November 28

Here's Sweden Rock, sent to me by Michael Johansen, a Swedish photographer I've known since the dawn of metal...

I have had the most hate mail I've ever had over my comments on Neil Peart's book (rather boring, I've finished it now). At least two hundred emails of unmitigated hatred. All along the lines of what I put up yesterday. I usually get "Are Guns N' Roses reforming?" or "When's Chinese Takeaway coming out?" and other important world issues, but this was pure fanatical hatred and all because I said he's acting like a pompous rockstar. And you know what? It's true. Would a holy figure behave like that? Well, let's face it, Bono does all the time but at least you get an autograph...

I did an interview with Eyal Levy from the Holy Land for a newspaper called Maariv which will be published in Hebrew. If my dad was alive he would have been pleased and he could have translated it. Eyal was very nice - I'm curious to see it.

Someone has written to me asking if I have photos of London. Which is a good point, I should have more and will make the effort to shoot some. The hard part is it's winter, cold if not quite freezing, damp, rainy etc. And as it has so much traffic it's a thing to do on weekends. I mean, I've lived here all my life and I know how to get around LA better...

November 27

I get emails like this every day - and you wonder why I'm like I am...

You call yourself a Rush fan? Here is a guy who has been to hell and back, lived through shit that would make most dine on a bullet or spend the rest of life on a couch, and you have the balls to cut him down? Lets see you drum through a 3 hour show with sweaty cracked hands. Did he cancel the show or give any less to the performance? This guy owes nothing to the fans and yet he gives his best. Screw you.
Sounds like YOU are the one who wipes asses, "hey look at me everyone, I am friends with Eddie Van Halen." He is washed up and you are a never was.

November 26

Miami Vice was great in a rubbish way - great rubbish! Entertaining, a good Saturday night film. I think I've fallen in love with Gong Li - if anyone can get me a shoot with her, I might even do it for free. If she was around today I'd even give Pat Travers a miss...

Went to the Olympia record fair, it was enjoyable, mainly vinyl. Stuff you'd want. Well, I'd want. Got a Frank Zappa LP from 1970 called Zapped which had Wild Man Fisher, Captain Beefheart, Alice Cooper, Tim Buckley among others. I'd never seen it before. Also got Free At Last (white label promo) and Bang Bang You're Terry Reid where he looks about twelve on the cover (now he looks like Henry the Eighth. I didn't get there until 3 and it closed at 3.30 - I would have stayed all day. I don't care if you think I'm a sad old man, I love record fairs...

A very packed Boom Boom club had Pat Travers on. He opened with Hooked On Music. He had a good sound and his band were tight. He played Heat In The Street, Life In London, a surprisingly good version of Red House, and Snorting Whisky - and of course Boom Boom Out Go the Lights. His drummer Eric was a speed metal drummer, who came over and introduced himself to me during one of Pat's guitar solos. Eric added quite a dimension to the fills - imagine Dave Lombardo from Slayer and you'll get the idea.

 

Eric took me back to see Pat as they came off stage. Had a good chat with them. Pat asked me if I know Brian Wheat (bass player of Tesla). Pat said Brian was one of his best friends. I'd had an email from Brian a while ago asking if I hate him - apparently I don't call him. Brian, I love you - and you can call me...

Came home and watched The Who on the Electric Proms at the Roundhouse. Some strange editing. Lots of things cut and the set list all in the wrong order. Still, it was nice to hear Tea And Theatre - I love that song almost as much
as Gong Li...

November 25

Got my van Halen film from my lab this morning and I'm pleased with it. Need some impetus to work...

Thought I'd take my cameras and shoot Battersea power station. It was raining so much I gave up on the idea. Went off to london to see my mate Gordon. All the trains are diverted due to engineering work, I end up going via New Cross. I forgot you get a good view of the city going into London Bridge. By now the sun is shining with a huge rainbow across the east end of the city. I don't have a camera of course and look at it forlornly. Even walking down Picadilly the sky is blue, black, grey and yellow. I feel like kicking myself - if I'm out tomorrow I'll have a camera.

Peter Makowski has sent me some porn to stay in and watch, the new Miami Vice film with Gong Li.

I had three people ring me to see if I can get them in to see UFO next week at the Astoria. If they want to go that badly they should buy a ticket - my days of hanging out with Pete Way are long gone...

Pat Travers is playing the Boom Boom club tomorrow. I'll probably go and shoot it - I haven't seen him play since 1979.

November 24

I have had a deluge of emails from van Halen fans DEMANDING to know A: What Edward said. And B: What Edward is doing. Some of them tell me it's their right to know and I owe it to the fans. Well it's my right to say nothing and what
do I owe you? Please let me know...

Been reading the Neil Peart book which as I'm a Rush fan I quite like. I wasn't going to write about this but I found pages 312-313 so disturbing I felt like saying something. Some fan gets on Neil's tour bus with some LPs - he wants an autograph. Neil goes spastic and throws him off. Michael (the band's security ) has the guy handcuffed. But to Neil's shock and disgust the British police have no law to arrest him for trespassing. Neil needs to get some perspective. He's a drummer in a rock band - so what if a fan sneaked into his room to get an autograph. That's what fans do...

The other unintentionally funny bit is when he's moaning about his hands being sweaty because the fans by his drums aren't on full power. I thought rock and roll was about being sweaty. Then again, in Neil's mind Rush probably are a folk group. He even thought the crowd was lame at Wembley. I was there and they went nuts. Neil's chums Brutus and Michael both live in the world of the emperor's new clothes, NP needed a whisky to steel his nerves and get over being violated. I really felt sad reading this. What world does he live in? I wonder if Michael and Brutus take turns wiping his arse and tucking him up in bed. It's all so wrong, who do they think they are...?

Joel McIver sent me a copy of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which shows me what a kind man he is despite being a Metallica groupie. I forgive him for liking Lars a bit.

Got A Season In Hell With The Rolling Stones so I can balance Rush with a bit of sex and drugs and rock and roll.

I'm watching Devils On The Doorstep, a film by Jiang Wen about the Japanese in China.

November 23

Flew home yesterday on the 5pm flight. I thought it'd be empty because of Thanksgiving. It was sold out and they'd upgraded tourists from the third world (also known as the back of the plane), which meant that instead of going to sleep all they did was scoff food and guzzle champagne all night. They all looked fucked this morning. I ignored them, including the person next to me who was trying to be nice and engage me in conversation while drinking and slurring.

I tried to shoot the sunset but just missed it - it was blood red. If I'd been off to Hawaii it would have been perfect. Shot the clouds over Ireland this morning including a huge cumulonimbus which must have been dumping loads of rain and storms over Paddyland. London is sunny and quite beautiful.

 

I got the new Robert Plant box set in LA - I have a lot of photos in it. It is very over designed, and reading the text is like wading through an A-level exam...

November 22

Got up at 4am - jet lag is always the worst for me here.

Do nothing really. Went to Book Soup and got the new Neal Peart book on touring with Rush, and the awful hardship of staying in five star hotels...

I had a bit of a thespians day. Saw Keanu Reeves at Book Soup. He is a lot taller then I imagined. Said hello to Gabriel Byrne at the hotel patio and photographed Billy Bob Thornton at my hotel. It was one of the easiest shoots I have ever done. He turned up on time with a nice American car, I have no idea what it is - a '67 something. Shot him in front of the hotel.

 

Out of nowhere came a load of paperazzi, who I asked nicely to leave. 'Hey, I'm doing my job' said one. I ended up telling him to fuck off and surprisingly he did. Billy Bob invited me to shoot stills on the set of his new film in January.

 

I was meant to see Slash, but he was running late and I was heading home. Everybody seemed to be on a mass holiday exodus. I also ran into Robbie McIntosh who I'd last seen playing with Nora Jones. I did a picture of Robbie and Billy Bob together.

You know, Billy Bob REALLY was a pleasure. I had quite a productive two days...

 

 

Here is the Radio Times with my Who picture on the cover, credited to Ross Halpin/Rex. My name, of course, is Ross Halfin, and my agent is Idols...

 

 

November 21

Wake up and it's a beautiful day. Looked at LA Weekly. There is a huge full-page ad for U2 and Pearl Jam in Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. Hawaii's a five hour flight from Los Angeles - they can't be selling tickets. You buy a ticket then have to get a ten hour flight and a hotel. They must think people are stupid. How much was it to get in tonight? Oh, only about ten grand...

Spent today shooting Edward Van Halen. Edward arrives looking very trim for fifty-two. 'Hey Ross, good to see you - you're looking old.' Me, old? How dare he?

Goes well, he spends most of the time laughing because it's been so long since he's done this. I get a lot done - he doesn't mess around. It's quite good shooting fast, reminded me of the times when people actually wanted their photo taken. Edward just got on with it - he even listened to early Van Halen on my ipod, laughing and grimacing while I was
shooting. It was a pleasure...

Had dinner with Brad Tolinski, editor and megalomaniac, my friend Grant, and Matt, who looks after Edward. Matt said Edward was pleased with the session which is what counts. I told them the story of falling through the clouds. Brad told a horrible story of running out of oxygen while deep sea scuba diving, the same as climbing Everest, and being disorientated - no real judgement.

Headed over at 11pm to Tower Records and DVD before it disappears. I found the whole thing sad - the end of an era. I suppose I wouldn't find it so sad if I worked out what I'd spent there in the last twenty-six years. It will be gone and forgotten in the next few years. Weird, the end to record shops...

I bought a dvd - Everest, The Death Zone directed by David Breashears, who was one of the people on Everest in 1996. Funny how everything links up..

November 20

I watched Enfer (Hell), a French film about three sisters linked by a tragedy. Very good but not exactly happy viewing - harrowing. A film all women will love and we (men) should see.

I sit on an empty United flight writing this. After reading about a pilot ejecting at 48,000 feet, his fall taking 40 minutes. Bleeding from the nose, ears, mouth and eyes and surviving going through a thunder storm. It happened in 1959, the pilot was William Rankin. He'd fallen through what is called a cumulonimbus, the king of clouds, they are the giant ones you see shaped like a huge anvil. I start to wonder what would happen to me. This hasn't been helped by my reading of Into Thin Air, a tale of rich people climbing with arrogance and mostly dying because of it. Half of them freezing at the death zone above 20,000 feet.

Only five hours to go. Every time the flight gets bumpy I look to see what cloud we are going through. Counselling myself with the thought that we can fly over them. That's what William Rankin thought and look what happened - my
mind is working overtime. I try to nap.

Flying over Winnipeg looking out of the window I see grey nothing, a slate grey mass. Truthfully not that bad really. I'm reading The Cloudspotter's Guide at 38,000 feet. I should go back to Classic Rock and dream about metal ruling the land. Ugh, I'm bored.

Read this poem in my book on clouds, it sums up why I like shooting them.

I am the daughter of Earth and Water
And the nursling of the sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain, when with never a stain
The pavilion of heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise, and unbuild it again.

The Cloud by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Now you know I'm mad - it makes a change from Slayer...

Now over Mount Rushmore, still grey and gloomy...

Get in late afternoon - it's warm, and it's nice to be in Los Angeles.

I've been sent a link to kptv.com where my diary has been reviewed - here's some of it

OK, Ross Halfin isn't a rock star, but this famed photographer's blog is interesting enough to qualify.You might not know his name but chances are, if you've ever bought a music-related magazine you've seen Halfin's work. Halfin's tastes gravitate towards hard rock, hair metal and classic rock and he has taken photos of everyone from the Foo Fighters to Ozzy Osbourne to Def Leppard to the Who to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Halfin's blog is a diary of a life in near constant motion.

Hair metal? The Who, Slayer, Led Zeppelin - where do they think my tastes gravitate towards hair metal...?

Read the rest...

November 19

Beautiful Sunday - crisp, perfect weather. Went out last night going crazy. I now realise I can't do this like I used to. Feel slow and tired.

Flew home from Denmark yesterday. Slayer were on my flight looking tired. Kerry King told me he was burnt out touring Europe. Everyone I know is tired - perhaps Kerry should get a real job and face the real world.

Going to spend the afternoon listening to Slayer - a bit of Mandatory Suicide or Here Comes The Pain. I might finish with a bit of Nick Drake just to even things out...

Managed to read the papers from a couple of days ago and came across an excellent article about Bono by Marina Hyde in The Guardian. Accurate and very funny - all you U2 fans should go and read it. Go there...

My Iron Maiden book got a 10 out of 10 review in the new issue of Metal Hammer, which for all my moaning is very nice. The issue has Tenacious D in it - so does every magazine I've seen lately. Fuck, I hate them. I mean, two actors pretending to be rock icons. I make fun of what I do and the absurdities in the world I work in, but those two are really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I'm off to Los Angeles tomorrow for a couple of days - I'm quite looking forward to it.

November 17

I'm up at 6am, can't sleep so checking my mail and writing this.

On TV last night was the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Awards which inducted Led Zeppelin. Jimmy turned up to get the award (it is his band), the other two couldn't be bothered. Wolfmother did a cover of Communication Breakdown which wasn't as bad as you might think. Actually, thinking about it, it was...

Brian Wilson got the "I Left Planet Earth Years Ago Award" because everybody who should know better feels sorry for him, and he really has left Planet Earth for deep space. It was appallingly like a family party where you don't want to join in but are forced to.

Amazing really how the show fawned over Bon Jovi - I mean, come on! Jimmy Page or Ritchie Somewhat Boring? Pleeeeeease. Embarrassing watching JBJ trying to look sincere while Dave Stewart inducted him, reading off an autocue. Jon is so New Jersey, it is the Essex of America. And who dressed Ritchie, a blind man? Or a Northerner (hang on, Jersey is in the North)?

What crap. Saying that I missed my new Hero David Gest who's still on I'm a Celebrity. I so hope he wins - now there's a real show...

Here's a photo of me with Lucifer and Daniel from Thunder - sent to me by the very kind Judy Totten

I've received a set of questions from Dario at Redacción Emporio Rock. Here's a couple.

Do you like to work in the project of Chinese Democracy?
Chinese Democracy is one of the greatest albums I have ever heard. It makes Appetite look like a demo.

What other photographer of the new school do you consider has the potential to assume your legacy?
A homosexual African American photographer based in New York called Jimmy Hubbard.

See the rest...

November 16

This is the Classic Rock item on Phil Lynott. Go see my Phil Lynott intro...

I actually read a Metal Hammer special sent to me by Brad Merrett called The Devil's Music Vol III. It has a good piece on Led Zeppelin's '77 US Tour, and lots of Crowley bollocks. It has some funny photos of Aleister Crowley looking strangely like Peter Makowski, both debauched and evil - and liking fresh virgin girls, or at least as close as...

Peter has written a great piece in the issue on Steven Tyler and Aerosmith, The Wonder Years, so called because they wonder what happened - although I'm not convinced they don't remember... Saying that, I watched a bootleg dvd of Steven on the Midnight Special in '78 looking elegantly wasted, with film of the band playing Come Together - out in Japan, go and look for it.

November 15

Have been reading Christian G. Appy's Vietnam, The Definitive Oral History Told From All Sides. A bit like dealing with rock stars, except you ONLY hear it from their side - especially when they don't like what you tell them.

It has a good interview with Country Joe McDonald where he explains the origins of his politics, his stage name and the song Fixing To Die Rag. A sad truthful book, go and get it - it'll make a change from the usual rubbish you read...

Read Mick Wall's fantastic memory of Copenhagen with Metallica. I also remember it being freeeezing - and I remember making the band carry my camera gear all the way around a football pitch in the knee deep snow to setup and get a clear band shot only to realise there was a hole in the fence and we could have walked five feet instead of half a mile. I wonder if they'd do it now - better ask Joel McIver, he'll know, he wrote The Truth About Metallica. Mick and I should write it as well, we could up to '94 - from then on you could watch the offical DVD, Some Kind Of Monster...

I might go to Oxford on Saturday to see Thunder, but only if Mick sings with them.

November 14

Daniel Wilkins from Australia has written me a very nice email. Here's a couple of lines from it,

I just thought I'd drop you a line to say thanks for be a source of inspiration. I hope one day to shoot some of the bands that you've photographed and I could only dream of having the opportunities you've had throughout your amazing career.

I like to think I've worked hard for my opportunities, and I still do - I didn't dream of them, and they didn't just come to me...

See the whole email...

November 12

I spent tonight reading the papers. I had the TV on and became engrossed in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here - I hang my head in shame. Still, I thought David Gest was good and he got kicked out. Myleene Klass will win. How sad am I writing about this crap...?

I've just put up some of the pictures of Iron Maiden in Tokyo. See more...

 

November 11

Watched Last Life In The Universe, a great film. It's in Thai and Japanese.

It's Saturday morning and who's gonna play with me? Ummmm - no one. I'm on my own. Going to London for a wander around.

William Nash has got me a subscription to The Spectator, a posh magazine he had with him in Bali, which Pete Makowski and I both read on the beach. Just got it - thank you Will. Also the new Classic Rock 1OO Issue. It has a bit
by me on Phil Lynott. Reading it I think I should have written more. Nancy Wilson has written a good bit on Jimmy Page and Luke Morley has written about Pete Townshend. The cover is a work of art, it reminds me of one of those NWOBHM complation CDs. I'm looking forward to their next cover - wonder what it can be?

Out of boredom and it being Saturday night and I had NOTHING to do, I counted how many Classic Rock covers out of the 100 published I'd done. Twenty-five, there might be a couple more, sometimes I forget what I've done - old age. I even started reading the free book that comes with the Rock 'N' Roll Reader issue. It has a great intro from Geoff Barton. And wonderful intros to each chapter (no matter how bad) by Chris Charlesworth. It should be pointed out Chris publishes all the books featured.

To be fair I like most of it apart from Joel McIver's fawning The Truth About Shitallica (vomit). Marc Bolan by Mark Paytress is good apart from the fact Mark manages to leave out the bit about Gloria, his girlfriend, fleeing the country after killing him while drunk driving into a tree. Mark thought it best to leave it out. Can't be anything to do with the interview she'd done for the book. Still, it's a good all round read especially while sitting on the toilet. Journalists - what do I know? I just take pictures...

And I have to admit I love the chapter on Yes.

November 10

The view out of the plane is flying Tokyo to London, I like the contrast of the different skies.

The statue is my Yogi covered in yoghurt, which has gone dry as it hasn't been been raining. I'm also obsessed with Battersea power station. I keep shooting it out of the train window going into Victoria - must do it properly...

The colourful mask I got in Nepal, it's huge. I was chased along the street in Patan to buy it - it cost me $10 and it was a pain to get home. It's been restored by Phil Lemon. The garuda is from Bali.

 

 

 

My Santana cover shot back in September in New York

Plus my Who pictures from Rolling Stone.

 

 

 

November 9

Went to Baron Wollman's Blink show. It was a very civilised affair. David Redfern, famous jazz photographer, was there, as was Anton Corbijn, who promised to send me a Golden Earring book he's had for me forever. Danielstein came up with some leaflets offering ten per cent off, tonight only. 'It'll pay for dinner,' he claimed. Danielstein looked odd. I realised he was wearing make up - foundation - he went bright red when I pointed it out to him. 'It's my wife's,' he said, 'does it notice?' Must have been his mum's idea.

I spent most of the evening talking to Scarlet Page and her friend Tom. I left Baron going off to dinner with an entourage of women. He was a bit like the pied piper, walking through Soho.

Got home and got a call from Linda Chauncy, an old friend who used to run Q-Prime in the 80's and 90's. Shamefully she once even dated Lars Ulrich, when he still had hair (yes, it was a long time ago). Linda is a big Who fan, though she denies it (I think to not embarrass her husband Tom,a multi-millionaire booking agent to the kind of bands you get in Mojo). She asked me about the tour and got excited when I told her Roger had given me a real mike... 'With the tape on? - wow!!!'

Linda lives in San Francisco and had sent me a fascinating photo of her new kitchen. I'm not going to share - it's for my eyes only. She reminds me of Danielstein's mum, commanding and not to be trifled with, and she knows all the religious holidays. Anyway I talk to her about once a year and it was nice to catch up. I'm going to send her the mike - she'll treasure it.

Here are some Who photos for Linda. They're from the New York shoot and were the outtakes for Mojo magazine. See more...

 

I've put some pictures of Lauren Harris up. See more...

 

Here's a review of Endless Wire from Le Monde, with one of my pictures, sent to me by my friend, Christophe.

 

 

 

 

November 8

Had a photography night. Went out to dinner with Baron Wolman, very famous photographer who started Rolling Stone with Jann Wenner and took shares. He sold them a while ago. Baron is convinced I'm a millionaire. How I give that
impression I have no idea.

Baron has a exhibition opening at the Blink Gallery this Thursday, which is owned by Danielstein, the richest
(trust fund baby) teenager I know. I explained to Baron all about Daniel's millions. Baron told me Danielstein invited him for a pizza or an Indian takeaway at his mate Raj Prem's after the show, which is terrible. Dave Brolan, who was with us, was shocked at his meanness. We all agreed it's got to be Nobu - Dan's mummy has shares in the place. Baron's giving Danielstein a tune up this morning...

Talked to Rock 'N Roll John Bionelli in LA. John had just got a new Kiss DVD I'd sent him from Japan. I've never heard him so excited. 'They're wearing Destroyer stage clothes with the Destroyer stage set, YET IT"S THE LOVE GUN SHOW - amazing, better than Boston winning the World Series...' He didn't exactly say this, but you get the gist of it. I also gave him The Midnight Special featuring Steven Tyler with Ted Nugent. But you know he loves Kiss - and he's a grown man. I'll stick with The Who.

November 7

Rang the Classic Rock office his morning - no one in. Hmmm, wonder how they must be feeling.

Spoke to Scott Rowley, who is still hung over at 3pm. He was incensed that I'd implied that Scottish people can't drink, and like a fight. 'What about the Welsh!!! Sian Llewellyn was so drunk she was standing in the middle of the Embassy Club dance floor screaming (in Welsh) 'WHO WANTS SOME?' I'm having a talk with her today. She's lucky not to lose her job - if she'd been from Yorkshire, I'd have fired her. At least no one understood what she was saying.'

Strange, young Scott's view of his heritage. Most Jockanese I know would have glassed you and carried on drinking. I mean, why did the Romans build Hadrian's Wall - to keep them out. I rest my case...

The next time I'm in the company of drunks I'll stick to Paul Brannigan - he only wants a friend.

November 6

The Classic Rock Awards. Got to admit I wasn't looking forward to this.

A manager I've known a long time and I had "words" on Friday, and if I never deal with or talk to him again it'll be fine by me, AND I MEAN IT. Of course he was coming to the awards with some of his charges...

This year it was at the Langham Hotel opposite the BBC. The reception was in the same area as I was shooting in, which meant that older drunks thought they could put their drinks all over my camera gear. Particularly a group of
Scots who got belligerent when I told them to politely to move. Which proves all jocks are aggressive drunks...

I shot Ian Hunter first, who was charming and funny. I told him I'd got a Mott poster from the Lyceum '72 and bored him, I'm sure, by telling him about seeing him at the Oval Cricket Ground in '71. As we are talking a group of Jockanese interrupt us to introduce a grinning man in a wheelchair who turns out to be Frankie Miller. I was surprised, I
honestly thought he was dead. I take a snap of Frankie and Ian (Highlife by Frankie is one of my all time favourite albums).

Then I see Sir David Coverdale looking very smart and fresh from the palace with his beautiful wife Cindy and his daughter Jessica. He is besieged by everyone.

Then Brian May, Roger Taylor, Alice Cooper, Jeff Beck, Sir Tim Rice and Sir Harvey Goldsmith followed by Saxon who are being filmed for a reality show for Channel 4. I am asked to participate. I ask how much am I being paid, "Oooooh there's no budget.' Amazing how there's no budget when it's being filmed for prime time TV. I hand them over to my agent, Simon, standing next to me, who is more polite and easier to deal with than me. He tells me off for being curt - he really means rude. Hey, Biff was nice, and I haven't seen him since 1983.

I spend the evening shooting award winners and ROCK STARS together. Real ROCK STARS not children pretending to be rock stars - this lot have REAL CHARISMA. Ian Hunter picks up an award for Def Leppard which he gives to me
- a kind man (I'd rather have his Iron Cross guitar). I get great photos of Glenn Hughes and David. We talk about Stormbringer which Glenn has been remixing. He's off to Russia tomorrow.

The most fun I had all evening was hanging out with Luke "Lucifer" Morley and Daniel Bowes from Thunder. As Lucifer became intoxicated he managed to slur in a fashion that Paul Brannigan would have been proud and envious of, 'I'll 'ave some of that,' says Luke, while oggling Jayne Andrews, Judas Priests manager. Luke's invited me on tour with Thunder 'somewhere up North.' Can't wait...

After packing my gear away I get Alice Cooper, Jeff Beck (who wants to know where Jimmy is tonight) and Brian May together. I shoot it on my little Leica. As I'm walking out I see Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs. I'm dying to corner them and ask them about Mott The Hoople, but settle instead for a photo of the two of them. And I got to shoot SAHB as well. Well, three of them anyway. Joe Elliott would have thought he had died and gone to heaven...

I left as the awards emptied and the attendees staggered across the hotel lobby walking into doors (Paul's assured me he does this a lot) and headed towards the Embassy Club to vow allegiance to metal and drink themselves into a stupor - pretending that they all like one another.

I had a good night - really enjoyed it.

November 4

Did nothing much today. Read a travel thing in The Guardian about Laos - made me want to get on a plane. I'll wait till March when it's warm - not raining, I mean...

Spoke to Phil Collen, swapped emails with David Coverdale (who's over on Monday to receive a knighthood). Read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, great book. Spent the evening ogling Gong Li in Ju Don. She looked to die for. The film's from 1990, so I was kind of having a Pictures Of Lily moment. Ended up starting to watch the four hour director's cut of Kingdom Of Heaven. It was Hollywood crap, I felt depressed that my life's come to this - I'll stick to Gong Li...

November 3

Shot my larger buddha yesterday, the light was nice at 4.30pm. God's light... Much easier than shooting band members. Stayed in place, didn't move, didn't have a grumpy manager. In fact, a joy to do. It was such a joy I re-shot it again this morning...

 

Watched Dumplings, the long version, great film out on Tartan Asia Extreme. Bai Ling is good in it.

Off to London today to get my back cracked. Had a very quick lunch at Victoria Station with Jimmy Page, then we both headed south.

Got the new cover of Rolling Stone with my Who photo on it.

 

My Iron Maiden Book is now available. You can get it from Amazon. Here...

I've put a lot of the pictures up on the Iron Maiden page. Here...

 

 

November 2

Sunny but freezing - winter has arrived. Put my back out, feel crippled - like an old man. Can't move my back at all, can't bend. I need to go to Asia, or somewhere WARM...

Duff Press has sent me the new Hysteria Deluxe Cd with my photos. It looks good, just how a re-issue should be done. And I got paid the money I wanted after Universal pleading poverty. Thought some of the photos could have been used larger, but that's a minor quibble.

I emailed Lars Ulrich yesterday and asked him to do something. Not only did he do it, he emailed to tell me it was done. I told him I LOVE HIM - a bit. Thinking about it, he was always quite thoughtful as a person in the day - admittedly the day was thirteen years ago...

Got REALLY angry today when I started getting blamed for a recent photo shoot going wrong. Fingers were very firmly pointed at me. The editor said it's a clash of egos. EGO? FUCK OFF, IT IS NOT. When I work on any trip, I always get the job done. That's why I get picked to deal with difficult artists. I can usually make it happen. But if the artist doesn't care, you think what's the point? It's for their benefit, if they want to be unprofessional, they are the people with product to sell. I was so pissed off I called Mick Wall and vented to him. He wrote something on his website and he couldn't have put it better. From now this website will only promote happiness and joy...

Steven Tyler called me from Mexico the other night. We spoke for half an hour. He was full of happiness and joy - must speak to him more often...

November 1

Went to the Q Awards on Monday - I wasn't working. Saw Paul Brannigan just as I arrived, he asked me about Iron Maiden in Japan. I told him what a complete waste of time it was. He told me he'd turned them down on a feature in Europe for the same reason - what's the point...?

He was waiting to look after The Killers who were now not coming as their flight was cancelled. 'I don't mind really 'cos it's more for me to drink - why waste it?'

I see Paul Rees, who tells me all about Johnny Borrell's demands on the morning of the awards. 'HE MUST WIN SOMETHING, BE ABLE TO PLAY A SONG (no one performs live), OR HE'S NOT COMING'  threatened his PR. He came, of course. Plonker.

I see Roger Daltrey, who tells me how much he loved the Mojo cover and feature and he liked my pictures. I asked him if he enjoyed the Roundhouse show. 'I did enjoy the show, it's just I hate the way the BBC present music.'.

I walk into the reception and Paul Brannigan is drinking a pint of champagne. 'This is the way to appreciate a drink, none of that messing around, and the effect works straight away,' he slurs. It must be pointed out this was midday. I said hello to Noel Gallagher and chatted with William Luff and Corinne Bailey Rae. We both related our Iron Maiden horror trip to her. 'Don't ever get like that,' I tell her. 'I won't,' she promises.

I last see Paul Brannigan at 3pm finishing off The Killers' table of booze on his own and talking aloud to himself. He staggers over to say hello to Bono. U2's heavy-handed security immediately pounce on him. Paul's indignant, 'Fuck off all of youse, y'bastards, I'm trying to meet a religious icon.' Bono felt so guilty about his fellow countryman's manhandling he's now doing an interview for Kerrang - "Planet Rock, Rocks Africa", out next week.

Watched a fantastic rubbish film, Bullets Of Love, a Hong Kong production that has a comic retarded couple (don't ask why) and the very lovely Asaka Seto playing an assassin, killing everyone. It was soooooo bad, I'm going to watch it again. I showed it to Kazuyo, 'Sounds like shit, full of chinkies.' The Japanese love everybody...

Here's the new Mojo cover with The Who plus the original (rejected) cover. And more photos from the Roundhouse.

See more of The Who...

 

Here are some photos from my Iron Maiden book, available on Omnibus Press.

 

I've had a lot of mail asking where to buy it. I have no idea - you're on the fucking internet - TRY SEARCHING! Or try a bookshop - they tend to be in town centres...

Or you can get it here...