A black and white photo of Joan Jett performing live.
© Julian David Stone
Music

How to be a guerilla gig photographer

Julian David Stone talks us through his life as a guerilla gig photographer and snapping acts such as The Ramones, Prince, U2 and Duran Duran.
By Bella Todd
7 min readPublished on
There may be only centimetres in it, but the world of the photographer’s pit is far removed from that of the gig goer. Julian David Stone has worked as a professional rock photographer. But it was the years he spent as a sneaky amateur snapper that he enjoyed most, smuggling equipment into gigs in his socks and pants.
“When you’re in the pit you’re looking straight up at an angle that really nobody sees but the photographers,” he says. “Also you’re usually only allowed to shoot two or three songs. As an outlaw, I was right in the thick of it, taking photos that represented what the fans were actually experiencing.”
To mark the release of his new book, No Cameras Allowed: My Career As An Outlaw Rock And Roll Photographer, Stone shares the stories behind 10 of his favourite shots.

The Ramones (Palo Alto, California, 1983)

"The Ramones were where my journey began. I was obsessed with music as a teenager but quickly figured out I had no musical talent. But I could take photos. When The Ramones came to town I tried to walk in with my camera bag. The guard just laughed at me and pointed at a sign: ‘No cameras allowed’. So I went back to my car, hid the lens in my socks and the film in my jeans crotch, and got into the club.
"From the moment The Ramones took to the stage I was addicted. I shot around 10,000 pictures over the next four or five years, but those first ones of The Ramones are some of my favourites. I just remember the energy, and every song being, 'One, two, three, four…' It was an attack.
A photo by Julian David Stone of The Ramones playing live.

The Ramones

© Julian David Stone

U2 (Dublin, Ireland, 1983)

"I took lots of my photos in the Bay Area. But when I was 18 I took a trip to Europe. U2 hadn’t played in Ireland in a while and they’d just released the War album. This was their homecoming, and The Edge’s birthday. My wife is a little younger than me and, to her, without his glasses on, that’s not Bono. But for me, this close-up of him climbing the scaffolding is the epitome of the young Bono."
A black and white photo of U2's Bono.

U2

© Julian David Stone

The Police (New York City, New York, 1983)

"I put all these photos away for 30 years and only recently dug them out. The ones of The Police at Shea Stadium have turned out to hold tremendous power for fans: it was one of the biggest concerts of their career, and they decided to split up after the show.
"The plus of festival shows is that security is overwhelmed and can’t check you as much. The minus is you have a whole lot of people to fight through. A summer rain storm had just hit, and the crowd scattered. I threw on my rain slicker and got right to the front. I remember looking up at Sting, this Adonis, standing shirtless in front of 70,000 people, and thinking, this is the definition of a rock star."
A black and white photo of The Police frontman Sting.

The Police

© Julian David Stone

Billy Joel (Los Angeles, California, 1984)

"This was the first time I used my specially customised jacket. I bought an old navy coat that came down to my ankles and punched out the pockets, so I could drop things down into the lining. That way, when security pats you down, nobody’s going to go that low. This would’ve been around the time of Nylon Curtain. Billy Joel was still wearing ties like piano keys and jumping up on the piano. I think he’s in the middle of It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me."
A black and white photo of Billy Joel performing live.

Billy Joel

© Julian David Stone

R.E.M. (Berkeley, California, 1985)

"This was one of the only times coming into a show that I got caught. The guy found a lens, but nothing else. Somehow I convinced him to let me in. I was really happy to capture that soulful moment with R.E.M. and Michael Stipe. It’s amazing how stage lighting has changed concerts. Most of my pictures are figures surrounded by black – because that was what a show was back then."
A black and white photo of R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe performing live.

R.E.M.

© Julian David Stone

Duran Duran (Los Angeles, California, 1984)

"I have to admit I wasn’t the hugest Duran Duran fan. A guy in my college dorm was obsessed with them. He offered to pay for the gas to drive me to the show, and bought me the film. But this was the height of Duran Duran mania, screaming girls everywhere, and just no tickets around. We found a guy working one of the doors and slipped him 50 bucks.
"I’m taking pictures, milling round the mezzanine, and all of sudden I feel a hand on my back: 'Duran Duran security, please come with us'. The guards hauled me outside and ripped my film out. Luckily, I’d already shot one roll and hid it in my sock."
A black and white photo of Duran Duran performing live.

Duran Duran

© Julian David Stone

Joan Jett (San Francisco, California, 1983)

"It’s not always a case of the bigger the band the bigger the thrill. Sometimes the club gigs are harder to get away with. During this Joan Jett gig, a roadie spotted me. I remember thinking, hey, what’s he gonna do, he can’t get at me in this packed crowd. He jumps off the stage and comes right at me! I hide my equipment just in time, and he takes down the guy next to me instead."
A black and white photo of Joan Jett performing live.

Joan Jett

© Julian David Stone

Prince (Los Angeles, California, 1985)

"This project all came about because, when Prince died, I put pictures on Facebook, and people started asking how I had them. This was the height of his career. I remember walking through my college dorm and hearing the Purple Rain album playing, at different points, from every room."
"I bought a special huge lens for the show. But I didn’t check if it would fit in my pants till we got to the parking lot. It didn’t. Luckily I’d gone to the show with a woman, and keep in mind this was the 1980s. She had a big purse with a giant can of hairspray in it, so we hid the lens under that.
"I was always looking through the viewfinder for that decisive moment. In this shot, Prince is just about to stick that landing, and all in high heels. He was doing that kind of stuff the whole night. You can see why he would’ve needed painkillers."
A colour photo of Prince performing a jumping jack during a live concert.

Prince

© Julian David Stone

Chuck Berry (Sonoma, California, 1985)

"So many of the performers of Chuck Berry’s era, who’d started in the '50s, had tried to modernise their acts. Not Chuck Berry. He would show up in a town and put together a band. The venue would have to find three guys to play with him. This was the perfect way to see Chuck Berry: at a county fair, on a stage that literally had no back or sides. And he was just phenomenal. I’m very happy with the composition of that photo, with his shirt and his beautiful guitar."
A black and white photo of rock n roll pioneer Chuck Berry performing live.

Chuck Berry

© Julian David Stone

Grateful Dead (San Francisco, California, 1987)

"I was a huge fan of the Grateful Dead from the mid '80s till when Jerry Garcia died. What I see in this photo, from around Touch of Grey, is that he was still very vital, virile and healthy. The band were in full bloom here, as opposed to the decline we were all to watch over the next few years."
"Soon after taking this, I had a moment where I thought, I don’t want to take any more pictures, I just want to go dance. I remember putting my equipment away and moving back into the crowd. I was becoming a Deadhead. I ended up following The Grateful Dead on the road, and seeing them about 110 times. That’s when I hung up rock photography as a career, and the dancing took over."
A colour photo of The Grateful Dead performing live.

The Grateful Dead

© Julian David Stone