“SHOT! by Rock” is the ultimate coffee table book for music fans. Filled with over 200 pages of high gloss photos portraying some of the biggest names in rock and roll including Freddie Mercury and Queen, David Bowie, Sir Mick Jagger, Bob Marley, Joan Jett, Miley Cyrus, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and even some Kabuki Theatre. Some pages are filled with multiple photographs, others with just a single photo; while some cover two full pages.
Before his death in 2021, Rock worked with Insight Editions on putting the book together. The book has been completed just as Rock envisioned it. Mick Rock may no longer be with us but his legacy lives on through his photography and “SHOT by Rock”.
In the introduction to the book, Mick wrote “this is not a retrospective, not a biography, nor a catalogue of my ‘greatest hits’, nor is it an attempt to corral my huge archive of imagery. It is not a discretionary tale about the Bohemian life of a post modern artist.”
What it is, is a retrospective of a decades long career by a man who spent his life’s work behind the lens of a camera. But, for Mick Rock he was more than just a photographer for many of those he shot, he was also their friend which enables him to create some of his iconic candid shots.
He was born Michael Edward Chester Smith in the Hammersmith region of London in 1948. After graduating form Cambridge, a fascination with the camera led Mick to the London Film School…and a lifelong passion for photography in the world of rock and roll.
“SHOT! by Rock” – the photography of Mick Rock is currently available and retails for $60 in the U.S./$80 in Canada. With the holidays just a few weeks away, the book would be the perfect gift for any photography or music fan.
photos courtesy of James Faccinto and Insight Editions