Punk Turns 30

This photo of Billy Idol and Joan Jett was published around the world - 47 magazines from mainstream to fanzine. This clip is from Japan's Music Life but most people I know remember it from Creem. Regardless of where you've seen it, or if this is the first place you've seen this image, it was the image that kicked my photography career up a notch and a half. In May 1978, Billy Idol came to the USA to do some pre-release promotion of the Generation X album that Chrysalis Records was releasing. For months in advance of his visit, Pleasant and I had been talking with Billy on the phone, thanks to Rodney Bingenheimer, of KROQ fame. That's Rodney in the shadow behind Billy. In addition to our ally and secret weapon in Rodney, who knew of Pleasant's fascination/obsession with Billy, we had a lot of help from Brendan Bourke of Chrysalis. Brendan is a cool Englishman who had worked at Island Records, and at this time, was at Chrysalis and in charge of Billy...

Some of my favorite images are the ones where the subjects didn't know they were being photographed, like The Joneses in the photo behind Belinda Carlisle, backstage at the Whisky. Or were totally at ease in their environment and didn't really care that there was a camera in their midst. Penelope Avenger and Sally Mutant, backstage in San Francisco. Just a fly on the wall... Joan Jett's kitchen, where she and Billy Idol are chatting, provides the backdrop for something I always thought was a frame from a cinema verite of "Party on San Vicente," a fake movie in my head that I see all the time when I go through my slides and negatives. Nancy "Nitro" Nagler is in the foreground, smoking a cigarette, and the winsome strawberry blonde seated on the right of the frame is Lisa Curland, who was Joan's roommate on San Vicente. Kent Smythe, whom I know through Joan and Lisa, caught unawares, just sitting around being Kent. And finally, one of my fav...