

He didn’t like my print and asked to look at the negatives and, of course, chose the one that I threw

in the garbage.

I said, ‘ I’ll be right back!”

In 1975 Constant spent 6 weeks sleeping on our living-room couch in LA while we went out and

interviewed and photographed many

great music artists whom many I never heard of,  like Tom Waits.

I am very grateful to him for opening my eyes and ears to some great music.

Here we are with Don Henley and Glenn Frey of The Eagles: