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July 17Some of my pictures of Moscow and Leningrad. See more... 
 July 16I've just put up some Aerosmith from the USSR. See more... 
Some pictures from the Russia trip. 
July 13I end up in Red Square at 3am with Randle and Filthy and a strange German woman who comes along from the hotel and demands I take a photo of her - which I do after moaning. The square is floodlit and looks bigger, if that is possible.. Can't sleep, get up completely awake and tired. It is still baking hot. Off to the airport with Randle ahead of the band. Wait outside and get cooked with the band's bags. We all fly to Frankfurt mid-afternoon. Filthy photographs John and I in a farewell kissing frenzy. April Kramer asks about me shooting her friend. It turns out the strange German woman is Roy Orbison's ex-wife and a friend of hers, 'I heard you were rude....' Shoot Steven, Joey and Joe changing terminals and wandering around Frankfurt Main. Say goodbye to the Perry's. John sees a postcard with bratwurst and music, 'You need this for your site!' John buys it to send to the Aerosmith employee of the week. Kazuyo says a '"TEARFUL" goodbye to Randle as we fly on to London. She sits on the plane with tears streaming down her face. I'll quite miss seeing them for a while... Home. My Mac Power Book has crashed with no back up - Friday 13th ? "As I prick my thumb....something wicked this way comes..." July 12Baking again, LA weather - if the hotel had a pool I'd be sitting by it. Instead I go out with Joey Kramer around Red Square, nice light for portraits. Have a quick lunch with John B then back out with Joe Perry to Red Square, where the light isn't as good now (too harsh). Joe poses with Stalin and Lenin lookalikes and then another Lenin (the fat version) wants a photo taken. Shoot Joe in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier. As we are walking back Joe buys a naval hat which he later wears onstage, looking quite evil in a Jimmy Page way. I shoot an old woman begging which I kind of feel bad about until she tries to chase me off and I think maybe she's not so feeble. Get Joe in the subway in his hat and a good session just before he goes onstage. I have seen Aerosmith a lot and have to say this was the most animated I have ever seen Joe Perry onstage, plus the band played the best version of Draw The Line I've heard them do, they even added Train Kept A Rollin'. Still find it strange driving back from the show at 11pm in daylight - and the night is still young... Here's an email from John in Scotland - I must be doing something right...
July 11Tired this morning, too many rock'n'roll parties. Kazuyo looked happy... Drove out to the airport, stopping to photograph a World War II war memorial. The square it was in was huge. The statues were of Russian soldiers carrying machine guns etc. It looked ummmmmmmm, well, Soviet. Now I shot that I don't regret missing the Hermitage Museum. Flew with the band to Moscow, in the band's luxury jet, which featured a fantastic Scandinavian menu. Shot the band travelling, including Brad sleeping in first class. Arrived mid-afternoon. It is hot here - baking. Spend early evening in Red Square with John Bionelli and Kazuyo. Missed the good light. Still, it has a vibe. Steven was guest star at a Vogue party launching Lori Rodkin's jewellery. Lori makes skull rings in diamonds and stuff Elizabeth Taylor might buy, and you could as well - if you'd like to re-mortgage your home. It was in a restaurant in a warehouse. Food was good, bowls and bowls of Beluga caviar - it was neverending. And fruit from all over the world, it was like Harrod's food hall. No one was bothering to eat it - if they'd had doggie bags I would have taken it back to my room. It was exotic eating caviar with dessert spoons and not having to pay for it. Mischa Barton was there. I'm told she was in the OC tv show. The place was full of models three feet taller than me (and half my weight), chainsmoking and staring at you coldly. I wouldn't have sex with them if they begged me... Finished the night on the roof of the Park Hyatt Hotel having another rock'n'roll party with the usual suspects - John, Jimmy, Randle and his woman, and Brad Whitford. Here's an email from Eddie, someone likes me - a bit...
Metallica at Wembley. See more... 
 
 July 10At 2am I look out of my window and watch the sun come up - very strange... The show venue is a lot like the LA Forum, round and vast. I get a good photo of Kazuyo looking with love and lust at Randle and the lothario of the tour, John Lammi, who claims to have made love to three hundred girls (I think he may be exaggerating). Shoot quite a bit of Joe Perry in his dressing room and walking on stage. Good show, nice low stage so I can shoot inwards instead of stadium-style outwards. The band have added SOS and Big Ten Inch. Joe plays his Gibson SG, looks at me, says something and starts windmilling in true Pete Townshend Shoot one of the statues in the square opposite the hotel at midnight in daylight, with lots of drunk people staggering by. I stop and take a photo of a drunk Russian wearing a silly hat. Turn on the TV and Little Britain is on... Kazuyo rings, 'What are you doing? Randle's having a party in the bar - we're going!' Randle makes Russ Irwin and I make up. We never fell out, we avoided each other. And Russ told me Americans don't get the humour from this diary... I like to think I can be amusing - but not to Americans... We all, that is everyone except the band, stay in the hotel bar. John Lammi comes over and tells John and I that Kazuyo is hot! Hot? Filthy, smelly, yellow and dirty, yes - but hot? I leave Lammi moving in for the kill at 3am. I walk to my room and am accosted within the space of ten feet by two girls in full make up asking if I would like them to come to my room. I forgot you get this in five star hotels in the Eastern block...
Here's a photo of me photographing James Hetfield at Wembley, kindly sent to me by Steve Gerrard ...and some of my pictures of James from Wembley 
 July 9
Flew via Frankfurt, the weather was awful - raining and a bumpy landing. Have been delayed two hours. It is disgusting here, everyone is smoking with smoking zones in open spaces all over. It's disfuckingusting - everywhere stinks. Kazuyo is in heaven, 'Smells like perfume with the odour of a stinking Irish pub' She then lights up her fortieth cigarette. I call Randle who is in St. Petersburg awaiting the love of his life. He is in a park and tells me it's so hot that Jimmy Eyers wants to rest his head in Randle's lap while sunbathing. Jimmy normally does this while Donnie Shiteman combs his hair. Strange, they told me it was raining. I hope to find a Kazakstani bride this evening in the hotel bar. I've had enough of being single... Photographed storm clouds over Saint Petersburg as we came in to land. It is hot here - sunny and humid. Saw a great WW II statue as we left the airport, lots of soldiers carrying machine guns. Staying at the Astoria, very old school, also very expensive. What I mean is we are in Russia and it's the same prices as Cannes... See Steven Tyler, it's 10pm and still light. Shoot some photos of him sitting on his window ledge overlooking a huge square with Saint Isaac's Cathedral in the background. End up having dinner at midnight and it's still light, with a red sky. 
Here's a photo of me from Hyde Park sent to me by Anna from Tallinn (and London)...
...and here is some of her email
July 8Nice day, sit in the garden enjoying the weather. Lars asked me to come to the Metallica Wembley show, so off I went late afternoon. The new Wembley Stadium was impressive. Huge, like an American stadium. Metallica had celebs out in force, Scott Ian, Brian Tatler of Diamond Head and Stefan Chriatzi (or Cheesie, the human eating machine). I haven't seen the Cheeseburger since he ate half of Rio De Janeiro in the early 90s. I have a memory of Cheesie sitting in the childrens paddling pool at the Rio Palace Hotel in his dirty Y-fronts and it overflowing. Oh the joy of thinking back through the mists of time. I don't think Cheesie was too overjoyed at seeing me, he had the Russ Irwin scowl down to perfection. I wasn't going to shoot much at all ,ended up shooting alot. As the band were in tune up, Jimmy Page came in, which left Metallica rather stunned. Lars walking onstage turned to me, 'Where's Ritchie Blackmore? We've had Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page - we need Ritchie!'. I know, he's Danish... Shoot the first half of the show from the stage next to my hero, Lars. The crowd looked good and the light was perfect. Watched One and Enter Sandman from the Royal Box with Jimmy, he thought Lars played well. The crowd was going mental, it was like a huge rally with various mosh pits in the middle. As I was sitting with JP in the Royal Box I didn't shoot anything. Now I'm home I regret it, wish I had... July 7It's Earth Day, or Green Day (whatever), around the world. Wembley Stadium is going to be fun backstage. "This pass won't work here etc..." Plus add Al Gore and the American secret service - what joy. Let's be honest, it's all bollocks. Are you not going to fly to go on holiday 'cos Madonna and James Blunt and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers played Wembley? Bet all the artists are cancelling the private jets now - remember the future is green(ish)... Genesis are opening so everybody can have a nap in their seats. Funny how Spinal Tap are following Metallica just so the crowd don't take Metallica too seriously. I hear Al's wife, Tipper, will be vetting which songs the bands can play so the world won't be corrupted. I am toying with going to Roskilde in Denmark to see The Who but as it's already noon and it's a beautiful day I probably won't... A member of the Aerosmith entourage who made me promise not to name him,told me all about Russ Irwin turning into Superman and saving the band and fans from disaster. In Estonia the weather was appalling and Steve Drymalski (the production manager) wanted to cancel the show in case "Steven and Joe got hurt while kicking ass". The main concern was the stage being unstable and being blown away. It was through clever planning that the idea of Russ Irwin saving the day came to fruition... Russ being on stage, his ballast stopped the stage from flying off to Siberia, and the band rocked Estonia. I was even told he's getting a huge bonus for this daring deed of bravery and kindness. I promise to let you all know if I find out from my spy in the Aero camp. Went off to London for a wander. It was packed full of people watching the Tour de France. Wandered about for a bit then came home and turned on Earth Day. It is truly fucking dire. Keane - the singer was the sort of person you picked on at school, he had zero stage presence. Same with James Blunt, both of them looked, well, stupid, that's the best way to describe them. Crowded House from Sydney were good, the rest were just awful. Even Metallica looked out of place with the camera man desperately scanning the crowd for people singing along. Worse than the acts was the filming. It consisted of zoom on the singer, pull back a bit, film the drummer, then the crowd, then get someone singing - it really was the Dick Carruthers school of cinematography. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, as they say in the 'hood,I should have gone to Denmark! Madonna started off with a bunch of school children. I thought, 'Here we go - shades of Michael Jackson'. Then she clicked into being amazing. She was so well rehearsed. I fell in love with one of her dancers (a female one). I'd even shoot her tour for free, just for a date... Just finished watching the Foo Fighters - at last someone exciting and they had a great sound. July 6Metallica in Bilbao. See more... 
 July 4Brian Wheat phoned, he's in New York and missing me. He told me Jeff Keith had been crying because I was so horrible to him and didn't have time to hang out with him to discuss his love of bestiality and Jeff was also upset I hadn't taken any photos of his tattoo that says "JK". Then Brian wanted me to write a love letter to him on this diary. I told Brian I'd given Steven Tyler his new two cd set with Tesla's cover of Seasons Of Wither. Steven wanted to hear it - he opened the package to find one of the cds missing, you can guess which one. Brian is now a moron, with his bestial singer...
Just added the latest cover of Classic Rock, featuring The Scorpions. July 3Started yesterday looking at hundreds of photos of my Heavy Metal Heroes in Metallica. I was tired and not objective when picking them - you have to be objective otherwise it all looks the same. I'll finish them today. Went out last night for a rock'n'roll party. John Bionelli, Wilf Wright (John's hero and day sheet mentor), Filthy and Jimmy Page. I thought it was dinner at Nobu or Gordon Ramsay's or Zuma. We went for Pizza in the Kings Road. Kazuyo spent the whole evening asking John questions about her new love, Randle. John, a man of few words, would not divulge anything. Phil Alexander tells me he has the Biff Byford biography and would I like it? Nooooooo - but I know someone who will when he's "Ten miles high at 20,000 feet ...!" July 1Had a busy weekend. Friday I flew to Bilbao with my toe-tapping chum Lars and the rest of his heavy metal friends to seek and destroy at the BBK Rock Festival. As we arrived early Kirk and Rob went surfing (how they did that in the Pyrenees I have no clue) while James, Lars, "Stevenstein" (Lars' man Friday) and myself all had a VIP tour of the Guggenheim Museum. The building was quite spectacular, the art inside was a load of old bollocks with Lars talking prosaically about art while James and I looked bored and Stevenstein rubbed his hands together piously pretending to be interested. The huge sculpture made of steel and rusted iron in the shape of a strange maze looked impressive...
A picture of me working at Bilbao, sent by my friend Gustavo...
Werchter, from the early part of the show.See more... 
Flew back to London after the show. Lars couldn't find his passport and the local policeman was not having any of Lars charm. So we stood around for ages. Finally flew home in the middle of the night to Luton, got home at 6.30 am, then immigration decided they didn't like James' "Taliban Metallica" beard. So off we went through immigration. Got home Saturday at 7.30, slept for an hour then off to Heathrow to fly to Amsterdam for Aerosmith. I know God hates me 'cos British Airways at Heathrow was insane with a mass exodus of humans. Boarded the plane, fell asleep, then everyone had to get off the plane for a security check. Took off late, get into to Amsterdam to find BA have lost my bags. Waited for four hours then finally got them back. Took a very expensive taxi to the Arrow Rock Festival, got there ten minutes before Aerosmith went on. See Kirk Hammet's best friend, Rudolf Schenker, take a photo of him and Brad Whitford and Steve Lucathur and Steve Vai. See Brian Wheat from Tesla (who I like a lot) and the annoyingly moronic Jeff Keith who goes on and on about his dogs and sheep and being from Texacana as if anyone cares or is fucking interested... Shot Steven and Joe walking to the stage, interrupted by Jeff Keith. The security at the show are cunts - that is the best word to describe them. Whatever pass you have doesn't work and they don't even speak English... The huge crowd looks amazing. Perfect light, shot most of the show from the stage. The whole Aerosmith party headed straight back to Amsterdam. Randle wants to have a rock'n'roll party. Kazuyo and Rock'n'roll Randle tearing up Amsterdam. Kazuyo couldn't wait to get on the "wonger" and I took photos as she and Randle fell in love in the heart of the red light district. As I was getting back to the hotel Steven was leaving so out we go again to the Ice Bar - which is made of ice and is minus ten degrees. It's fun for about ten minutes then it's freeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing - and I don't do cold. Got up today and off to Belgium for the Werchter toe-tapping Metallica extravaganza. I was going to London with Joe Perry for the Diana show, but was refused a pass by Bernard Docherty of LD Publicity on the grounds that I was too common to mingle with Royalty backstage. A bit rich coming from an Irish PR - 'Top of the fucking morning etc...' Odd being here - last time was during the last show of the Black Album. Did some set up shots in the dressing room while the kids out front enjoyed the mud. Metallica's other photographer, Adolf Agel, was present. Adolf didn't look over the moon to see "The Master" present. As it was twilight I went up high on the backline to get a shot of Metallica and the crowd. Looking through my lens I see Adolf wandering around the middle of the stage ruining my masterpiece of photographic art. I had to get Stevenstein to remove Herr Agel. Did a wet shot as they came off - haven't done one of these for a few years. We all flew off in different directions. Me and Lars, Kirk and Stevenstein to Luton where we had the same old bollocks upon landing and we didn't have James or his beard this time. Thinking about Metallica, they are laid back compared to what they were. I felt ummmmm - welcome... PS They played Whiplash for me and Last Caress for Kazuyo (her LOVE song to Randle). I even dug out the fisheye lens - a bit. More pictures of Aerosmith from Hyde Park, London. See more... 
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