Tony Mott Releases Iconic 40th Anniversary Music Photography Book

English-born Australian photographer Tony Mott has enjoyed an illustrious career photographing some of music’s all-time greats: from Iggy Pop to Chrissy Amphlett to The Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan to Fleetwood Mac to Silverchair to INXS to Johnny Rotten.

To this day, if you ask anyone who’s worked with Mott – or simply knows his name – he’s still recognised as Australia’s premier rock and roll photographer and remembered as Big Day Out’s official photographer.

Mott has just released his latest book, and it’s one hardcore music fans will want in their collections. Rock N Roll Gallery – A Journey From Sheffield to Sydney 1983 - 2023 is a limited edition book that tells the story of Mott’s life as a spectacular, renowned member of the Australian music industry in just 240 pages.

Rock N Roll Gallery contains the most iconic shots of Mott’s storied career in its sheets of glossy paper. There’s the 1983 photo of Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett at Kings Cross that he ended up selling for just $20, Rolling Stones tour photos, Peter Garrett at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1985, Tex Perkins commanding the crowd at Big Day Out in 1994, and many more.

Mott’s latest book tells his life story and captures rock and roll history. It starts from his childhood growing up in Sheffield, Yorkshire, before working as a chef on the cruise ship SS Oriana. By the time the 1980s began, Mott was living in Sydney, and his career as a music photographer had begun.

In the book, Mott ranks his top 20 photos he’s ever taken, the top 20 artists he loves musically, and the best artists from A to Z. Mott’s work has been published in 20 countries, with his photos dominating over 9000 record sleeves and magazine covers.

You can order a copy of Rock N Roll Gallery here or here. However, if you’d like to meet Mott and score a signed copy of the book, head to The Exchange Hotel Hamilton in Newcastle, NSW, for the official book launch on Tuesday, 20 February.

A free event, fans can listen to Mott give a 45-minute talk about the book and more. Register for your place at the event by emailing Tony.

In a recent trip down memory lane, The Music’s Tyler Jenke examined Big Day Out’s legacy ten years after the final edition of the festival took place. Jenke even got Tony Mott to discuss some of his favourite moments.

“The standout moments were The Prodigy converting from the dance stage onto the main stage and it working, and the Black Eyed Peas doing the same thing,” Mott said. “God, there's so many highlights: Iggy Pop, the Beasts of Bourbon, and Sonic Youth, jamming I Wanna Be Your Dog on that second Big Day Out.

“And of course Nirvana; not so much their playing, but just the whole thing that this was the changing of music,” he added. “Grunge had arrived, and mainstream music was getting hammered by indie music. That was just the vibe of that first Big Day Out, and that's why the big day out was successful; because they came in at that time.”