Tony Mott
Tony Mott is a name synonymous with music photography in Australia. Arriving in Australia in 1976, Tony Mott has become the leading rock photographer in Australia. His photographs have been published in over 20 countries, appeared on over 450 album covers and more than 700 magazines and his portfolio views like a who’s who of Rock’n'Roll. Having toured with the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Silverchair, Bob Dylan and is the official tour photographer for the traveling festival The Big Day Out, one is bound to recognize many of the photographs in this exhibition. From humble beginnings, Tony Mott’s career as the leading name in Australia for music photography was born. In the early 1980′s Tony Mott was working as a chef in legendary Kings Cross hotel, The Gazebo. It turned out that this was a perfect location for him to embark on the next stage of his life. “Sydney had a brilliant live music scene. Every night of the week you could see any number of excellent bands at any number of excellent venues, right across the city. Working as a chef meant I usually finished work around midnight, not a bad situation for somebody liked me who loved music. I’d finish work and hop into any given venue. On Monday nights after work I used to go to the Piccadilly Hotel in the Cross to see the Divinyls play. They had a residency at the venue and at this stage they were unsigned and largely unknown. Chrissie Amphlett, the singer didn’t do a lot in those days. The stage persona she later became famous for was non-existent but suddenly it seemed she became a loony on stage wearing the school girl uniform and gyrating about the stage” Tony Mott – excerpt from Rock ‘n’ Roll Photography Is The New Trainspotting by Tony Mott In his youth, Mott was in fact a trainspotter – the object being to collect as many locomotives numbers as possible. In the early stages of his career, Mott would often come across many famous guests, and with his passion for photography, he quickly made the most of these encounters and began stealthily snapping away. “Apart from rock ‘n’ roll photography being a career, it is very much a question of collecting as many photo’s of rock stars as I can” What started out as a hobby, like trainspotting, quickly became more serious for Tony, when after snapping The Divinyls for months on end, their tour manager Vince Lovegrove asked to see the shots, one of which he chose and used as a tour poster. “I was well chuffed! To top it off he paid me 20 bucks – my first foray into professional photography” Tony Mott – excerpt from Rock ‘n’ Roll Photography Is the New Trainspotting by Tony Mott Since then Tony Mott’s career spiraled and he soon became the go to guy for the Australian music scene. Tony Mott is the photographer that the bands ask for. He has an incredible enthusiasm for music and musicians and has the uncanny ability to capture the quintessential appeal of whoever he is photographing. His images reveal something of the mystery, the revved-up power and adrenaline of rock ‘n’ roll. In total I’ve had over 30’000 photos published, the result of some 2,500 sessions and countless live shows which have become 400 posters, 450 CD or vinyl covers and over 800 magazine front covers and I’m still counting. It seems an age has passed since Vince Lovegrove used my shot of Chrissie Amphlett as a tour poster. “I guess it has been a long time. Certainly much has happened and I’ve managed to collect some stories that I think are vaguely interesting along the way, some are downright bizarre and I hope you enjoy them” - Tony Mott – excerpt from Rock ‘n’ Roll Photography Is the New Trainspotting by Tony Mott