Sir David Attenborough, who is 100 years old in May, has been in some strange locations in his life, but maybe not as odd as the water tank at Elstree Studios, which had been used extensively in the famous Dam Busters film (1955).
It was 2001 and Radio Times wanted a cover photograph to announce the groundbreaking BBC TV series The Blue Planet. They commissioned Andy Earl, known for his iconic portraits of Johnny Cash, Prince, Madonna, Robbie Williams, Mick Jagger and Annie Lennox and album covers for Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, and most famously in 1982, the controversial one of Bow Wow Wow.
With a track record like that he felt emboldened to persuade Britain’s national treasure that he needed to “be in the sea”.
“The RT’s suggestion of a swimming pool wouldn’t work,” Andy recalled. “We needed it to look like an ocean with waves and so on. So, Elstree it was and David agreed.”
A 40-foot theatrical sky backdrop was sourced, assistants made waves out of shot, and the legend positioned himself for Andy.
“He was fine with it, although he did find it as bit chilly,” added Andy.
It was all worth it though as it won the magazine cover of the year award.
I know Andy’s can-do personality from when he was a student at Trent Polytechnic in the 1970s, and from his involvement later with my workshops in Derbyshire. At Trent Poly he participated in a US exchange programme and came back to Nottingham raving about William Egglestone’s colour work. His diploma show was a revelation, particularly a project he did using colour featuring the rich racegoers at Ascot that turned out in a way he wasn’t expecting.
“I decided to use a flash gun, but instead of shooting at 1/125th I shot at a 1/15th! I thought I had messed up badly, but the motion blur effect looked OK and that is what became my final show.”
His daylight flash methods influenced the late Martin Parr, who told an interviewer: ” I remember seeing (Andy’s) pictures….and being very interested in that technique.”
Those images were also seen by punk impresario, Malcolm Maclaren, who loved his original approach that emerged from his polytechnic course. So, his outstanding contribution to the music industry began. Over 400 album covers and 20 music videos later, a very youthful 70-year-old is still full of energy and ideas.
“I have been on the board of governors at the Arts University Bournemouth for years and they asked me to do an exhibition in their new gallery that had an educational bias. How I was educated in the medium myself, problem solving, and how important it is to acquire an individual vision – creative and original.”
The exhibition See or be Seen finishes at AUB on 12 February, but it is going to educational venues associated with Andy, like Nottingham Trent, Falmouth and Norwich Universities before travelling to Saudia Arabia, Singapore, Dubai and China.
Related reading:
- Greatest album covers of all time: Nevermind by Nirvana
- Complete guide to portrait photography
- Essential guide to underwater photography
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