Spotlight

David Koppel served his photographic apprenticeship in the rough-and-tumble world of the Fleet Street paparazzi in 1980’s London when his skills captured the very essence of the Me Decade that gave birth to the celebrity culture of today.

Koppel’s classic photographs of Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Madonna, George Michael, Prince, Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Tina Turner, Elton John & the Royal Family appeared in every major newspaper and magazine and marked him out as that rarity amongst press photographers: the artist with a camera.

He spent a decade chasing the biggest names in the world — and doing whatever it took to get the picture, through London’s clubs, hotels, restaurants, concerts, parties, film premieres and streets — and wherever they went next.

Sometimes he was invited. Mostly he wasn’t.

Now, Koppel opens his archive to reveal the stories behind a career spent chasing the photographs that Fleet Street wanted most: the skulduggery, ingenuity, nerve and sheer persistence it took to get the shot.

Punched by Bowie. Thumped by Jagger. Whacked by Dylan. Headlocked by James Bond. Stared down by Diana, Princess of Wales. Ignored by Marlon Brando. Scolded by Joanna Lumley.

These are the ‘pictures that made the stories’.