Photographer Jake Chessum remembers photographing David Bowie in 1995

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My shoot with David Bowie was at a house in Fulham in May 1995. I grew up on Bowie…my friend bought Ziggy Stardust, Low, Heroes and Scary Monsters on vinyl for £2.99 at Our Price Records in Croydon and taped them for me when we were 15. We managed to see him live at the Milton Keynes Bowl in the summer of ’83. My friend’s dad drove 4 of us to the gig and waited all day in the car park for us. I used to look through the program for the Serious Moonlight Tour looking at Tony McGee’s fabulous photos of Bowie wondering if I’d ever get the chance to meet him.

So when I got the call to shoot him for Tatler Magazine with some of his art collection there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity.

Armed with a stack of stuff from my collection of vinyl, books and posters for him to sign, I headed off to South West London. Taking the cameras was almost an afterthought.

When we arrived at the house, somebody opened the door and we were let in. It was a terraced house in a side street and at the top of the stairs I could just see his head as he was sitting reading. I can still picture that moment. I was frozen with fear and anticipation. Bowie came down, we were introduced and he made us a cuppa. It was the house of his art advisor and he had a few pieces from his collection there for us to photograph him with.

We headed upstairs to shoot him with a couple of the pieces. When this was done, I asked if I could just grab a couple of portraits in the back garden. It was a lovely sunny day and I got 1 roll of 35mm and two or three rolls of 120 film. Weirdly I had had a shoot with Scott Walker the week before and as sometimes happens, I had not finished the roll of film so I had some images of Scott and Bowie on the same roll…2 legends on the same roll. I mentioned that I had met Scott the week before and that he had been quiet and intense. Bowie commented that he had been a troubled soul.

He was disarmingly quiet and open, and explained he couldn’t stay in the bright sun because his pupil was frozen after a fight with his friend as a kid. Like I didn’t know the story back to front already.

Above, bottom right, Jake with David Bowie.

I didn’t think I’d got anything good from the shoot. I was somewhat starstruck (no shit! My friend had said to me at the time “how can you even be in the same room as him”) and having spent my life looking at all the iconic photos by Mick Rock, Terry O’Neill, Steve Schapiro and all of the iconic looks that defined the 70s and 80s, how could I ever compete.

I couldn’t, obviously. But what I like about these pictures is that they are totally unpretentious: He’s not styled, is not wearing make up or acting in any way. The simplicity is key.

A few months later he was promoting his album “Outside” and was wearing heavy eye make-up. My photos were just him as he looked every day…no styling, no album to promote. A regular 48 year old legend going about his day. This idea didn’t really occur to me until much later. Earlier this year Iman posted one of the images from the shoot (our main article image) on her instagram on the anniversary of Bowie’s death. I nearly had a heart attack. I had no idea that she might have seen the photo, let alone liked it enough to post it on such a personal and important day. But I feel that bears out my thought: It was just “him”.

Jake’s David Bowie prints are available Here.

Click on any image to enlarge.

All photos © Jake Chessum.

Check out Jake’s Instagram Here.