"I took this picture of Bo Diddley on behalf of Rolling Stone magazine. Backstage at a club in New York City in the '80s. I had never photographed him before and I had, I don't know, about half an hour to photograph him. For me, it was all about the big, big rectangular guitar. No one else has a guitar like that. When you see the guitar, you know who it belongs to. It's as if it's his signature, his trademark. The club in New York where we photographed was like a blues club and a lot of different people played there over the years.

I don't really remember the name of the club, but all the writing on the back wall, it's all real. It's not a backdrop. That's the reality. I photographed two of his sets that night and we had to set up flashes all over the club and connect them together to have enough light. So we sort of clamped four or five flashes together, all firing at the same time, and that's how we did it." - NEAL

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The Story behind the Picture – by Neal Preston



Neal Preston - Exhilarated and Exhausted

BOOK TIP

Neal Preston is one of the greatest rock photographers of all time. "Exhilarated and Exhausted" is an unrestricted retrospective of his 40-year career. This was produced in collaboration with Neal and is the first time he has granted unrestricted access to his legendary archive – it is considered one of the most important and extensive photo collections in the music industry. This extraordinary band is a who's who of rock kings.

Neal has been the official tour photographer for Led Zeppelin, Queen, Bruce Springsteen and The Who, and has also photographed extensively the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and many more.

The book includes his portraits, backstage moments, live performances, post-performance highs and lows, and outtakes. Neal's photographs vibrate with a palpable and inimitable intensity. Neal is a true insider, and the images are brought to life by his liner text – a stunning insight into life as a rock 'n' roll photographer on tour.