Michael David Rock (born 1948) is a British photographer. He has photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Joan Jett, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, Thin Lizzy, Geordie, Mötley Crüe, and Blondie. Often referred to as “The Man Who Shot the Seventies”, most of the memorable shots of Bowie as Ziggy Stardust were shot by Rock in his capacity as Bowie’s official photographer.
Table of Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 Personal life
- 3 Career
- 3.1 Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock
- 3.2 Mick Rock. The Rise of David Bowie. 1972–1973 (Multilingual Edition)
- 3.3 Mick Rock Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll
- 3.4 Mick Rock: Exposed
- 3.5 Mick Rock. The Rise of David Bowie, 1972-1973 (Multilingual Edition)
- 3.6 Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story
- 3.7 Funko POP! Rocks: Mötley Crüe Mick Mars Collectible Figure, Multicolor
- 3.8 Mick Taylor: Rock, Blues & Slide Guitar
- 3.9 Classic Queen
- 3.10 Glam! Virginia Plain: The Photography of Mick Rock
Early life
Michael David Rock was born in 1948 in Hammersmith, London, the son of David and Joan. He was educated at Emanuel School in London, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, graduating behind a degree in Medieval and Modern Languages. While at Cambridge, he developed an fascination in 19th century Romantic poetry—principally the works of Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Shelley, and Byron—and his first publicize in the press came after he was arrested for marijuana possession.
Personal life
Rock lives in New York City upon Staten Island afterward his wife and their daughter.
Career
During his mature at Cambridge, Rock picked in the works a friend’s camera and started to take pictures of the local rock music scene, acquiring some friends and connections along the way (including Cambridge indigenous Syd Barrett and Mick Jagger’s younger brother Chris).
In auxiliary to his exploit with Bowie, whom he met in to the lead 1972, Rock also created album covers for Barrett’s The Madcap Laughs, Waylon Jennings’s Lonesome, On’ry and Mean, Lou Reed’s Transformer and Coney Island Baby, Iggy Pop and the Stooges’ Raw Power, Queen’s Queen II (recreated for their music video “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Sheer Heart Attack, Geordie’s Don’t Be Fooled by the Name, the Ramones’ End of the Century and Joan Jett’s I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.
He was the chief photographer on the films The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Shortbus. He after that produced and directed the music videos “John, I’m Only Dancing”, “Jean Genie”, “Space Oddity”, and “Life on Mars” on Bowie’s Sound and Vision DVD collection.
His photo subjects intensify The Misfits, Snoop Dogg, Air Traffic, Maxwell, Alicia Keys, The Gossip, Lady Gaga, Richard Barone, The Killers, The Scissor Sisters, Michael Bublé, Miley Cyrus, Michael Stipe, Kate Moss, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Chemical Brothers, Janelle Monáe, Queens of the Stone Age, Daft Punk, Kasabian, Snow Patrol, Daniel Merriweather, Black Keys, Hall & Oates, Peter, Bjorn and John, MGMT, Alejandro Escovedo, Pete Yorn, Gavin Degraw, Peaches, Fat Joe, Rhymefest, Nas, Q-Tip, Jane’s Addiction, Tom Stoppard, and old friends Bowie, Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Mötley Crüe, Nicos Gun, and Iggy Pop.
Rock customary the Diesel U Music Legends Award for his contribution to Music in late 2006.
In 2001, when his book Psychedelic Renegades was visceral published, Syd Barrett autographed a series of 320 books.
Last update 2021-08-06