Right Place, Right Time: The Life Of A Rock & Roll Photographer

★★★★ Bob Gruen (With Dave Thompson) ABRAMS. £25 Rock history as seen from behind a camera. Famed rock lensman Bob Gruen’s career is both a fan’s daydream and a history of music from a time when “the unexpected was the norm”. With classic portraits and action shots of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, John Lennon and The Rolling Stones, The Ramones and Green Day, Gruen captured rock’s indomitable spirit, beginning with his first propitious photos of Bob Dylan going electric at Newport 1965. While this book has plenty of his legendary work (and many rarities), this is a proper memoir with war stories from an artist who almost gave his life for rock’n’roll. (He was threatened with grievous harm by a canewielding Dylan, as well as Japanese gangsters from the Yakuza.) Given his oeuvre, it’s not surprising Gruen has adventurous, play-it-loud instincts and a photographic memory. His masterpieces – such as Lennon giving the V-for-victory salute in front of the Statue of Liberty – remain awe-inspiring. Michael Simmons