Ethan Russell's _Dear Mr. Fantasy_

[amck@thenetdr.com (Alan McKendree)]

Apologies to all who already know of this book, but in my perusing of the
fare at the local used-book store I picked up _Dear Mr. Fantasy: Diary of a
Decade_ by Ethan Russell.  Dedicated credit-readers will already know of
whom I speak; he did the booklet photography for "Quadrophenia", as well as
the photos for "Who's Next" and the LSO "Tommy" AND was present with camera
clicking at the Stones' Rock and Roll Circus.  He tells good stories about
these photo sessions (in this, his is much like the Lynn Goldsmith book),
and the stories of the above-mentioned Who-related shoots are alone worth
the price of the book.  A snippet from the part about the traveling with
the band on the trips which eventually produced the "Who's Next" cover
photo (p. 174-5):

- ---
That afternoon they entered the dining room of a middle-class hotel in
Leeds like some outlaw gang in a Western; the bald Wiggy, the curly-haired
Daltrey, and the ever-manic Moon.  The customers turned to stare, pausing
from their shrimp cocktails in Thousand Island dressing with thin pieces of
buttered brown bread, to watch as the normally nondescript process of
ordering lunch is turned into an encounter laced with threats of personal
violence.

     Wiggy to waiter:  "And if it's not just how I ordered it, then, hear
me out now, I shall rip off your arm and beat you to death with it."

...

That night, after the gig, we still had no idea for a cover, but the Who
flaunted destruction, so destroying a dressing room for a possible album
cover seemed natural...The hall had reluctantly agreed (there's really not
much you can do to six cement surfaces).  But it was as if, permission
granted, the idea lost its appeal, and it was a desultory destruction that
resulted in a few chairs being broken up and the specter of Moon bashing
his fist through some bottles.
- --------

...explaining the photo that eventually was used on the back of the album.
Or from earlier in the book (and in time) (p. 61):

- --------
     As we smoke, Robin tells us of London clubs, of the Marquee in Soho,
the Roundhouse in North London.  Robin seems intrigued by this brother-and
sister act (Russell and his sister) that just appeared in a clothes shop in
London seeking hash.  I ask him if he knows of any new groups I should
hear.  He says the Who.

     "Listen to the drummer," he says.

     The next day I buy the album.  The drummer seems to hit a hundred and
thirty-two beats to the bar.  The lead singer sings, "I can see for miles
and miles..." over the  high, driving notes of the lead guitar...
- ---------

The book is weighted fairly heavily toward the Beatles and Stones, but
those are interesting too; you may be surprised at the famous photos you've
seen which Russell took (and which appear in the book, natch) -- the
Beatles rooftop concert, the photos appearing on the cover of _Let It Be_,
and the last filming John and Yoko did, mere days before John was killed,
plus many Stones live shots, and James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Janis, etc.,
etc.

Russell, Ethan A., _Dear Mr. Fantasy_
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston: 1985
ISBN 0-395-34421-2

Alan

"When I'm on stage, it's not like bein' possessed...it's just...*I* *do*
*my* *job*."                 - Pete Townshend