Gered Mankowitz
'Generation X' (Billy Idol) SIGNED, LIMITED EDITION
1978

About the Item

'Generation X' SIGNED, LIMITED EDITION 1978 by Gered Mankowitz Silver gelatin print - signed and numbered and stamped on the face of the print in the border below the image. LARGE 20 x 20" inches / 51 x 51 cm Before Billy Idol went solo - he exploded onto the Punk scene with his band Generation X. Taken in London in 1978. At the beginning of their success photographed here by legendary Rock & Music photographer, Gered Mankowitz. GERED MANKOWITZ BIOGRAPHY: Gered Mankowitz was born in London, England, on 3rd August 1946. The first of four sons of the late author, playwright and film writer Wolf Mankowitz and his wife, the Jungian psychotherapist Ann Mankowitz. After an education of sorts at several London co-educational “progressive” schools, he left at 15, avoiding all exams and completed his education devoid of any formal qualifications. Having displayed a natural ‘eye’ for photography whilst on a school trip to Holland and having been inspired to take up photography by the actor Peter Sellers, his photographs were seen by the legendary photographer Tom Blau, who offered Gered an apprenticeship at his famous photo agency, Camera Press Ltd., in London. Over a period of several months Gered worked in all the various departments that made up Camera Press, finally moving to the studio and going on various assignments in and around London. In 1962, Gered went to Barbados with his family and began taking photographs professionally, producing a range of work from architectural studies for the island’s top architect to the first Boeing 707 landing at Bridgetown airport for British West Indian Airways. On returning to London, Gered was offered a chance to go to Paris for the collections, working for the fashion photographer Alec Murray. In spite of the glamour and exciting atmosphere, it was clear that this particular area of work was not for him, and on returning to London he went to work for the ‘show-biz’ portraitist, Jeff Vickers. Gered had already photographed the Bristol Old Vic production of the American musical play “Fiorello” and his photos had been used for the front of theatre display when the show transferred to London’s Piccadilly Theatre. This made him the youngest photographer to have his pictures used in this way; so working for Jeff Vickers gave him an opportunity to develop his ‘show-biz’ contacts and to broaden his experience in the studio, taking portraits of many actors and other personalities. During 1963, Gered met and photographed the singing duo Chad and Jeremy, who had just signed with Ember records. One of these photos was used as the cover of the duo’s first album, “Yesterday’s Gone”, and Gered found himself working in the music industry at a time when it desperately needed new, mould breaking images. He began to work with a new generation of producers like John Barry, Shel Talmy and Chris Blackwell photographing artists who were of his own age group and who felt at ease with him in a way that had not been possible with other photographers. At the end of 1963 Gered opened his first studio, at 9 Masons Yard in the heart of London’s West End. On one side was the infamous disco “The Scotch of St.James”, hangout of the pop glitterati of the time, and on the other the art gallery “Indica”, partly financed by The Beatles and where John Lennon met Yoko Ono. Within a few months Gered had already begun to make a name for himself, and he was approached to photograph Marianne Faithful, who had just had a big hit with “As Tears Go By”. Working closely with Marianne he got to know her manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham. In early 1965, Oldham asked him to photograph the Rolling Stones, who he also managed and produced. This was a major turning point in Gered’s career, because from this first session came the cover for “Out of Our Heads” (U.S. title “December’s Children”), and as a result he was asked by the Stones to go to America with them on their record breaking 1965 autumn tour. During this 9 week (48 city) tour of the U.S. Gered photographed the Stones on stage and off, and got particularly close to Keith and Charlie. There were many adventures as Gered found himself on the road with the greatest Rock band in the world at the peak of their original success. Gered continued working with the Stones as their ‘official’ photographer, producing photos for albums (“Between the Buttons”; “Got Live If You Want It”; “Big Hits”; and several others), press and publicity, taken at home, in the recording studio, on stage and behind the scenes until 1967, when the band broke off with their manager, Oldham. Through the 60’s, Gered continued in the music world working with Oldham at his famous Immediate label, and with many other major artists including Jimi Hendrix, Free, Traffic, The Yardbirds, The Small Faces and Soft Machine. In to the 70’s with Slade, Gary Glitter, Suzi Quatro, Sweet, Elton John, Kate Bush, Eurythmics, ABC, Duran Duran and many others. During this period, Gered also worked in other areas of photography, including advertising, book covers and a brief spell taking ‘stills’ on movies, including several months in Sardinia with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton on the ill-fated movie “Boom”. In 1982 Gered had a major exhibition of his work at London’s famous Photographers’ Gallery. This was seen by over 16,000 people, a record for the gallery at the time, and it then toured the U.K. for over 2 years. This exhibition was the first in the U.K. to focus on the world of music and was a pathfinder in this genre. In 1984 a book based on this exhibition, called “Hit Parade”, was published in the U.K. and U.S.A. Also in 1984 a book of Gered’s Rolling Stones photographs, called “Satisfaction”, was published. Both books were very well received, and as a result there began the growing interest in the Gered Mankowitz archive. For over 22 years Gered was based at his North London studio, a converted Victorian chapel, taking prize-winning photos for the advertising industry. He has also been a regular contributor to several major publications, and still works in the music business, photographing bands and singers for album covers and magazines. He contributes regularly to The Sunday Times Magazine and Mojo magazine as well as shooting sessions with musical artists such as Oasis, Verve, Catatonia, Kula Shaker, Embrace, The Buena Vista Social Club, Snow patrol, The Bravery, Dukes Spirit as well as many others. Prints of Gered’s work are purchased in galleries throughout the World including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Dubai and Tokyo. Gered continues to produce photography for the music industry and some of his more recent work includes sessions with The Hives, Snow Patrol, The Duke Spirit, The Bravery, Blondelle, BMD, Patrick Wolf, Ren Harvieu and American blues singer and guitarist Doyle Bramhall II. He also continues to work with old friends PP Arnold and Suzi Quatro producing cover photography for their latest releases.

Creator:
Gered Mankowitz
Creation Year:
1978
Dimensions:
Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)
Medium:
Silver Gelatin
Movement & Style:
Modern
Period:
1960-1969
Condition:
Silver gelatin print - SIGNED and numbered and stamped on the face of the print in the border below the image.
Gallery Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU38133363843
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Gered Mankowitz

Gered Mankowitz is responsible for some of the most iconic images ever taken of music’s greatest performers. He began with the Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s and never looked back. Over the course of a career spanning more than five decades, he has strengthened the cultural impact of the photographic genre he practices.

Mankowitz’s work has been explored in numerous books and exhibitions and is a subject explored in 2020's docuseries Icon: Music Through The Lens, airing on British television channel Sky Arts and streaming online. But a fitting introduction to this firebrand photographer would start with an electric shock, of sorts.

In 1967, he was commissioned to photograph a 24-year-old music prodigy by the name of Jimi Hendrix. Mankowitz, three years his subject’s junior, wasn’t sure what to expect of the guitar sensation from Seattle, who had just settled in the United Kingdom and was already being hailed by his peers as an artistic genius. The pictures that came out of the session, along with those produced during a second shoot with Hendrix that same year, are the most widely known and regarded as the most important portraits of the seminal guitarist. They not only celebrated Hendrix’s revolutionary spirit and ineffable charisma but also helped define an entire era of musical creativity.

The assignments kept rolling in, and soon Mankowitz had established a reputation as a spirited rock ’n’ roll portraitist. Then came the dream job: In 1965, at just 19, he became the official photographer of the Rolling Stones, a position that he held for two and a half years and ushered him into adulthood. Mankowitz maintains that he kept a cool head on the job and a professional attitude. “The Stones and I were great friends, but I always knew my limits. I didn’t feel I had to hang out with the band in order to fit in,” he says, confiding, “To be honest, I had a pretty wild lifestyle without their help!” One of Mankowitz’s most famous images of the Stones became the cover for their 1967 album Between the Buttons.

On 1stDibs, shop an impressively wide selection of Gered Mankowitz's work, which features some of the most significant musical artists of all time.