Onto his fourth book and currently exhibiting at the NSW State Library, rock photographer Tony Mott has had an illustrious career. Mott has toured with the best of international rock stars and photographed over a thousand artists.
At the launch of his latest book, Alphabet A-Z Rock ‘N’ Roll Photography, Mott spoke about the ins-and-outs of his career, which has included working with often camera-shy musicians, being the official photographer of the Big Day Out, and occasional hilarious adventures – like being driven around Japan with Avril Lavigne by a stubborn manager, being asked for directions by a barely-lucid Stevie Nicks and meeting Marilyn Manson, a.k.a. Brian.
Photographers and music fans alike flocked to Surry Hills last Friday and Saturday, where the book was launched at the Leonard Mattis Studio. On Friday night, dancers, performance art and live music transformed the studio into a futuristic homage to rock and roll. On Saturday I got the chance to sit down with Tony Mott for an exclusive interview.
“What have been some of the highlights of your career?”
“Touring with the Rolling Stones, being the official photographer of the Big Day Out, the first album cover, the first magazine cover and the first album published.”
“I’ve never once thought of it as a job. I’ve never woken up in the morning and thought, oh, I have to go to my job. It’s always been something that I’ve just loved to do.”
“Have there been any career low points or obstacles?”
“No, not really – there’s never been anything where I’ve thought, hmm, that was a low point. At most [the things that have come up like that have been] hiccups. And the thing with my career is that I’ve never once thought of it as a job, I’ve never woken up in the morning and thought, oh, I have to go to my job. It’s always been something that I’ve just loved to do, and I get paid for it. So I’ve always thought of myself as privileged and thought of it as brilliant.”
“The photography industry has obviously changed a lot – do you think there are any great new photography scenes that are emerging?”
“New photography scenes? Well, the digital age has made the biggest difference ever [in the history of photography]. There’s a bit of a yin-yang to it; there are advantages and disadvantages. And one of the advantages is, when I first started digital photography, I felt like I was cheating – it was just too easy. The disadvantage is that there’s less skill required now, so anyone can do it and there’s more competition. Which is good for the industry, really. Also, there are no hard copy images, and of course with the digital age [most] print magazines have come to an end.”
“If you were starting your career in today’s industry, what would you do differently?”
“[Laughs] Well, that’s a huge question, really. I think it’s nearly impossible to make a career as a music photographer now. It’s nearly impossible. And my career was a bit of a happy accident. It was a combination of my two passions – my love of music and my love of photography. The digital age has changed a lot, but one thing it hasn’t changed is the eye. You need to have something that no one else has, and what you have for that is your eye – the artist’s eye… That’s the thing that the digital age hasn’t changed. And you’ve got to make your equipment work for you. That’s important, I think.”
“You toured with so many legendary people – what are some of your best memories from life on the road?”
“Photographing the Rolling Stones at Red Square in Moscow..I suppose when Marilyn Manson walked in and introduced himself as Brian; that was great. Meeting Sarah McLachlan and falling in love with her music. Always just getting involved with the music, really. That was always what I loved about it.”
“What are your plans for the future?”
“Well, I’ve got four-and-a-half-year-old twins, so my future’s pretty wrapped up in that. Career-wise, I’m taking stills for movies and television now.”
“What are you hoping people take away from your new book?”
“[Laughs] Well, this is my fourth book, and it’s a bit weird. With each book you make, you get involved personally. So I see this book in a particular way, but I’m aware that readers will probably see it in a very different way. And with my first book… after it was published I could see the faults. With my second book, I got three bites of the cherry. I did it, and then I redid it for the publisher, and then I got to redo again when it was published in America. My friend said to me [when I made that book], “Oh, you’re not going to print that Bjork picture again?” [Laughs] It’s been printed so many times. But this book [is different]… it’s essentially a catalogue of every artist I’ve ever photographed. There are over 1000 artists in there. The initial idea was to make a book of all unpublished photographs. And I quickly realised that wasn’t going to work, but still – I think this book is 95% brand new.”
“How do you think Australian rock compares to the rest of the world?”
“Pretty well, I think. Per ratio of people, we do fantastically. The golden era was the 80s and 90s… but going even further back there were the Easy Beats. When you think about it there’s England, which is number one, and America, which is second – but they’ve got [over] 250 million people, compared to our 23 million people. So really per ratio of people, we do amazingly well.”
Tony Mott’s What A Life! exhibition is open at the Mitchell & Dixson Galleries, the NSW State Library until February 7th 2016.