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www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY :: 1 State Library of NSW Printer: Spotpress Curator: Louise Tegart Thanks to Tony Mott, Macquarie Street Clinton Walker, , Paper: Sappi 80 gsm gloss (cover), Creative Producer: Karen Hall NSW 2000 , Jenny and UPM 70 gsm bond (text) Telephone (02) 9273 1414 Exhibition Designers: Margaret Cott, www.sl.nsw.gov.au Print run: 8000 Jemima Woo and Karen Wong and P&D-4535-4/2016 Graphic Designer: Simon Leong Above: Tony Mott 2014 Follow us on © Graham Jepson #RockMoments @statelibrarynsw ISBN 0 7313 7231 X Editor: Cathy Perkins All images unless otherwise noted Reprinted for the tour of What a Life! © State Library of Illustrator: Ben Brown (front cover) are courtesy and © Tony Mott October 2015 Rock Photography by Tony Mott Creative Producer, Multimedia: Sabrina Organo Some images in this publication are Back cover: , 1983 not included in the touring exhibition. Senior Conservator, This is the first photo I ever sold. Without Exhibitions & Loans: Helen Casey Chrissy, I wouldn’t have a career. I sort of stalked her with my camera to learn the art Registrar: Caroline Lorentz of rock photography. What a pleasure and pain it was. — TM

2 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 3 What a Life! Rock Photography by Tony Mott

his exhibition showcases rock’n’roll life — on stage Tand behind the scenes — captured by ’s premier rock photographer Tony Mott over a 30-year career. Tony Mott got his first break photographing Chrissy Amphlett of Sydney band Divinyls in the early 1980s, and the affable British-born chef quickly established himself as the rock photographer of choice. Tony’s photographs have appeared in , Juice, Drum Media, RAM, Juke and other music magazines and street journals, and his shots have illustrated more than 500 singles, EPs and . His portfolio features the biggest names in music, including , Björk, , Nirvana and local acts INXS, , , as well as the independent band scene in Sydney. The exhibition tracks enormous changes in the music industry in Australia: the declining live scene, the drop in music magazine production and the impact of digital technology on the art of rock photography. The Library has a long tradition of exciting and timely photographic exhibitions, often featuring internationally renowned Australian photographers, many of whom are represented in our collection. We are very proud of our photographic collection, which includes around 1.5 million images and is one of the most significant in Australia. What a Life! presents the work of an extraordinary photographer who is recognised worldwide. We are indebted to Tony Mott for access to his photographic archive, which curator Louise Tegart has combined with related ephemera from the Library’s collection. Alex Byrne NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive

The Screaming Tribesmen 1986 (detail) These inner city darlings never really crossed over to the mainstream. Photographed on the steps of the Mitchell Library. — Tony Mott (TM)

4 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au Björk 1994 One of my most published images, this photo of Björk was taken at the in 1994. It first appeared in Q magazine in the UK and Juice in Australia, and ended up on the cover of Björk’s autobiography. It’s difficult to let go of a photo you love, and I still submit it for publication whenever a Björk story is coming up. — TM

www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 5 Good Charlotte 2010 Twins Joel and Benji Madden probably didn’t expect to marry stars when they started the band, but they ended up with Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz. Rock’n’roll. — TM

6 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 7 Rock’n’roll life The incredible career of Tony Mott

ony Mott has captured all to take photos of the band in action. Shooting stars identity that resonates with fans. aspects of rock’n’roll through He says it took lead singer Chrissy He has often developed a camaraderie This camera lens. Having Amphlett some time to develop into Tony’s portrait portfolio from over with the artists, documenting stumbled into his career, he honed the incredible force of nature she 3000 sessions features some of their expressions over many years. his skills at gigs in Sydney, eventually became: the world’s greatest musicians. About 10% of his income has come becoming a fixture of the 1980s from magazines, 10% from record The first time I saw Chrissy Amphlett His ability to establish a rapport — and 90s music scene. on stage — not a big mover. But slowly capturing candid shots of often companies and the rest from band very private stars — shows through commissions. Born Anthony Moulds in Sheffield, but surely she became the screaming banshee, wild child act she became in his remarkable photographs. Northern England, in 1956, famous for. One drunken Monday night Tony trained as a French chef and I thought, god that must be bloody Moving from live photography to Live action first arrived in Australia in 1976, difficult to photograph, to capture that. portraiture and session work was a settling here permanently in 1981. So the next Monday night I took my big learning curve. The fast-paced When it comes to capturing the He spent 10 years working in hotels camera. For four months, maybe five live music scene contrasted with intensity of live performance, nothing in the UK and Australia then cooked months, I practised, on Chrissy Amphlett, the painstaking work of studio comes close to the lens of Tony Mott. his way around the world for two the art of rock’n’roll photography. photography. He had to learn about Recorded music alone can’t convey years aboard SS Oriana. Visiting lighting and art directing, and deal the dynamism of a live show, it needs Divinyls manager Vince Lovegrove over 60 countries, from Egypt to with musicians’ expectations and images. In live music photography, asked to see Tony’s shots and decided Norway, the experience cemented demands. In the beginning, he worked natural composition and available to use one on a poster promoting the his love for adventure and travel. for free to hone his skills. lighting dictate the shoot, but there band’s upcoming shows. The image can be lots of failed shots because A friend in Sheffield had taught him of Amphlett was widely seen, and he Having been advised by the artist is constantly moving. Tony basic black and white developing had his break as a rock photographer. to always treat ‘stars’ as ordinary aims to show the excitement shared skills, and while working as a chef He went on to photograph Divinyls human beings and always treat between the band and the audience. he started to explore his interest in throughout the life of the band, ‘normal folk’ as stars, Tony’s portraits As a music fan he hears the music, social documentary photography. his photos defining their image. are informal and often spontaneous. sees the audience’s reaction and tries He was influenced by -based Using humour to establish a bond, By 1983 Tony was receiving to convey the experience. photographer Pennie Smith, who shot he recognises that musicians are not requests to photograph musicians the iconic cover of in their natural environment on a set. When he first started out there in Australia, Europe and the US. His and worked for music His photographs reveal their creativity were no physical barriers first international portrait featured bible NME (New Musical Express). and soul rather than the gloss between the crowd and the band. the , and after working of celebrity. In the early 1980s, Tony would on Mick Jagger’s tour he became the finish work as a chef at the Gazebo go-to photographer for some of the Tony has photographed many The Cramps 1995 Hotel in Kings Cross and head out biggest names in music. He changed musicians before they became famous to watch bands. On Monday nights his name to Tony Mott after his and gained practice in posing for the Out of New York’s CBGBs scene. Shot at an unsigned band, Divinyls, had a favourite band, Mott the Hoople. Luna Park. I thought they’d make a great camera. His portraits have become funfair side attraction, so it was the perfect regular gig at the nearby Piccadilly the best known images of musicians location. — TM Hotel and 28-year-old Tony started such as Björk, creating a visual

8 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au Henry Rollins 1991 Despite the image, Henry is a lovely guy. He’s the most intense performer you are ever likely to see. It’s best not to approach him a good 15 minutes before show time — he will be pumping up the intensity. — TM

www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 9 He could find a vantage point at Rock photographs have become the front of the stage to capture the harder to sell now that everyone at spectacle. Later, he gained access a concert has a digital camera or to backstage areas where he could mobile phone. The scene has become experiment with interesting angles, more competitive, and skill levels or set up shots with instruments and have gone down. stage gear. Performance photos were When Tony shot the Red Hot Chili often dominated by the lead singer; Peppers in 2000 he sold 28 images backstage, he could compose shots around the world; when he shot them with the full band. in 2013 he sold three. He sells images Tony has photographed the multitude to blogs, but the payment is well of international acts that have visited below what he used to receive. These Australia, from intimate gigs to days he makes most of his living from stadium shows. He documented the film stills. When he worked on his Sydney music scene of the 1980s and first film, Suburban Mayhem, he had 90s, when the city was full of live to adjust from the high adrenaline venues and had a flourishing record of live photography to lots of waiting industry. As the official photographer around on set. with the Big Day Out festival, he went A passion for music and photography on the road every year, taking close-up and good relationships with musicians shots as well as candid portraits. led to Tony Mott’s success as a rock With all this experience, and a bit photographer for over 30 years. of luck, he can anticipate a moment He has never lost the excitement of before it occurs, revealing the capturing the moment, never stopped performers’ charisma and energy. learning and lives by the rule Please yourself first. Please yourself first Louise Tegart Exhibition curator Tony was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age, only switching to a digital camera in 2008. He didn’t believe digital could achieve the look of film or the grain he wanted for live shots. When Nikon presented him with a D3 camera, he discovered it was made for live photography. Trying it out at a Judas Priest concert, he shot dozens of good images — with film Keith Flint, Prodigy 1997 he might get four great photos and A singer who lends himself to the camera, 10 that were usable. and a great band to photograph live because they blast forth a palpable visual While digital may be cheaper and drama. Prodigy crossed over from the easier, the thrill of developing film Big Day Out’s dance-based Boiler Room and seeing an image emerge is lost. to the rocking main stage. — TM He goes to a lot of trouble to make digital images look like film, through 1991 techniques such as adjusting the I first started photographing Tex in the late white balance. And he still shoots 80s. At that point, I believe, he was in about on film when he can. 20 bands. Confusing? Maybe, but brilliant on stage. — TM

10 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au Deborah Harry and Chris Stein, Blondie 1993 Shot on Deborah Harry’s 48th birthday with Blondie founding member Chris Stein. Apparently she hasn’t spent a day in the sun. Great skin, great songs. — TM

www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 11 Lenny Kravitz 1994 Michael Jackson 1996 I always thought he was a bit of a Hendrix There’s no doubt the King of Pop was in wannabe. — TM a class of his own for both recording and performance. — TM

Johnny Rotten (Lydon), Public Image Limited 1994 Saint Sex Pistol — taken at the in Sydney before stage barriers were introduced, so I had a mass of punks on top of me while shooting. Too much fun. He bought this photo for his biography. — TM

12 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au and 2006 Iggy Pop and the Stooges came to Australia in 2006 for the Big Day Out. At 59 Iggy outperformed bands that were half his age — both in delivery and energy. He really wants to be your dog. — TM

Johnny Cash 1991 The ‘Man in Black’, widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. — TM www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 13 Kiss 2013 Possibly the easiest band in the world to photograph. — TM

14 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 15 Read about it — A recollection of music industry

ou rarely know when the The music press and Phillip Frazer in late 1960s Skyhooks was also the first cover moment has passed until it really , was in this vein. of RAM magazine in March 1975. and truly has. We couldn’t have has different facets. Founded and edited by former ad Y Frazer was the first Australian known as we flew over the blue Pacific There are fanzines created by and man Anthony O’Grady, RAM was licensee of Rolling Stone. The first for a weekend at Hamilton Island for fans. Then comes the free street styled along the lines of NME and Australian edition, in 1970, was that this would be, as it were, the last press. Then the specialist music Melody Maker. Ed Nimmervol’s Juke US number 100, with cover drinks. As the plane made its descent, papers. In Australia that was RAM in Melbourne mirrored RAM in Sydney features on the Grateful Dead we members of the press planned (Rock Australia Magazine). And but that paper never seemed to and A Clockwork Orange. a decadent weekend on the tab of the Rolling Stone was the self-styled matter much outside . brothers Warner. But the days of lotus magazine of record. For me, the arrival of Rolling Stone And, in any case, music was about eating were numbered. The occasion was life-changing. Each alternate to move to Sydney. Rolling Stone launched in San was the launch of ’ Sunday night, I’d go out at midnight Francisco in 1967 at the height of LP in October 1991. Warner and drive my mother’s Beetle to the counter culture. The alternative Music and Jenny’s management flew a a newsagent at a city train station An appetite for culture created alternative media, murder of rock journalists (if that is the where they sometimes unpacked including what was known as the Australian music correct collective noun) to schmooze the Monday deliveries early. I wanted ‘underground press’. These fanzines and watch Jenny play a gig. This is that eight-hour edge. In the mid 70s Australian music was how it was always supposed to be, and community papers thrived just starting to come into its own. la dolce vita. because, as famously But despite my enthusiasm, In 1975, radio station 2JJ went to air pointed out, something was circulation of music magazines in Sydney. Not only was it plugged A number of stars had aligned in happening and the established was low. Rolling Stone was doing into the local scene and broadcasting the 1980s. A group of managers media didn’t know what it was less than 5000 copies. Frazer had restructured the music industry, or how to report it. eventually sold the Australian licence taking advantage of the large to Silvertongues, a consortium of Jenny Morris 1985 For its publisher , suburban hotels that were willing leading Australian journalists headed New Zealander Jenny Morris sang in several Rolling Stone was more than just a to book live music. These managers by Fairfax reporter Paul Gardiner, bands before going solo. Her first hit was music paper. He saw it in the tradition and, to a certain extent, the record investors interested in the magazine the title track for the 1981 film Puberty of American liberal media such as . This photograph was taken during labels began to aggressively pursue because of its reputation for the Esquire, the New Yorker and the a video clip shoot at the Capitol Theatre international releases for their artists. highest quality new journalism. left-wing Ramparts (whose typefaces in Sydney before it was renovated. — TM In the 1980s, INXS, Midnight Oil, It was the magazine that published he borrowed for the iconic Rolling , Divinyls, Crowded Hunter S Thompson, Tom Wolfe, Stone style). Craig Bloxom and Mike Weiley, Spy vs Spy House and the Church all had Joe Klein, Timothy Crouse and 1987 significant success outside Australia Truman Capote. Certainly, they Another tradition is the music rag Named after a comic strip in Mad magazine, and, for the first time, there was — England had NME (New Musical did some great new journalism. these guys had a few different incarnations money in the Australian music Express) and Melody Maker, which Gradually music took over. In 1976, and names: Spy vs Spy, v. Spy v. Spy, and industry. So much that it trickled single-mindedly pursued music and Gardiner put Skyhooks on the first the Spies. They wrote songs about political down as far as the music journalists cared nothing for the rest of society. Australian-originated cover. issues such as homelessness, destruction of heritage buildings and drugs. — TM who documented the glory days. Go-Set, established by David Elfick

16 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au , 1985 A band that commands respect from many overseas bands — they really should have had more overseas success themselves. — TM

www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 17 Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil 1985 A photo is just a moment in time. This is the perfect moment. — TM

Sydney bands, but Double J had a went to RAM magazine, which touted moving MASSIVE numbers of records. Juke the Music Magazine ‘what’s on’ gig guide every day. the word ‘gonzo’ at any opportunity. The Angels, Midnight Oil, Cold Issue #678, 23 April 1988, Australia Chisel, Icehouse, , Australian The music papers survived on the RAM’s Andrew O’Grady was an astute, Crawl and Mi-Sex sold hundreds of RAM Rock Australia Magazine smell of ink and an oily rag. Despite acerbic editor who could spot talent. thousands of copies of a release. #329, 6 April, 1988, Australia low circulations, the magazines gave Andrew McMillan, the only Australian There was a lower tier of 20 bands a narrative to the Australian scene; who has come anywhere near Hunter, Juke the Music Magazine who could sell between gold (35,000 they created heroes and put local came to work at RAM, as did Clinton Issue #532, 6 July [no year], Australia copies) and platinum (70,000). artists into an international context. Walker, an eager swordsman in the Xpress Music & Entertainment Magazine punk culture wars. Meanwhile, aggressive managers and A classic example of the value of the Issue #50, Friday 5 May 1987, Australia agents opened up every suburban press is . He had written Things were so hot that even watering hole to live . The RAM Rock Australia Magazine for literary magazines early on and had its own magazine, Roadrunner, huge quantities of cash (unsupervised #282, 23 April, 1986, Australia fell in with and other edited by Donald Robertson. by the tax office), the rivers of amber members of the bohemian literati. Rolling Stone Me, I wrote my first record review for liquid, the ancillary businesses German issue #6, June, 1995, Germany This helped put him in the sights of Rolling Stone on spec in 1977. It was in trucking, rehearsal spaces and the cognoscenti and he was written the debut album by Jo Jo Zep and amphetamine sulphate created an On the Street about. Kelly’s reputation preceded Issue #273, Wednesday 19 February 1986, the Falcons. I wrote the story in the economy all its own. his recordings and tours, surviving Australia middle of the night and drove, once three albums that tanked. After he It was at this point that the street again in the Volkswagen, to post it at moved to Sydney and made Gossip, press started to appear. On the Street the 24-hour room at the General Post a record that radio could play, he began as one A3 page folded into four Office in Martin Place. In the early 1980s, Christine Webb slipped into the suit that had been sheets. Essentially a gig guide, it was and Jonathon Morris started cut and became the poet laureate To my absolute amazement, Rolling available free. Margaret Cott and her Stiletto magazine in a warehouse he has been ever since. All credit for Stone made it their lead review. I had sister, Jenny, had a perfect formula. on Liverpool Street. Groups like the music goes to Paul Kelly, but the achieved my wildest dreams. They were close to the managers, Do Re Mi, I’m Talking, Machinations, press turned people on and helped venues, agents and record companies So began my relationship with Rolling Flaming Hands, INXS, Models and the them to get it. whose advertising was their lifeblood. had moved away from Stone. The editor, Jane Matheson, was There was a direct correlation an estimable journalist (her feature the standard modes of rock’n’roll between the size of the advertising and dirty jeans. They were as likely Punk exploded interview with is one of the and the size of the editorial. That ratio great pieces of music writing). She to be found in fashion magazines guaranteed both profit and publicity like Stiletto and Follow Me as RAM. In the mid to late 70s, punk exploded was meticulous, encouraging and and everyone was happy. everything. It appealed to the inner inscrutable. Her unerring copyediting Looking back through my papers, city literate types, who had precise taught a flock of music journalists The Cott sisters left On the Street I found copies of Tagg, a pocket-sized tastes. And the high energy music how to write — especially Ed St John, and set up Drum Media, which was street rag, and the Sydney Shout, also brought the kids out of the Andrea Jones, Richard McGregor, even more successful. The paper was which briefly ran a column of mine. suburbs, lapping up the faux punk of Bruce Elder and me. Publisher keen on local bands, especially those In a notebook I found a ledger for groups like the Angels, the Radiators Paul Gardiner was unfathomable playing in town in the near future. August 1981, when I made $325.82 and Mi-Sex. but possessed by a manic energy. Negative opinions appeared but were from RAM and the Sydney Shout. The other part of the Rolling Stone not common. brought an upsurge of The money wasn’t great, but one got team was the avuncular Paul do-it-yourself fanzines. Suicide Alley So, in 1980, I threw in my job counting by on canapés and free beer at record Comrie-Thompson. from , created by Clinton planter boxes for the ABC and threw launches at least a couple of times Walker and Andrew McMillan, bore In 1980 Gardiner decided to markedly myself into the world of freelance a week. Lotuses were everywhere. the standard for local band the Saints increase the magazine’s Australian writing. I imagined myself a little like The relationship between bands, while Pulp in Melbourne championed content. a groovier version of Leopold Bloom, the industry and the media that city’s unique underground. making the rounds of the magazines. was completely intertwined. More energy and enthusiasm brought The Golden Age For me, the main client was Rolling There was a group of people more people to the music press. Stone. My byline appeared in every who lived between Kings Cross Hunter S Thompson was the Messiah In 1980 Australian music went nuts. issue. Then there was RAM — O’Grady and venues in Surry Hills like the to deliver us from grammar. His gonzo Australian acts that, three years was withering to all but his favourites, Hopetoun, the Trade Union Club journalism was the glory to which so earlier, would have been happy with but I picked up some crumbs from on Foveaux Street and the Southern many aspired. Most of those people sales of 8000 copies, were suddenly his table. Cross Hotel on Elizabeth Street.

18 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 19 , The Angels 1988 Doc Neeson was one of the great frontmen, smelled of charisma. — TM

20 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au 1997 The Church 2013 Great melodies, great lyrics and a genuine Shot just a month after I finished renovating rock star out the front, You Am I influenced my house — not an easy band to shoot. — TM god knows how many bands. Why, oh why, are they not bigger? Beats me. This photo was taken at the home of Tim Rogers when he lived in Annandale. — TM

Most of them were musicians; some to drop , The first issue was an embarrassment. In England, Smash Hits’ publisher were writers like Mark Mordue and their big play on the US market. The second issue featured Mental As EMAP launched Q, a glossy magazine Clinton Walker. There were snappers Their management was pressuring Anything on the cover and we were dedicated to music and nothing else. like Tony Mott, Francine McDougall, me to deliver a Rolling Stone cover. off. Some months into the enterprise, Unlike Rolling Stone, which put music Kate O’Brien, Wendy McDougall and John O’Donnell joined as associate at the centre while being engaged Eventually a portrait of Michael Ian Greene. editor. Not only could he write, with broad cultural issues, the EMAP Hutchence was agreed to. It was my but he would drive to Newcastle magazines said ‘Fuck that, we came first edition and it sold really well. with Spy vs Spy in the van. to dance. Don’t tell us your problems.’ Tony Mott That broke the drought. In the next year the and Midnight O’Donnell epitomised the best things EMAP was big on branding and Tony and Francine were the most Oil starred on Rolling Stone. in Oz rock. Coming from Fairfield formatting. Long discursive reviews involved in the scene and the best in western Sydney, he totally got were out. It was a paragraph or two Looking back on those issues, hustlers. Tony’s trademark was the the Radiators but equally got the tightly and alphabetically fitted into the review pages were wild and wide-angle lens and Francine’s was Go-Betweens and he understood that the grid. The cover lines proclaimed discursive. Bands that had sprung to tilt the frame at 30 degrees. Cold Chisel was the bridge between ‘153 CDs Reviewed in this Issue’. from nowhere got 800 words about those two worlds. The numbers were true, but if they their record or about the state The first shot I ever bought from reviewed that many CDs they didn’t of the art. Groups like , There was a strong commitment Mott was a backstage image of always have anything interesting who sold no LPs at the time, could to local content, not only music. Rose Tattoo. Not a great shot of ugly to say about them. people, but there was a need for get a long essay which contributed We improved the art and production, pap shots in Rolling Stone’s ‘ to the legend. and sales steadily increased. Notes’ and Tony had more front than By the mid 80s most of the street Everything became corporate in the End of the glory days Mark Foys. His great asset was his press had evaporated under the heat late 1980s. Australian bands had personality. That got him access no In the early 90s the Big Day Out of Margaret and Jenny Cott’s Drum real success internationally, but a one else had. Tony was also easy to launched and festivals took off. Media. O’Grady had bailed from combination of drink-driving laws, deal with. His prices were reasonable; Heaps of bands for a few dollars. RAM, which went independent but insurance and an ebbing in the he was entertaining and absolutely You could go with your pals and see didn’t survive. Stiletto went under talent pool dried up a lot of Sydney reliable. some things you liked, have a snack and Jonathan Morris created a dance music. Things didn’t go well on or a drink, then see some bands for Tony was to the Sydney rock scene version of Drum called 3D World. a personal level and in 1992 the first time. Individual artists didn’t what Robert Capa was to the Spanish Lesa-Belle, O’Donnell and I formed In 1987 Paul and Jane wanted out of matter so much. It was the beginning Civil War — embedded. His utilitarian a rival publishing house and launched Rolling Stone. An old schoolfriend, of music as a volume business. style — five mopes against a brick the magazine Juice. Phillip Keir, suggested we get the wall and a fish-eye lens — became That’s not to say there was no good licence. A company was formed The music was shifting. It was all a signature. If you wanted to be a music anymore, but most artists no with Phillip and his girlfriend Generation X and . The rock’n’roll star, that was the photo longer had a career arc. The Eagles Lesa-Belle Furhagen and we qualities of rock’s classic era were you needed. took decades to reach the point landed the Australian licence. under threat and no one knew how it where they could sell 20 million Tony was not a passive snapper, would turn out. Pop culture magazines We had bugger all idea what we were records. Alanis Morissette sold though. If there was a band he liked, were changing around the world. doing. David Messer, who had laid 20 million of her second album he would proselytise on their behalf. out the University of Sydney student Irreverence was the order of the day and nothing thereafter, I recall being badgered into a story on newspaper Honi Soit, agreed to be in the Gen X years. The idea of a of her generation for a minute. the Honeys when I had a gut feeling art director. The magazine arrived 20,000-word definitive Rolling Stone they were not destined for greatness. I think it was the musician Beck who on large pieces of film that were interview was as popular as polka pointed out that in 1960 you could processed in a strange machine that music. We at Juice were way more hip not have predicted the records that rarely worked. These international than Rolling Stone and we did some The shifting scene would be made in 1970, and in 1970 pages were supplemented with amazing issues but, like Details and you could not have predicted punk local ones that were typeset and the other magazines we admired, So the reason I was on the plane and disco and the records that would stuck down with glue before being it wasn’t going to work. was that in 1985 the Gardiners be made in 1980, but a record made processed. David did all this with gave me a job as music editor of in 2015 could as easily have been some help. Rolling Stone. INXS were about made in 2000. www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 21 2003 At the Big Day Out in Melbourne in front of a hometown crowd, the Living End’s singer was still recovering from a near fatal road accident. He went on to lead the band back to the top. — TM

Everything is available But this isn’t the end of culture. As my friend Then, at the turn of the century, once sang, ‘It’s just some magic, came the internet. As my friend and there’s still some fun/ If you don’t art director Bruce Daly says, ‘Toby, pay too much attention.’ the internet is not our friend.’ Now The trips to Hamilton Island and everyone is a photographer. They can the lavish launches dried up in the find their own walls and wide-angle 90s. The money went away. And if lenses. Perhaps there is a Tony Mott everyone is a critic, how will you fit app. Music is everywhere. Everyone them all on the plane? is a critic and everyone is a musician so the world has become flooded with amateurism. The critical faculty has disappeared under the tyranny of formats and star ratings. Reviews don’t even start considering what the artist is on about lyrically or where the music is coming from. The clumsy reproduction and the formatting of pictures and text are defined by machines and not art directors. The magic of opening a great spread is gone. The editorial voice has become smaller. ‘Content’ is cut and pasted and republished so it’s hard to know the personality of the author. Toby Creswell is one of Australia’s most prolific music and popular I miss the days when I had to sneak culture writers and producers. He out in the middle of the night and was the founding editor of Juice drive across a sleeping city to get magazine and former editor of something I valued. But right now . His books there are more Australians doing include Too Much Ain’t Enough: The interesting things around the world Life of , 1001 Songs, than ever before. Maybe authorship Love Is In the Air and 100 Greatest isn’t everything. Australian Albums (with John O’Donnell and ). The internet has not been kind to Toby has produced and written the record business. There is illegal a range of films, TV series and downloading, and it’s possible for documentaries, and won a swag bands to produce their own work of industry awards. and have immediate distribution. We’ve lost the expertise that crafted , Pink Floyd and . Today’s proposition is that everyone Cold Chisel 2001 can express themselves. That’s true. But I’d rather they didn’t. Without the For me, Cold Chisel is Australia’s greatest band ever (with a huge doff of the cap photographers and the writers to turn to AC/DC). They have all the ingredients: musicians into gods, we’re surrounded great , no weak links and the by ordinary men and women. odd bit of conflict. — TM

22 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au Kasey Chambers 2015 In July 2015 I did a shoot with Kasey Chambers at the State Library. We teamed up with Rolling Stone to show the whole process from shoot to cover. Often, as a photographer, you pick your best shot and then the editor or band management takes over. The next thing you know, the magazine or CD cover comes out and they’ve chosen something different. It’s not always as bad as it sounds — you can be pleasantly surprised. — TM

www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 23 LIST OF WORKS All works are courtesy of Tony Mott unless otherwise stated. MOTT THE MAN

Deborah Harry Paul and Linda McCartney Tony Mott and Kasey Chambers Tony Mott and Tony Mott and Tony Mott and Mick Jagger Tony Mott and Mick Jones Tony Mott and Norah Jones Tony Mott and Tom Jones Tony Mott and Christine McVie Tony Mott with Jodi Phillis and Suzie Higgie Tony Mott and Tim Rogers Tony Mott and Tony Mott and Spinal Tap Film stills Animal Kingdom 2010 Written and directed by David Michôd. Produced by Screen Australia, Porchlight, Film Victoria, Screen NSW, Fulcrum Media Finance, Showtime Australia. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. © Animal Kingdom Holdings Tomorrow, When the War Began 2010 Screenplay by Stuart Beattie. Directed by Stuart Beattie. Produced by Andrew Mason and Michael Boughen. Distributed by Paramount Pictures and Freestyle Releasing. © Tomorrow, When the War Began A Few Best Men 2011 Written by Dean Craig. Directed by Stephan Elliott. Produced by Quickfire Films, Screen Australia, Screen NSW. Distributed by Icon Film Distribution and Buena Vista International. © A Few Best Men The Darkside 2013 Directed by Warwick Thornton. Produced by Scarlett Pictures. Distributed by Memento Films International and Transmission. © The Darkside The Rover 2014 Screenplay by David Michôd. Directed by David Michôd. Produced by Porchlight Films, Lava Bear Films, Screen Australia. Distributed by Roadshow Films. © Rover Film Holdings Pty Ltd Access all areas 97 passes with lanyards Keeping records Two binders with paper

WILD CHILD

Chrissy Amphlett, Divinyls live 1980s (four images) Chrissy Amphlet and Mark McEntee, Divinyls live 1980s Divinyls live 1980s

SYDNEY SOUNDS

Doc Neeson, The Angels 1988 1991 Cold Chisel 2001 Hellmenn 1989 Hoodoo Gurus 1984 1988 Slipknot 2000 , Confetti 2009 Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil 1985 PORTRAITS Kim Gordon, 1993 Masters Apprentices with Hoodoo Gurus, The Radiators 1986 Beastie Boys 1992 Turn Up Your Radio 1995 1991 Björk 1994 CDs singles, EPs and full albums John McNally, John McNally’s Ireland 1993 , From the Belly of the Angry Anderson, Rose Tattoo 1985 Deborah Harry and Chris Stein, Blondie Tex Perkins, , , Beasts 1993 Jeremy Oxley, 1992 1993 What I Done to Her 1993 The Bellhops, Room Service 1997 Deniz Tek 1992 1988 Powder Monkeys, Straight until Morning , Take a Look Inside 1994 1995 1998 Eurythmics 1983 , Ian Rilen and the Love Addicts, You Am I 1997 Marianne Faithfull 2003 Spaceman in a Satin Suit 1994 Family From Cuba 2012 1990 Band flyers 1986–2006 Clouds, Favourites 1999 The Saints, Songs of Salvation Good Charlotte 2010 51 paper flyers by artists including , Already Gone 1997 1976–1988 1990 , INXS 1988 Ben Brown and Ray Ahn Divinyls, Greatest Hits 2006 , Chained to You 1999 State Library of NSW 2015 , Reset 2007 Six & Out, Six & Out 2000 EPHEMERA/MUSIC/1830 Jimmy Little 2000 Hillsong, Hope 2003 Skulker, Too Fat for Tahiti 2000 Marilyn Manson 1997 Suzie Higgie, 4 Track Mind 2000 Spazzys, Aloha! Go Bananas 2004 and 1996 Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave 1996 Judge Mercy, Live With It! 1992 Sprimp, We Love TV 2002 Motorhead 1997 Both Melbourne icons in their own right, , The Way I Made You Feel 1991 Tamara Stewart, The Way the World is 2001 but in very different fields. It was an odd Ozzy Osbourne 1991 Little Birdy, bigbiglove 2004 Stiff Kittens, Eat the Peanuts 1993 combination that worked. — TM 1994

24 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au Sally Street, The Scorpion Maid 2010 , The Rolling Stones 1995 Sunrize Band, Lunggurrma 1993 Unlike Mick, Keith never moves more than Deniz Tek, Music for Film and TV, 1998 5 metres from his amp during the show Urst 1998 and always has a cigarette attached to his or in his gob. The mosh pit is The Verlaines, Ready to Fly 1991 an ashtray by the end of the gig. Without You Am I, Coprolalia 1993 doubt, the man who most resembles and stinks of rock’n’roll. — TM Vinyl 7” and 12” The Angels, Rhythm Rude Girl 1989 Beasts of Bourbon, Black Milk 1990 Big Hope, Little Town 1991 Box The Jesuit, Angel Flame 1990 Box The Jesuit, Murdercycle 1990 Bughouse, Every Fool in Town 1991 The Butcher Shop, Pump Action 1990 The Cockroaches, Positive 1991 , Time March Past 1991 Divinyls, Pleasure and Pain 1985 Do Re Mi, The ‘Happiest Place in Town’ 1988 The , Audio Sonic Love Affair1990 The Dubrovniks, She Got No Love 1990 Tommy Emmanuel, Dare to be Different 1990 Falling Joys, Wish List 1990 The Hummingbirds, loveBUZZ 1989 Icehouse, 1989 Mortal Sin, I Am Immortal 1990 Neil Murray, Lets Fall in Love Again (Just for the hell of it) 1989 Trevor Knight and the Newport Trio, Times They are A’changing 1989 Nineteen 27, Don’t Forget Me 1990 , Concrete and Clay 1986 Plug Uglies, Knock Me Your Lobes 1988 Psychotic Turnbuckles, Beyond the Flipout 1987 Psychotic Turnbuckles, Lunar Chik 1989 Psychotic Turnbuckles, Pharoahs of the Far Out 1989 Roddy Ray’Da and the Surfin’ Caesars, Orgazmatazz 1991 Ripe For You, S-s-s-single Bed 1991 The Saints, All Fools Day 1985 , I Got a Feeling 1988 The Screaming Tribesmen, Take Cover 1989 The Shivers, Downtown Sister 1991 Sonic Youth, Burning Spear 1993 Straitjacket Fits, Bad Note for a Heart 1990 Sunnyboys, Sinful Me 1989 Temper Temper, What Did I Do? 1994 The Tribe, War Cry 1985 The Trilobites, Turn it Around 1987 The Venetians, Amazing World 1988 The Venetians, Bitter Tears 1988 The music press 57 magazine and street press covers

BIG DAY OUT

Airbourne 2011 Arcade Fire 2014 Cedric Bixler-Zavala, At the Drive In 2001 Big Day Out tour pass 2008 , 2005 , Hole 1999 Wes Borland, Limp Bizkit 2001 The Living End 2003 2007 Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails 2000 Kurt Cobain, Nirvana 1992 Keith Flint, Prodigy 1997 Till Lindemann, Rammstein 2001 1997 1990 On location around Sydney Harbour NSW first class train carriage seat Iggy Pop and the Stooges 2006 James Hetfield, 1989 Mariah Carey 1998 c. 1950s Surfing the crowd n.d. Johnny Rotten (Lydon), The Cramps 1995 Public Image Limited 1994 , The Vines 2003 1996 Rihanna 2008 Kanye West 2012 Itch-E and Scratch-E 2010 Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones 1995 Bruno Mars 2011 Henry Rollins 1991 LIVE , The Smiths 1986 On location at the State Library AC/DC 2013 Rod Stewart 1986 Do Re Mi 1984 1987 Bono, 1994 The Screaming Tribesmen 1986 Jeff Buckley 1995 Neil Young 1989 Lucinda Williams 1986 1991 ZZ Top 1987 Kasey Chambers 2015 Four mock-up covers of Rolling Stone , 1994 Four annotated proof sheets Michael Jackson 1996 ON LOCATION Mick Jagger 1988 On location at Tony Mott’s house Beasts of Bourbon 1990 2005 Joan Jett 1986 Black and white negatives and colour 1996 Elton John 1986 positives reproduced on Fujiclear Tex Perkins 1991 BB King 1989 2003 © Graham Jepson © Graham www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 25 AC/DC 2013 You can’t help but smile when a 57-year-old man walks on stage in a school uniform and proceeds to duck walk and play 20-minute guitar solos. The fans love it! — TM

Madonna 1990 Marilyn Manson 1997 An image change a day won’t keep Introducing himself as Brian, and presenting the media away, but maybe that’s the a box of contact lenses in different colours, point. What an amazing career she he couldn’t have been a nicer guy. He doesn’t has had. This photo is from the Blonde look like any other Brian I’ve known. — TM Ambition tour — the white corset was a photographer’s nightmare exposure-wise (pardon the pun!). — TM

26 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au T-shirts, tote bags, iPhone cases and other exhibition-related items are available at www.redbubble.com/people/madewithslnsw

www.sl.nsw.gov.au WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT :: 27 28 :: WHAT A LIFE! ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY MOTT www.sl.nsw.gov.au