Just picked up the May 2010 issue of Spin this week, and I got a chuckle out of one of the stories. The photo illustrating the story was a picture of a young Bob Guccione, Jr. sitting at his desk holding the first printed test issue of what would become the test issue of Spin Magazine. My part of the story follows:
I used to travel to New York City 3 or 4 times a year to visit clients, and try to meet new clients. So in 1985, during one of my trips, I visited the music editor of Penthouse Magazine, a publication that occasionally used my photographs in their music coverage. During the conversation, she smiled and said “ Hey, I should take you in to meet Bobby- he is starting a music magazine.” So we walked down the hall and into an office where I was introduced to Bob Guccione, Jr. He was sitting behind his desk, wearing a one piece jumpsuit , unzipped down the front with gold chains hanging around his neck. When he started to talk, I noticed a very distinct and very fake English accent (I think he was born and raised in Brooklyn) but none the less a very funny guy. During the course of the conversation, he suddenly said “Do you have any great pictures of David Bowie?” I had photographed a Bowie concert a few years before, and had some amazing photographs of Bowie posing for me on stage holding a skull in his hand with a rose in it’s mouth. When I told Bob about these shots, he asked me if he could use them for the cover of the test issue of his new magazine. I said it would be no problem, as long as he thought of me when he needed photos for the magazine that was to come. He agreed, and when I got home, I sent him a selection of photos. About 3 weeks later, I received in the mail a small issue of a new magazine called Spin, with a bunch of my photos and “dummy” type surrounding them- a tool that they used to sell advertising for the real issue. For about the first year of the magazine, they would call me pretty regularly for assignments and stock photo requests. To this day, I still get the occasional request from Spin, although Bob is long gone, and they seem to have a new photo editor every 2 issues. It was very funny to see a picture of Bob behind his desk with my photos spread out in front of him 25 years later!
On another note, a few years later a new magazine started in Los Angeles, published by Larry Flynt of Hustler fame. The first issue of RIP Magazine in January of 1987 featured a photograph of ZZ Top, taken by me (Must be something about naked women and Rock and Roll that causes people to call me!!) They used my photographs throughout the entire hair metal era.