If we’re talking about a photographer that defined the rock scene of the 60s and 70s, we must mention Mats Bäcker (Hagfors, Sweden 1958) Icons of yesterday and today have been captured by his lens: Mick Jagger, Grace Jones, Bono, Marianne Faithfull, David Bowie, Joe Strummer, Iggy Pop and a long etcetera of immortalized artists in his signature black and white style.
At the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s, the Punk wave surged through Europe and Scandinavians were the first ones to ride it. Bands traveled there before getting established, moved by those aggressive sounds and fashion. Mats Bäcker was there to capture all of it and became a house name in the Scandinavian scene. He was the first to photograph the band The Jam at their first gig outside of the United Kingdom.
His work, mainly influenced by journalism photography, looks for the sensuality and that casual coolness apparent in rockstars, in a timeless black and white, that exudes power and character. Every photograph has a story behind it, meaning that Bäcker is the omniscient narrator in each of them, telling us about the singular adventures that lead up to the meeting with the protagonists of the stills.
The photographs – and the stories – of this unprecedented artist, arrive on Wednesday 11 of May at our most Classic Rock hotel: Dorado. The Swedish photographer will host an exhibition together with Mondo Galería which will be on display until the 11th of June. Mark this date on your calendar, because you have a date with Mats Bäcker and rock history.