NEW YORK -- The photographer who chronicled the careers of David

Bowie, Lou Reed, Deborah Harry and dozens of other musicians, Mick Rock is

sitting in a gallery, surrounded by his lifework.

Framed photographs lie in stacks around the British-born photographer, about

to be hung on the walls of the Soho Triad Fine Arts Gallery as part of Rock's

exhibit "Drawn to The Flame of Rock and Roll: 50 Photographs by Mick Rock," a

celebration of a long and storied career behind the lens.

"I happened to hit upon a number of durable ones," says Rock with a

self-deprecating laugh, referring to the stature of the musicians with which he

has worked in the last 30 years. A tartan scarf is wrapped around his

neck, his eyes are barely visible behind brown sunglasses and his gray hair

stands straight-up, as electrified as the photographer himself.

"Those Syd ones are among my favorites," recalls Rock, 49, leaning over to

point to a photograph of a young Syd Barrett, the founding member of

psychedelic rockers Pink Floyd, who is smiling devilishly at the camera.

"Syd I met at Cambridge," Rock says. "December 1966. He and the Floyd had

come to play the Christmas party at the Cambridge Arts College. That was

before their first album [The Piper at the Gates of Dawn] came out

and I'd never heard of them."

While the series of Barrett pictures are now recognized as some of the most

intimate and interesting shots of the mysterious young musical poet, Rock

recalls that, at the time, it was difficult to coax the reluctant Barrett

out of his bed

for the scheduled morning photo shoots. "I think the shoot was aborted two

or three times," says Rock, laughing, recalling the mornings he arrived at

Barrett's house. "He didn't wake up."

"Drawn to The Flame" covers three decades of Rock's photography: from his

earliest photos of Barrett, to his shots of Bowie and Reed, to his most recent

work with Tori Amos, Spacehog and D Generation. The exhibit opened Dec. 2

and continues through Jan. 11.

Born in West London, Rock attended Cambridge University, graduating in the

late '60s at a time when the rock, art and drug scenes were in full experimental

force. While Rock would eventually gravitate toward photography, his first

encounter with these now legendary musicians came through rock journalism,

writing articles for Melody Maker and Rolling Stone.

"Because I started out maybe interviewing people, I started out with a

curiosity about a person, even an intellectual curiosity, so especially

people like Bowie, Lou, Iggy, Queen, Genesis -- a lot of people I did

interviews with ... They knew I was interested, that the [photographs]

weren't just a job or a gig."

Working exclusively as a photographer for Bowie, Rock produced the Ziggy

Stardust-era shots of a reclusive Bowie, as well as dozens of infamous

album shots: a languid, bare-chested Iggy Pop hanging on to a microphone

pole for Pop's Raw Power album, a quiet, black and white shot of

Lou Reed for Reed's Transformer and the cover of Queen's Queen

II.

But of all these, Rock is particularly fond of his famous shot of the late

Queen lead singer, Freddie Mercury -- who has since died from an AIDS-

related illness -- dressed in black, arms crossed and gazing toward the

heavens. "It's like he's on his way to heaven, it's so prophetic," he says.

"That

was heavily designed, that was from an old Marlene Dietrich picture from

'Shanghai Express.' "

By the late '70s and early '80s, Rock had moved to New York City, where he

chronicled the punk scene, taking live concert shots and studio portraits

of pioneers in the genre such as the Ramones, Patti Smith and Blondie's

Deborah Harry.

Rock has numerous book projects in the works: He is collaborating

with Bowie on a Ziggy Stardust book and is working with both Reed and Pop

on compilations. Despite being busy with his art, nowadays Rock lives a

decidedly quieter life in New York City, where he resides with his wife and

young daughter.

Asked what musician Rock regrets never having snapped, the photographer is

quick to recount the story of when he met John Lennon. In this

case, respect and awe kept Rock from taking a picture of the late Beatles leader,

he said.

"At a party once, I remember being introduced to him," he said. "I had a

camera in my hand, but I just couldn't take a picture."

Color="#720418">[Sat., Jan. 10, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]