Brian May (QUEEN), Slash (GUNS N’ ROSES), Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE), SCORPIONS, Lenny Kravitz, Doro Pesch and Joan Jett are among the musicians who have reacted on social media to the passing of rock ‘n’ roll photographer Mick Rock, who died earlier this week at age 72. His death was announced on his Twitter page. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Rock was David Bowie‘s longtime official photographer who also directed multiple Bowie music videos, including “Space Oddity” and “Life On Mars”. The British-born photographer, who was once dubbed “The Man Who Shot The ’70s,” was also responsible for the album cover of QUEEN‘s “Queen II”, which later inspired the band’s iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” music video.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share our beloved psychedelic renegade Mick Rock has made the Jungian journey to the other side,” the tribute on Rock‘s Twitter feed reads. “Those who had the pleasure of existing in his orbit, know that Mick was always so much more than ‘The Man Who Shot The 70s.'”
The Rock tribute called him “a photographic poet—a true force of nature who spent his days doing exactly what he loved, always in his own delightfully outrageous way… A man fascinated with image, he absorbed visual beings through his lens and immersed himself in their art, thus creating some of the most magnificent photographs rock music has ever seen,” the statement on his death continued.
Rock published several collections of Bowie photos, including 2002’s “Moonage Daydream” and 2015’s “The Rise Of David Bowie 1972-1973”.
Other album covers Rock worked on include Syd Barrett‘s “Madcap Laughs”, Lou Reed‘s “Transformer” and “Coney Island Baby”, IGGY AND THE STOOGES‘ “Raw Power”, QUEEN‘s “Sheer Heart Attack”, RAMONES‘ “End Of The Century” and Joan Jett‘s “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll”.
Photo: Nathalie Rock
Photo: Nathalie Rock pic.twitter.com/I50ofDuO0r
— Mick Rock (@TheRealMickRock) November 19, 2021
RIP Mick Rock . pic.twitter.com/ggOOzVDgsw
— Clem Burke (@clem_burke) November 19, 2021
RIP the great Mick Rock. Some of the greatest photos in Rock history #MickRock #RIPMICKROCK pic.twitter.com/kXfmXshW6w
— Todd Dammit Kerns (@todddammitkerns) November 19, 2021
Mick Rock and Shepard backstage at a Blondie gig. Besides being a great photographer, Mick got access to everyone because he was such a sweetheart charming motherfcker. RIP Mick, another loss for the music world pic.twitter.com/CRzjnFyLrZ
— Debbie Harry/BLONDIE (@BlondieOfficial) November 19, 2021
Shocking news, Mick Rock captured moments with his camera that were imagistic gifts to the world of rock ‘n’ roll. It was almost as if the camera was an instrument and he played the greatest solos ever seen. RIP https://t.co/iHKWt42gdc
— Michael Des Barres (@MDesbarres) November 19, 2021
Mick Rock and Shepard backstage at a Blondie gig. Besides being a great photographer, Mick got access to everyone because he was such a sweetheart charming motherfcker. RIP Mick, another loss for the music world pic.twitter.com/cN1q89l72f
— Cʜʀɪs Sᴛᴇɪɴ (@chrissteinplays) November 19, 2021
