January 29

I wake up cold, go for a run to warm up.

Watched The Long Firm on dvd last night. Phil Daniels was in it which made me listen to Quadrophenia - forgot how English it is...

Get a phone call from a girl from Dusseldorf, missing me and wanting to make love... After thirty seconds of consideration realise Saturday night is alright - wonder what to wear? Hopefully nothing...

January 28

My ipod stopped working again, sooooooooooo, spent all yesterday afternoon at Apple in Regent Street getting my 5th one this year !!!!! So much for technology...

Ugh, Friday morning. It's cold, damp and my heating is broken - and I don't know how to fix it. Kazuyo, the disgusting, filthy, chain-smoker is ill. I've got the flu, I'm dizzy - nothing to do with chain smoking is it? She needs a good beating... I've got loads to do and can't find where she's put things...

Play The Mars Volta cd - it takes some listening. It's new and fresh, the sort of music people wish they could make.

Hear the sad news of Jim Capaldi dying of stomach cancer... I always liked Traffic.

January 25

January 24

Scarlet Page has just come back from New York - it's now snowbound. The same thing happened after she came back from LA - all the rain - I'm not going anywhere after her... She shot Jimmy Chamberlain's new band - he asked after his hero - me...

I hate to admit it, but it's nice to have Kazuyo back...

January 23

Had dinner with Kevin Shirley and John Bionelli at Nobu. John was very happy because he'd met Kazuyo for coffee - his face was very flushed with a rosy look...

Had a funny conversation with Slash and Duff about Sly Stone. They told me Duff was his neighbour and how they'd do crack at his house or was it 'base - neither could quite remember... Funny how fans think these were the good old days... They finished the show with Five To One by the Doors.

Go to say goodbye to Slash - he's hanging out with the "legendary" John Sykes of the not very legendary Tygers Of Pan Tang. I think I shot them once for the first issue of Kerrang, or was it Sounds (Geoff Barton would be crying if he was here, and singing 'Slide it in right to the top etc' - oops, wrong band!).

January 22

Have a nice lazy day - very sunny, go to Box Hill. It might be sunny but it's COLD...

Slash rings 'Where were you?' Nice of him to ring...

January 21

My friend Gordon's birthday. Meet him in DKNY with Jimmy Page for lunch, I give him a signed photo from the show last week - Slash has written "Happy Fuckin Birthday"... He's very happy (I should thank John Bionelli, as he sorted it out).

I was meant to go to the show at Brixton but couldn't face Friday night traffic...

January 18

Kim Alvarez, an Eminem fan, has written to me asking how I felt when photographing Em naked - how I felt ? Well, I would have felt a lot happier if it was Maggie Cheung or Koyuki, or even a bit of Danish... What a question. Perhaps I should write that I ogled him longingly and with lust (something Simon, my agent, would do)...

Got this sent to me on my fansite. When I shot Dave Navarro, my friend Wilf Wright, who used to be his tour manager said what a great guy he was and defended him after I found him to be a total wanker. Wilf couldn't understand why he behaved this way.

Anyway this is what Dave Navarro has posted on his fansite.
 
Ross,
 
I don't really recall this time in particular, but if I did anything to piss you off, I apologize. Have a great New Year.
 
Peace,
 
Dave Navarro
 
You know, thinking about it, he's right. Peace to you Dave. And a Happy New Year.............
 
Peter Makowski has arrived. We are spending the evening having an Asian film festival (no not sex films,art films).

January 17

Spent yesterday going through photos - found my Joe Perry negs... A big sigh of relief, thought I wouldn't find them.

Looked at Scarlet Page's diary - it's much more palatable than mine.

January 14

My flight is an hour early - I slept all the way, must have been tired or perhaps it's old age... Talking of which, I'm going to change my intro photo next week - I look far too young...

Nice day in England - makes you enjoy the winter.

Have a lot to do sorting out Velvet Revolver photos, plus Joe Perry wants some pictures for the cover of his new album and Dave Mustaine for a book he's doing - John Bionelli's girlfriend Kazuyo is in Japan of course, and knows where all my negs etc are...

January 13

I am so tired and fried, I've decided to go home tonight - looking forward to it...

January 12

Next is Zak Wylde, Steve Vai, and some Finnish guitarist called Alexi whose band I can't remember. He looks about 4 years old. Zak has got a Viking hat (he got it from Lemmy). "Motherfucker" exclaims Zak, "Put it on!" Alexi has no choice... I do the shoot on autopilot. Notice the sun might be out, but LA is freezing.

Go to a great restaurant in the evening, called Table 8... it's a cross between New York and South Beach Miami, great food. End up in Amoeba, get Days Of Being Wild and 2046 - both by Wong Kar-Wai - on DVD.

January 11

After getting to bed at 3.30am I'm up again at 7am to go to Heathrow and off to Los Angeles. I've been made a Global member of United Airlines, which is their highest level. As I check in I'm told I've been profiled, I think I've won something... Unfortunately for me it means I will be searched 3 times. I start to really lose it on the 3rd time of being asked to take off my shoes - they are not shoes, they are trainers...

The flight is longggggggg but at least it's empty. Nice and sunny when I land, it's been raining solidly for two weeks...

Go out for dinner with Joe Elliott and his wife Christine. Also Count Von Packerus and his wife Claire. The Count is growing his hair to hide his very receding hairline... I'm introduced to Denise Van Outen in the Whiskey Bar - talked to her for an hour or so, she's very very nice... Also saw Billy Gibbons. Had a really nice night out.

January 10

January 9

Arrive back at 5am - it's freezing... I start to miss Peter, who is still in Thailand - I must be tired...

Tried to sleep, Slash was calling me and I called him back and we kept missing each other.

January 8

Peter met me for breakfast - he had a fruit juice and a piece of toast. I'm staying on the concierge floor - it's normally free but they looked Peter up and down and want to charge my room... 'OK', I say and I sign the bill. As we get in the lift I ask Peter how much is 2,614 Batt - 'about $80' - eighty dollars for that, that's outrageous !!!!!!!!!!! I go back and go mad at them. They look bemused. 'Sir, 2614 is your room number not the charge'. The charge is about $10...

January 7

Went out with Peter Makowski and Nicholas late afternoon with the intention of really shooting photos (Peter has now moved back to Bangkok, he's staying in a charming residence called Bourbon St - you'll find it next to Taffy's Hairy Pie Bar - 'We should go Ross', he beamed,'you'll really like it!'). Peter became annoying... 'I'm hungry, I'm tired etc...' it was like being with a five year-old. Found a shop I wanted that sold vinyl - it was closed. A girl came up to me staring and swaying, holding what I realised was a bag of glue. She was completely off her face - first time I've seen it here... Shoot Wat Arun from a water taxi early evening...

January 6

Saw my friend Kass, who booked me a table at the Sky Tower Sirocco restaurant - another friend of mine, Tommy, runs it... When I arrived I found out it was on the 64th floor.

January 4

Going back to Bangkok tomorrow.

January 3

Had a very quiet couple of days - stayed in my room and relaxed. The hotel has a 36-inch Plasma screen and Bose 5.1 surround sound, so I've been buying pirate films to watch. Saw Alexander, the new Oliver Stone movie. One of the greatest comedies I have ever seen... They're all talking serious Shakespearean English with half of the cast using thick Irish accents including Val Kilmer. Colin Farrell looks particularly queer and is fantastically useless; in fact, so are most of the cast...

Watched another movie, Deadman's Shoes, which was very disturbing, but great - go and see it!!!

January 2

Flew to Phuket today, the flight was full people still going down on holiday... It was very sad in the airport, lots of pictures of missing people, and the army was around as well.

Staying in a hotel called Trisara. Adam Clayton is here from U2 - quite strange seeing him in the gym and going back to my "little" room and seeing him on tv... Everyone here is really nice and friendly, especially the locals considering the circumstances - don't stop coming here, the people need the tourism.

January 1

Chok dee pee mai (Happy New Year in Thai)!

Saw the New Year in at the Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok. I had a GREAT time, shot lots of photos, then left my camera in the back of the cab !!!!!!!!!!!

The DJ was James Healy I think... He was in Hazey Fantazi - it's beyond me how you can get paid a fortune to play a few records??? The band playing in the Met bar was, er, entertaining - called Futon, half-Thai, half-Japanese, with a gay lead singer. The hit single was a song with a chorus that went "let's masturbate..." By the way, the food was great as well, especially the dessert... Danish.

Got the new Guitar World with my session of Jimmy Page and Joe Perry and friends from nearly a year ago, I think it looks really nice.