Michael Putland
Encyclopedia
Michael Putland is an English
music photographer who "never had a day off in the ‘70s". He has photographed thousands of artists, literally from Abba
to Zappa
.
, Putland took up photography at the age of 9. He is a portrait photographer and photojournalist most noted for his extensive archive of photographs of musicians and other famous subjects. His current work is more directed to photographing classical musicians, as well as fashion and travel photography.
Putland left school at 16 and began working in a photographic studio in London. From 1965 to 1967 he assisted Walter Curtin, a Time-Life
photographer, with his photojournalism and commercial advertising work. After Curtin returned to his adopted home in Canada, Putland set up as a photographer in his own right, and in 1969 he and a friend rented their own photographic studio. By 1971, he was the official photographer for the British music magazine Disc & Music Echo. His first assignment for them that year was to photograph Mick Jagger
in London.
and this led to a long-term relationship with the Stones. Some of his best-selling images come from this period of close association with the band, for example his portrait of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh with a grinning, boy-ish Mick Jagger nestled between them.
produced a limited edition book containing over 400 images of the Rolling Stones by Putland. Putland was on the sets of Stones videos, including the "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" shoot with the band in their sailor suits, and the tracks "Some Girls
" and "Respectable"
- a still from the latter was used in 2005 as the cover for Rolling Stones Rarities and Putland also had the original "Respectable" 1978 single cover. Also published are shots of Mick Taylor
; a candid set of the band backstage at The New York Palladium
with the McCartneys; Bianca Jagger
; and an extensive number of images of the band both onstage and off during the 1970s and 1980s.
from 1977–1984 during which period he photographed extensively for the major record labels including Capitol
, WEA
, Polygram
, Columbia Records
and A&M Records
. Whilst in New York he also started a music photo library called Retna which he was involved in running for nearly 30 years and which he sold in 2006.
(Bananarama
, Wham); Sounds (Bryan Ferry
, Paul McCartney
) and Q Magazine (a shoot in Brazil with The Cure
, and at the other end of the pop spectrum, Wet Wet Wet
). He also shot on the sets of TV shows like Top of the Pops
adding The Bee Gees, Traffic
, The Who
, Duran Duran
and Elvis Costello
to his archive in the 1970s and 1980s. But it was his first client, Disc and Music Echo that set him out on the varied road of music photography by giving him his very first shoot. Other images that have become iconic and were shot for Disc include David Bowie
and John Lennon
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
music photographer who "never had a day off in the ‘70s". He has photographed thousands of artists, literally from Abba
Abba
ABBA is the name of a former Swedish pop music group.Abba may also refer to:* ABBA , a self-titled album by the Swedish pop music group ABBA* "Abba ", a song by Christian pop and rock artist, Rebecca St...
to Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
.
Biography
Born in 1947 just outside LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Putland took up photography at the age of 9. He is a portrait photographer and photojournalist most noted for his extensive archive of photographs of musicians and other famous subjects. His current work is more directed to photographing classical musicians, as well as fashion and travel photography.
Putland left school at 16 and began working in a photographic studio in London. From 1965 to 1967 he assisted Walter Curtin, a Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
photographer, with his photojournalism and commercial advertising work. After Curtin returned to his adopted home in Canada, Putland set up as a photographer in his own right, and in 1969 he and a friend rented their own photographic studio. By 1971, he was the official photographer for the British music magazine Disc & Music Echo. His first assignment for them that year was to photograph Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
in London.
The Rolling Stones
Already shooting regularly for British magazines like Disc and Music Echo, Putland was hired as the tour photographer for The Rolling Stones European Tour 1973The Rolling Stones European Tour 1973
The Rolling Stones 1973 European Tour was a concert tour of Great Britain and Continental Europe in September and October 1973 by The Rolling Stones.-History:The tour followed the release of the group's album Goats Head Soup on 31 August...
and this led to a long-term relationship with the Stones. Some of his best-selling images come from this period of close association with the band, for example his portrait of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh with a grinning, boy-ish Mick Jagger nestled between them.
Genesis Publications
In 1999, Genesis PublicationsGenesis Publications
Genesis Publications Limited is a British publishing company founded in 1974 by Brian Roylance, a former student of the London College of Printing. His aim was to create a company in the traditions of the private press, true to the arts of printing and book binding...
produced a limited edition book containing over 400 images of the Rolling Stones by Putland. Putland was on the sets of Stones videos, including the "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" shoot with the band in their sailor suits, and the tracks "Some Girls
Some Girls
Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1978 on Rolling Stones Records, catalogue COC 39108...
" and "Respectable"
Respectable (Rolling Stones song)
"Respectable" is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1978 album Some Girls. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In the liner notes to the 1993 compilation album Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones , Jagger said, "It's important to be somewhat influenced by what's going on...
- a still from the latter was used in 2005 as the cover for Rolling Stones Rarities and Putland also had the original "Respectable" 1978 single cover. Also published are shots of Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
; a candid set of the band backstage at The New York Palladium
Palladium (music venue)
The Palladium was a concert hall and later a nightclub in New York City. It was located on the south side of East 14th Street, between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue....
with the McCartneys; Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...
; and an extensive number of images of the band both onstage and off during the 1970s and 1980s.
New York
Putland lived and worked in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1977–1984 during which period he photographed extensively for the major record labels including Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. Whilst in New York he also started a music photo library called Retna which he was involved in running for nearly 30 years and which he sold in 2006.
Editorial work
Putland was hired regularly to shoot magazine covers and posters for British music publications as diverse as Smash HitsSmash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...
(Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
, Wham); Sounds (Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
) and Q Magazine (a shoot in Brazil with The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, and at the other end of the pop spectrum, Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish pop rock band that formed in the 1980s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band is composed of Marti Pellow , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell...
). He also shot on the sets of TV shows like Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
adding The Bee Gees, Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
and Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
to his archive in the 1970s and 1980s. But it was his first client, Disc and Music Echo that set him out on the varied road of music photography by giving him his very first shoot. Other images that have become iconic and were shot for Disc include David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
.
Select album covers
- Son of SchmilssonSon of SchmilssonSon of Schmilsson is the eighth album by Harry Nilsson. Nilsson was being pressured to produce a follow-up album similar to his 1971 breakthrough, Nilsson Schmilsson, but, instead, he cut a more eccentric album....
– Harry NilssonHarry NilssonHarry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson... - Rarities 1971-2003Rarities 1971-2003Rarities 1971–2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records - as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America - and features a selection of rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003...
– The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up... - Eric Clapton's Rainbow ConcertEric Clapton's Rainbow ConcertEric Clapton's Rainbow Concert is an album recorded live at London's Rainbow Theatre on January 13, 1973, and released within the year. The concert was organized by Pete Townshend and marked Eric Clapton's comeback after the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh...
– Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and... - The Very Best of Curtis MayfieldThe Very Best of Curtis Mayfield-Track listing:# “ If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go”# “The Makings of You”# “Move on Up”# “Get Down”# “We Got to Have Peace”# “Freddie's Dead ”# “Superfly”# “Pusherman”# “Future Shock”# “Can't Say Nothin'”...
– Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly... - T. Rex BBC Sessions – T. RexT. Rex (band)T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
- Vintage – Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
- Chronicles – AbbaAbbaABBA is the name of a former Swedish pop music group.Abba may also refer to:* ABBA , a self-titled album by the Swedish pop music group ABBA* "Abba ", a song by Christian pop and rock artist, Rebecca St...
- High VoltageHigh Voltage (1975 album)High Voltage is the debut studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 17 February 1975. Six of the album's eight songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. "Soul Stripper" was written by Young & Young, and "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a cover version of a Big...
– AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"... - Sweet Dreams: The AnthologySweet Dreams: The AnthologySweet Dreams: The Anthology is a compilation album by American guitarist and blues musician Roy Buchanan. The double CD contains released as well as previously unreleased recordings, live and studio...
– Roy BuchananRoy BuchananRoy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...