Cover story
Today I got a lovely note from Fred Brockman, who writes as follows:
“Hi Paul,
“My name is Fred Brockman. I am the photographer who took the cover and frontispiece shots for the US edition of Open Up and Bleed.
“The cover photo was taken in March of 1977 at the Agora in Columbus, Ohio. Iggy was supported by Blondie and his band included David Bowie. I worked as a writer/photographer for an Ohio free music paper called Focus Magazine at the time. Earlier in the day my partner and I went to an industry event where Iggy met with local radio and record store people. He didn’t look very happy. I think everyone came hoping to see Bowie. The show was spectacular. I was standing 10 feet from Iggy with no one in front of me. It was certainly one of the greatest solo performances I have ever seen. He was electric, in constant motion. I think he was surprised by the positive reaction he received. He wasn’t confrontational, he was almost humble. I only took about 10 photographs when I realized that I had run out of film. Reluctantly I put the camera away. I can’t imagine the great shots I could have gotten with another couple of rolls. Instead I got to watch a great show without a camera in the way. It was overwhelming.
“The frontispiece photo was taken in the fall of 1977 at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, also in Columbus. Iggy had changed since March. For one thing he looked much stronger, with muscular arms and clearly defined pectorals. His hair looked dyed black and all his movements were aggressive. He had a swastika drawn on one cheek. Now he baited the crowd and projected indifference. The show was theatrical and he seemed to be acting. The music was great but I have to say it sort of broke my heart.
“I grew up in Cincinnati and started going to rock shows in 1968. I was at the Cincinnati Pop Festival on March 26, 1970 and saw the Stooges although I don’t remember much about them. I was familiar with the first record but they didn’t stand out at that show. I was more interested in the MC5. (By the way, In Open Up and Bleed you mention that Joe Cocker headlined. He was billed as the headliner but didn’t show up. Savoy Brown closed the show.)
“In June of 1970 I was at the second Cincinnati Pop Festival at Crosley Field. That was the peanut butter show. This time it was hard not to notice the Stooges. They played in the early evening after sets by Alice Cooper (Pretties For You/Easy Action era), Grand Funk (just becoming stars), and Mott The Hoople (I’m told, but I can’t remember). The stage was built in the outfield just beyond second base (Crosley Field was the home of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team). I was sitting on the third base line, about 100 feet away. The day had been long and hot and now it was starting to cool off, a good match for the Fun House groove. The sound was tight and Iggy was chaotic. You could tell that the crowd close to the stage was having fun. Iggy was playing with them and they were enjoying it. People were smiling. Later that summer when the show was televised as Mid-Summer Rock I taped the FM simulcast with my reel to reel. TV Eye and 1970 played a whole lot after that.
“From 1976 until 1979 I worked photographing rock shows. After that I moved to New York City and worked for Detroit rock photographer Lynn Goldsmith. I quit after a year and I was done with photography. Recently I started to digitize my rock photos when Terry Karydes (an old friend) asked if I had any good Iggy shots. I’m very happy that after 30 years these photos got used. Thanks for the opportunity…and thanks for writing a great Iggy book.”
Thursday, 3 May 2007
