Pop Rock Icons by Philippe Margotin

Published by Aurora Metro Books

Out now

Before punk and then later grunge celebrated the idea of jarring realism in the music industry, glamour and narcissism reigned supreme. This coincided with a particular time period, the late sixties and early seventies, and location, when London was lit up with hues of soft lights and kind angles. It was a constantly revolving film set where everyone had their faces tilted to their best side. Where everything was beautiful and ugliness was swept under the carpet. At least for another night.

In Pop Rock Icons, Philippe Margotin unashamedly celebrates the rock star as an otherworldly figure. As a music biographer of such esteemed artists as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, Margotin is well equipped to dissect the cultural impact of the major players in the music industry but this isn’t a critical examination of the period as much as a celebration through image. As writer and bandleader Dave Sinclair points out in his foreword: ‘Margotin has assembled a magical parade of photographs which captures the spirit of a time when fashion, culture and the arts were driven by the British musicians of the 1960s and 1970s.

Beginning with the Beatles and the Stones, the book raises its high watermark early. The early shots of a youthful Jagger and the band relaxing on a golf course or studying gold discs together around a table have a hint of innocence about them that would soon be replaced with a…