Backstage Photos of David Bowie Taken by Mick Rock at Bournesmouth Winter Gardens in 1973

Taken by his legendary official photographer Mick Rock, these images show David Bowie resting in his dressing room during the UK leg of the historic Ziggy Stardust tour. The photographs were taken on May 25, 1973, when Bowie and the Spiders from Mars performed two sold-out shows at the now-lost Bournemouth Winter Gardens.

Mick Rock was given unparalleled backstage access during this era, capturing intimate moments of Bowie transforming into his stage personas, applying his own makeup, and relaxing between high-energy sets. This gig took place during the frantic final months of the Ziggy Stardust / Aladdin Sane era, just weeks before Bowie shockingly announced the retirement of the Ziggy persona at the Hammersmith Odeon in July 1973.

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40 Photographs of the Young Bee Gees in the 1960s

Before they became the falsetto-singing, white-suited kings of the 1970s disco boom, the Bee Gees in the 1960s were a highly successful baroque pop and psychedelic rock band. Driven by the pristine, three-part tight harmonies of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, they spent the first half of the decade honing their craft as teenagers in Australia before conquering the global charts from London in 1967.

After emigrating from Manchester to Queensland, Australia, as children in 1958, the Gibb brothers began performing at speedways and local television variety shows. They made their first national TV appearance on August 12, 1960, performing “Time is Passing By,” written by a 13-year-old Barry Gibb. Twin brothers Robin and Maurice were just 10 years old.

Heavily influenced by the Beatles and the British beat-music boom, they began recording professionally in 1963. After a string of minor successes, they scored their first massive Australian number-one hit with “Spicks and Specks” in late 1966. Paradoxically, by the time the song topped the charts, the family was already sailing back to England to attempt to launch an international career.

Arriving in London in early 1967, the brothers signed with manager Robert Stigwood. They expanded into a five-piece band by recruiting Australian musicians Vince Melouney (guitar) and Colin Petersen (drums). In April 1967, they released their international debut single, “New York Mining Disaster 1941.” The track was so melodic and heavily harmonized that many radio DJs initially played it believing it was a secret recording by the Beatles, fueling their rapid rise to fame.

Unlike many of their peers, the teenagers wrote all of their own original material. They quickly rolled out a succession of massive global baroque-pop masterpieces such as: “Massachusetts” (1967), “To Love Somebody” (1967) and “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” (1968).

By 1969, immense fame took its toll. Rivalries over who should sing lead vocals, primarily between elder brother Barry and Robin, led to Robin briefly quitting the band in 1969 to pursue a solo career, temporarily fracturing the group as the decade drew to a close.

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Photographs Young Olivia Newton-John and Pat Carroll in the 1960s

Before Olivia Newton-John became a global pop icon and the star of Grease, she spent the mid-1960s performing as part of a pop vocal duo called “Pat and Olivia” alongside her close friend and fellow Australian singer, Pat Carroll.

After initially crossing paths in the Australian music circuit and appearing on local television like Swallow’s Juniors, both girls set their sights on the United Kingdom. Olivia moved to London first after winning a talent contest, and Pat joined her shortly after.

In 1966, the two teens moved into a Hampstead mews flat together, sharing it with Olivia’s mother. They initially started out with Olivia tagging along to Pat's solo gigs for company, but they quickly realized they would have more leverage in the British music scene if they teamed up. As a duo, they slept on a blow-up mattress on the floor, living out the typical, gritty life of young artists trying to break through in swinging 1960s London.

Billing themselves as “Pat and Olivia,” they spent the late 1960s touring nightclubs and pubs across the UK and Europe. Their repertoire consisted primarily of energetic pop covers and folk-blended harmonies. They managed to gain steady traction, securing backup singing gigs for major stars like Cliff Richard and booking multiple high-profile television appearances.

Despite their growing momentum, the duo’s partnership came to an abrupt end due to strict UK immigration laws. Pat Carroll’s visa expired, and she was forced to return to Australia. Following her return home, Pat married musician John Farrar in 1969. Farrar would later go on to write and produce many of Olivia’s biggest career-defining hits, keeping the artistic circle tightly connected. Meanwhile, Olivia stayed behind in Britain to grind out a solo career, which eventually launched her into international superstardom in the 1970s.

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Guns N’ Roses Members Posing With Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘Terminator’ in 1991

The collaboration between Guns N’ Roses and Arnold Schwarzenegger for the 1991 single “You Could Be Mine” is one of the most iconic pop-culture crossovers of the 1990s. The track served as the theme song for the blockbuster film Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Director James Cameron wanted a hard-rock track to reflect young John Connor’s (Edward Furlong) rebellious nature. Arnold Schwarzenegger personally invited the band to dinner at his house to negotiate and finalize the deal for the song’s placement in T2. Schwarzenegger himself would comment upon it: “[The band members] have been big, big fans of Terminator and have expressed that many times. And I have been a fan of their music, so we checked into what it will be like to do a video together or to get some of the music.”

Directed by Jeffrey Abelson and Andy Morahan, the video mixes live concert footage of GNR performing at the Ritz in New York City with cinematic narrative scenes. Schwarzenegger’s T-800 character arrives at the venue on a mission to eliminate Guns N’ Roses. After tracking down the band in an alleyway following their set, the Terminator confronts Axl Rose and Slash. He scans the band members, determines that killing them would be a “waste of ammo,” assesses Axl Rose as a non-threat, and walks away into the night while Axl smiles and winks.

In Terminator 2, the song plays early in the film when John Connor rides his dirt bike with a boombox strapped to the back while hiding from his foster parents.

Released in June 1991, the single became a major hit and helped fuel excitement around the film. It was a perfect collision of rock, cinema, and early ’90s culture, an era defined by rebellion, big personalities, and MTV-driven hype.

When the Rolling Stones Performed on a Flatbed Truck in New York City in 1975

On May 1, 1975, The Rolling Stones staged one of the most legendary guerrilla marketing stunts in rock history by performing live on a moving flatbed truck rolling down Fifth Avenue in New York City. Instead of attending their scheduled, traditional press conference inside the Fifth Avenue Hotel to announce their upcoming Tour of the Americas ‘75, the band completely bypassed the media. They left journalists waiting inside the hotel while they blasted an extended version of their hit song “Brown Sugar” directly on the rain-slicked streets outside.

The truck loaded up its backline equipment, amps, and instruments at 12th Street and barreled down Lower Fifth Avenue toward Washington Square Park, bringing Manhattan traffic to a sudden standstill. The idea came from drummer Charlie Watts, who was inspired by historical New Orleans jazz musicians who traditionally used flatbed trucks to promote their upcoming gigs.

The casual, chaotic performance served as the official live public debut of guitarist Ronnie Wood, who had just joined the band to replace Mick Taylor. Mick Jagger, sporting a flashy yellow blazer and carrying a parasol, strutted across the tiny moving stage alongside Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and keyboardist Billy Preston, while hundreds of ecstatic fans and blindsided reporters chased the truck down the street.

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Freddie Mercury Posing With Young Fans During Queen’s “The Works Tour” in Sun City, South Africa, in October 1984

Freddie Mercury posing with young fans, including an 8-year-old Neville Kaye on the left, in October 1984 while Queen was staying in Sun City, South Africa, during The Works Tour.

Neville’s family was visiting Sun City on vacation from Johannesburg. While walking through the resort area, Neville’s mother spotted Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May walking right ahead of them. Neville, who was only 8 years old at the time, didn’t understand why his mother was suddenly so hysterical until she explained, “He is the one who sings ‘Radio Ga Ga!’”

“She asked me to run up to him and ask for his autograph but I was too shy so she ran up to him and was very polite,” Neville recalled. “I noticed Brian May walked away with something like ‘I’ll meet you later.’ So Freddie and my mom approached the pool area in the picture and my dad came up to meet him with my brothers. My dad, struck up a conversation with Freddie – I don’t remember what they spoke about.”

“After a while my dad asked if he would mind taking a picture of him and kids, he obliged and voila! Here it is. We never saw the concert or had tickets for that night, let alone knew Queen was there! When Freddie passed away in 1991 I had the picture enlarged and framed in my room.”

Neville Kaye went on to become a professional musician and guitar teacher based in Sydney, Australia, a career path no doubt influenced by his brief childhood meeting with rock royalty.

Some of the Last Known Photos of Amy Winehouse, the Night of the Last Time She Took the Stage on July 20, 2011

On July 20, 2011, Amy Winehouse made a surprise final public stage appearance supporting her 15-year-old goddaughter and mentee, Dionne Bromfield, during Bromfield’s set at the iTunes Festival at Camden’s Roundhouse in London.

Winehouse walked out unannounced while Bromfield was performing a cover of The Shirelles’ classic “Mama Said.” Amy said she did not want to sing. Instead, she danced behind Dionne and gave her support as Dionne sang. Known for her generous spirit, it was unsurprising to many that her last performance would be supporting someone else. She took photos backstage after the event with Dionne, the band “The Wanted,” and some fans.

Amy Winehouse passed away three days later, on July 23, 2011, at her nearby home. Dionne and others state she was not under the influence of alcohol during this event, highlighting the highs and lows that people struggling to withdrawal from alcohol go through. She was taking medication for withdrawal and actively trying to stop drinking completely at the time of her death, but she experienced relapses until her body could not longer tolerate it. Her history of bulimia is thought to have weakened her body severely. Contrary to the belief of many, her use of hard drugs was not the cause of her death, as she had successfully quit those several years prior.

Rare Photographs of Bruce Springsteen Performing With His Early Band Steel Mill

Steel Mill was one of Bruce Springsteen’s most important pre-E Street Band groups, active from late 1969 to early 1971. The band served as a key stepping stone in Springsteen’s musical development, giving him his first taste of a loyal following, extended live performances, and a tighter, heavier rock sound that foreshadowed his later success.

Steel Mill emerged from Child, a Jersey Shore band Springsteen had been playing with after his time in The Castiles and Earth. When they discovered another group was already using the name Child, they adopted Steel Mill in late 1969. Other members of the band included three future members of the E Street Band, Vini Lopez, Danny Federici, and Steve Van Zandt.

As well as playing on the Jersey Shore, Steel Mill also played regularly in Richmond, Virginia and played gigs in California and a festival in Nashville, Tennessee. They opened for acts such as Chicago, Boz Scaggs, Grand Funk Railroad, Roy Orbison, Ike & Tina Turner, and Black Sabbath. Steel Mill played their final show in January 1971. After the band’s dissolution, Springsteen went on to form other short-lived bands before signing with Columbia Records in 1972 and forming what would eventually become the E Street Band.

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Outtakes of Motörhead During the Ace of Spades’ Album Cover Photoshoot, 1980

The artwork for Motörhead’s classic 1980 album Ace of Spades is one of the most famous images in rock history. While it looks like Lemmy, “Fast” Eddie Clarke, and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor were photographed in a sun-baked desert in Arizona or New Mexico, the shoot actually took place in a sand quarry in Barnet, Hertfordshire, North London.

Captured by photographer Alan Ballard, who was tasked with creating a bold, cinematic visual inspired by Western films and Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” outlaw persona. Instead of traveling to the American Southwest, the record company opted for a cost-effective location nearby. The band was taken to a quarry in Barnet on a sunny day in 1980.

The band donned leather jackets, bullet belts, leather trousers, cowboy boots, and wide-brimmed hats—with “Fast” Eddie wearing a poncho to complete the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western look. To accentuate the desert feel, the sky was enhanced and airbrushed to deepen the blue tones and bring out the contrast against the pale sand, making the overcast British sky look like arid canyon heat.

Lemmy later recalled in interviews that no one believed the photograph was taken in England due to the rare, uncharacteristically perfect blue sky. It was so convincing that Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian famously admitted he thought Motörhead was a heavy Latino band from the American Southwest for the first couple of years he listened to them.

The resulting image effortlessly paired with the album's cowboy-themed tracks like “Shoot You in the Back,” cementing one of the most recognizable and enduring images in heavy metal history.

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Amazing Photographs of Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis Taken by Kevin Cummins in 1994

In 1994, legendary British music photographer Kevin Cummins captured a series of raw, intimate, and now-iconic photographs of Liam and Noel Gallagher. Taken just before and during the release of Oasis’s groundbreaking debut album, Definitely Maybe, these photos defined the visual mythos of the Gallagher brothers and the rise of Britpop. Rather than highlighting their infamous sibling rivalry, Cummins’s early archive emphasizes an unguarded brotherly bond, humor, and a shared, defiant confidence.

“I thought it would ne a nice idea to do their first year, which gives it a good narrative flow,” said Cummins, “I was commissioned by Creation to see how their visual identity would work best, but by the end of the year they were the property of the tabloids.

“Creation thought there wouldn’t be any antagonism if they brought in a photographer who was from Manchester and supported City.”

Shot in their hometown of Manchester right around the time Definitely Maybe hit the shelves, these street portraits capture the duo against everyday urban backdrops. Notable locations included standing outside the historic Peveril of the Peak pub and posing directly on Portland Street.

In one of the most culturally resonant shoots of the era, the Gallagher brothers proudly leaned into their Manchester roots by posing together wearing the official Manchester City 1993/1994 football kits.

“We did some shots inside in the studio, with one behind the other so that you’d have brother reading above theirs heads on the shirt. Then we did some other shots where Liam jumped on Noel's back as if we'd just scored a goal, which is quite rare in these days.

“Then we went outside and they played football in the street and then kicked the ball at Noel. Noel kicked it back at him and they tried to punch each other. We just waited for that to finish and then carried on doing pictures.

“I think it’s an era-defining session that because football wasn't fashionable at the time. Here’s these lads playing football and linking themselves to Man City with brother all over the shirt... everything fell into place really with that session and that picture where Liam is on Noel's back has been on about 200 magazine covers.”

Kevin Cummins (born 1953) is one of Britain’s most celebrated music and portrait photographers. He is best known for creating the definitive visual record of the Manchester music scene and the rise of Britpop. Over a career spanning five decades, his bleak, cinematic, and raw style helped establish the mythos of some of the world's biggest rock bands.

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Rarely Seen Photos of a Young Dave Mustaine With His First Band, Panic

Before joining Metallica in late 1981, a teenage Dave Mustaine formed his very first group, Panic, in Southern California around 1980. Though short-lived and plagued by tragedy, Panic was where Mustaine developed his aggressive lead guitar style and wrote early riffs that eventually shaped thrash metal history.

The original lineup was Dave Harmon on drums, Tom Queck on guitar, Bob Evans on bass, Pat Voeks as singer, and Mustaine on lead guitar. Although the band lasted a long time, the guys rarely performed and rehearsed, especially in late 1980 and 1981, when the band was already beginning to break up. They mostly went to parties, jammed a little, and hung out with girls.

“Well, there was a talent show where they told us we were too loud and kicked us out, but my first gig was with Panic at Huntington Beach.” Mustaine recalled. “Although the sex, the girls and the drugs were rampant, it was marred by the death of two friends: the guy who made our sound and our drummer at the time.”

On that tragic day, Harmon was replaced by Mike Leftwych, who along with sound engineer Joe died in the car accident. Mustaine stated that after the band started to fall apart in 1981, Quecke was also killed in a separate car crash shortly after.

“We were all partying, and I decided to spend the night,” Mustaine said. “I stayed behind and these two guys went home. They were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, south of the pier, by the Jack in the Box, and crashed. The driver was able to get out of the car, but he diеd because he’d broken his neck. The drummer was asleep in the back, and he, unfortunately, diеd in the fire. Yeah, Panic had a very painful beginning; our other guitar player also died in a car crash. It was kind of a very painful, dark period when I started playing.”

The sequence of events left the band shattered. Shortly after Panic dissolved in 1981, Mustaine spotted a classified ad in The Recycler placed by drummer Lars Ulrich—leading directly to his audition and entry into Metallica, where he would stay for a little less than 2 years.

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Exclusive Interview: Freddie Mercury’s Mother on Her ‘Dear Boy’

8 September 2012 – An exclusive interview by Angela Levin with Jer Bulsara on her “Dear Boy” is published in The Telegraph.

Twenty years after the death of rock’s most famous singer, and with a lavish book of rare photographs about to be published, his mother, Jer Bulsara, talks to Angela Levin about how she coped with his transformation from Farrokh Bulsara to Freddie Mercury.

Freddie Mercury’s mother was watching the Olympic closing ceremony when her adored son’s image suddenly appeared on a vast screen. “I cried out: 'Oh my dear boy, where are you?’” she tells me. “I miss him so much.” A cheeky smile then spreads across her face. “They showed John Lennon too, but there was much more applause for my Freddie.”

Freddie, born Farrokh Bulsara, the frontman of rock band Queen and charismatic solo performer, died in 1991 of Aids-related pneumonia. He was 45. Jer Bulsara, who is 90 next month, has found immense consolation in his continuing popularity, yet when talking about him her voice still cracks with emotion.

“His passing doesn’t seem more than 20 years ago,” she says. “I still feel he is around because his music is played so often. It reassures me that he is still loved by people all over the world, but of course, none of them love him as much as his mother.”

Mrs Bulsara, who lives in a purpose-built three-bedroom bungalow in Nottingham, is tiny, immaculate and rather stooped, but her brain is sharp and her kind eyes sparkle when she talks about “my boy”. She is a practising Parsee, a religion that follows the prophet Zoroaster which arrived in India from Persia in the 7th century. She is also deeply private and this is the first in-depth interview she has given. The reason is a lavish new book: Freddie Mercury, The Great Pretender, A Life in Pictures that is full of wonderful photographs, including several never-before seen images, that span the rock star’s life.

One can only imagine how hard it must have been for Freddie’s devoutly religious parents to come to terms with their firebrand son. Fortunately, the love flowed both ways and Freddie seems to have tried to protect them from his excesses.

Indeed, Mrs Bulsara reveals a very different Freddie to the exotic, bisexual, wild-living, supremely talented performer the public knew. “Freddie kept a strict division between his work and his home all his life,” she says.

“If I ever asked he would say, 'Mum that is business, and this is family.’ He was kind and very respectful both to myself and his father.” Her husband, Bomi, a former cashier in the British Colonial Office, died nine years ago aged 95.

His sexuality was not a subject Freddie ever discussed at home. Nor did he tell her that he was HIV positive or dying of Aids. “He protected us by never discussing these matters,” Mrs Bulsara reveals. “It is quite different now, but back then it would have been very hard for him to tell us and we respected his feelings.” Did she visit him when he was dying? “Of course,” she whispers. “He didn’t have to say anything. I knew he was very ill.”

Freddie was born in Zanzibar in 1946 and went to an English-style boarding school in India when he was eight. “We tried to instil good values into him, like respecting the family and giving 100 per cent to whatever he did and although he wasn’t religious, he respected our ways.” The Parsee faith believes in one invisible God and is founded on the three tenets of good thoughts, good words and good deeds.

“Freddie always loved to sing and set up a school band when he was 12. In 1964, as a result of the Zanzibar Revolution, the family, including Freddie’s younger sister Kashmira, now 60, fled to the UK and settled in a four-bedroomed terraced house in Feltham, Middlesex. Mrs Bulsara and her husband found it hard, not least because of the weather, but Freddie thrived.

Like most parents they wanted their only son to have a safe job. “Most of our family are lawyers or accountants, but Freddie insisted he wasn’t clever enough and wanted to play music and sing,” she laughs. “My husband and I thought it was a phase he would grow out of and expected he would soon come back to his senses and return to proper studies. It didn’t happen.” It was an excuse, of course, and instead Freddie went to Ealing Art College where he studied for a diploma in art and graphic design. “I felt particularly sad when Freddie decided to leave home and move to a flat in west London,” his mother continues. “He was always playing music and an elderly neighbour complained about the noise so he said it was time to go. I told him I understood.

“He first had a flat and then a big house, also in Kensington, but when he wasn’t away on tour, he would come home regularly. He always liked my cooking, especially my dahls, sweet and sour mince and cheese biscuits. When he was famous and had people to dinner he’d sometimes ask me to make them for him.

“He was so generous, too. One day he bought me a complete set of antique silver cutlery to apologise for not turning up for a meal. I didn’t like to use it as it was so posh, so only put it out when he came. He also invited us for meals prepared by his cook and made a big fuss of me. When I went into the kitchen out of habit to help, he’d insist I sat down and relax.”

Freddie had countless male lovers in his life, but the individual he called the love of his life was a woman. Freddie met 19-year-old Mary Austin, who was a PR for the Biba boutique, in the early Seventies. They were together for seven years and he later described her as his common-law wife. He said she was the only person he truly loved and left his mansion, most of his wealth and recording royalties to her. He even took her home to meet his parents.

“She was lovely and used to come to us for meals,” Mrs Bulsara recalls. “I used to wish they had got married and had a normal life with children. But even when they broke up, I knew she still loved my boy and they stayed friends right to the end. I haven’t seen her since he died.”

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