"The photo of Elton John was taken at the Forum in Los Angeles, so to speak, at the height of the crazy outfit period that he went through with every tour and every show, with the costumes, the hats, the glasses, etc. getting more and more outlandish. And it was so much fun to take pictures because... You never knew what would come of it.

On this particular evening, I was standing in front of his dressing room when he walked out. Down the hall, I was getting ready to go on stage, and I had my camera on my shoulder near my hip, literally taking a picture without looking through the viewfinder. I just didn't know if it was going to be in focus or something. I just did it very secretly. And it turned out really great because I think it shows a lot of the loneliness that he talked about in later years. He talked about how he compensated for the things that were going on in his life. And he tried to hide everything by drawing attention to costumes and everything else. At least in contrast to what he was going through emotionally.

I love this photo. It just says a lot about what was going on inside him. For me, this photo really writes volumes on many levels about the life he was leading at the time." - 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.