The photographer behind some of David Bowie’s most iconic images
One year on from his passing, we revisit a conversation with Masayoshi Sukita, the photographer who shot some of the most iconic images of the artist.
[“][W]hen I came to London in 1972 I wanted to photograph T-Rex’s Marc Bolan originally – I didn’t know who David Bowie was. But after the shoot with T-Rex I saw a poster, the cover of The Man Who Sold the World which was advertising an upcoming David Bowie gig. The poster was such an arresting image that right then and there I decided to go to the concert. Seeing David Bowie on stage opened up my eyes to his creative genius. I watched Bowie perform with Lou Reed and it was so powerful. Bowie was different to the other rock and rollers, he had something special that I knew I had to photograph.
I stayed in the Portobello Hotel in London – the hotel was famous for hosting American rock and rollers at the time. The staff there were very glamorous, I always remember that. I heard rumours from the staff about what Bowie was like while he was staying there that spurred me on to capture him even more. I came to London with the stylist Yasuko Takahashi, and she managed to get in contact with David Bowie’s manager. I told her that I was desperate to work with him and she told his manager. I brought my portfolio to his manager who thankfully liked my work and granted me a session to shoot with David. And that was the start of a 40 year collaboration.
“It started in 1972 in London. After that, in 1973 I shot him in New York and met him in Tokyo later that year when he arrived for his first Japanese tour. In 1977 David Bowie came to Tokyo again with Iggy Pop. They asked me to take photographs in a quick, hour long session but I didn’t know at the time that the shoot would end up on David Bowie’s album cover – it ended up being the cover of ‘Heroes’. It was a very private session that I’ll always remember. Most recently I shot him in 2009 when I took his last official portrait.
Whatever was happening to David in his personal life, he never showed it in front of the camera. His strength and humility always shone through in images, that was the bottom line, and it’s something that I will always remember. And if I had to choose a highlight? Every time I shot David was a career highlight. He is, and always will be, my favourite subject.”
-as told to Hunger by Masayoshi Sukita