|
|
October 9, 2000
- The original NYC T-Shirt Bob Gruen gave to John Lennon,
which he wore in the famous photo Bob took in 1974,
is one of the many items now on display in the new John
Lennon museum, which just opened outside of Tokyo on
Oct. 9, John's 60th birthday. The museum is beautifully
laid out, following the path of John Lennon's life and
work, explaining his desire to find, and inspire others
to seek creative freedom and peace and love. |
|
|
November 14, 2000
- Debbie Harry & Elvis Costello - And all that jazz!
ELVIS COSTELLO and
BLONDIE vocalist DEBBIE HARRY featured in 'FIRE AT KEATON'S
BAR AND GRILL', an experimental jazz event at the LONDON
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL. The event formed part of the London
Jazz Festival and took place on November 14, 2000. It
is a concert story which tells the tale of a typical
bar in which Harry is the bartender and Costello is
the storyteller. |
|
|
November
15, 2000 - Mick Jones and Damien Hirst visit with Joe
Strummer backstage at London's Wembley Arena. Joe opened
the show there for the Who. |
|
|
March 1, 2001
- Jason Binn with Liv Tyler
at the launch party at Cipriani for the new Gotham Magazine.
Liv is the covergirl on the premier issue. |
|
|
March 6,2001 -
Keith Richards played at the Rainforest Benefit at the
Beacon Theater in New York City Seen
here backstage he's wearing a T-shirt with his photo
and the words "Too Tough To Die", and he looks
proud of it! More
photos |
 |
March
19th 2001 Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. Robbie
Robertson, Keith Richards, King Solomon Burke and Kid
Rock with members of Queen and Aerosmith, join in the
after dinner jam at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York
City,More
photos |
|
|
April
15, 2001 - April 15, 2001 - Joey Ramone passed away this afternoon at 2.40pm, in a hospital in New York City where he was being treated for cancer. Joey's loving family was by his bedside. In his moment of pain and sorrolet's find comfort in the words of the King of Punk himself: "Life's a gas, Life's a gas, Life's a gas, a gas,
Oh Yeah! Life's a gas, Life's a gas, Life's a gas, a
gas, Oh Yeah!
So Don't be sad 'cause I'll be there - Don't be sad
at all" - Joey Ramone |
|
|
April
15, 2001 - The Holy Modal Rounders played at the Tonic
club on Norfolk street in New York, continuing their new
reunion. They are one of my all time favorite groups.
I first saw them play at the Gaslight club on Bleeker
Street in 1964. They are a real inspiration
for a great many people, singing lively songs like, "Euphoria",and
"Boobs-a-lot", about Sex, Drugs and Rock &
Roll, They blended Folk music with raunchy rock, and later
expanded into the Fugs. They might not look it, but for
me they were the first Punk Rockers. |
 |
May
3,2001 - London - We went to see Howard Marks, the famous
pot dealer give a talk in London at the Ocean Rooms. He
takes a firm stand for the legalization of all recreational
drugs, and he's very funny and persuasive. One point he
made as he took a drink of wine, was that Jesus' first
miracle was to turn water into wine, which Howard said
was a very good way to win friends. Then he pointed out
that Jesus said at the Last Supper to drink the wine in
remembrance of Him, but the Church nowadays only gives
out a thimble full at a time. Howard said they should
drink the whole bottle and get loaded and see God! |
 |
May
5,2001 - Paris
-- My friend Bruno Blum, who has a very good French Reggae
album out now as well as a new bio of Lou Reed, took us
to see Minelle sing the old style French folk songs at
the ancient Le Vieux Belleville restaurant. It is said
that Edith Piaf herself as well as Maurice Chevalier and
many other greats of French music history have performed
here. It's still a small, hard to find place in the hills
overlooking Paris, with great food and a very friendly
feeling. |
 |
May
15,2001 - New
York - Singer Kristeen Young performed a set of her songs
at CBGB Gallery. Kristeen has recorded an album with famed
producer Tony Visconti and is looking for a record deal.
She is also a featured backup singer on a new album by
David Bowie, and he was among the crowd that came to see
her amazing solo show. |
|
|
May
19, 2001 - the final "Squeezebox" party on Friday
nite at Don Hill's club drew a record crowd of fun-loving
"people who like people" as Mistress Formica
likes to say. More
Photos |
 |
May
19, 2001 - New York, The best birthday party for Joey
Ramone happened at the Hammerstein Ballroom, with great
videos of Joey. Little Steven MC'd introducing some speakers
and short fast fantastic shows by Blondie, Cheap Trick
and The Damned, as well as Jesse Malin's new band, Bellevue,
the Indpendents and several songs from Joey's brother
Mickey. More
Photos |
 |
May
27th, 2001 - Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher gets close
to The Black Crowes' Chris Robinson Backstage at their
show in Wallingford, CT More
Photos |
 |
June
6, 2001 - The Patti Smith Group played three nights at
the Greenwich Village venue, Village Underground, and
she was rockn' like she did in the '70's. It was quite
a scene as the sell out crowd stayed late for an incredible
show!! Click
for more photos |
 |
June
23, 2001 - Exeter, England - At an Art Festival we saw
Joe Strummer join in a conceptual band show with Angus
Fairhurst as the singer about to start singing but instead
the band - Pauline Daly, Pierre Bismuth, Roger Pomphery,
and David John, just played the familiar riffs of some
well known songs and Angus never sang a word. It was really
fun to just imagine the songs as a screen slowly filled
the stage with projected images of words that seemed to
say "This does not exist!" |
 |
July
12, 2001 - David Johansen played with his group the Harry
Smiths at Castle Clinton in New York City. David plays
a set with the acoustic band that goes back to the roots
of the blues. My favorite song is his version of the Mississippi
John Hurt song "Richland Woman Blues" It was
great to see David's soulful show outdoors at the tip
of Manhattan as the sun set over the Hudson River. |
 |
July
19th, 2001 - London - I am in London working on my book
of photos of the Clash and we went to a great party for
the photographer Mario Testino hosted by Kate Moss, seen
with Paul Simonon. It was a nice surprise to see Paul
(who played bass for the Clash) after I had spent all
day going over final layout proofs for my book, which
is due out at the end of September. Madcap British Artist
Damien Hirst introduced us to TV personality Mariella
Frostrup, and we talked to Ronnie Wood and his wife Jo,
Anita Pallenberg, Patti Palladin, and met Patti Boyd.
What a fun night! click
for more photos |
 |
July
24, 2001 - New York - Joe Strummer and his band the Mescaleros
played their new album, "Global A Go-Go" at
the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. The new songs are
very good, with a mix of many musical forms coming together
so well that once you hear it you want to keep playing
it over and over. They are playing a mini tour of record
stores in major cities to be followed by a full scale
tour in the fall. Watch for them! |
 |
July
27, 2001 - The Fuji Rock Festival was held at the Naeba
Resort in the mountains of Northwest Japan, and it was
a blast!! I was very happy to be able to attend with my
wife this year. More than 100 bands and artists from around
the world performed on six or seven stages and there was
even a weird Circus from England. I couldn't cover the
whole festival (it's very big) but we roamed around with
60,000 or so other (mainly Japanese) music fans. Headliners
from the West included Neil Young, Eminem, Oasis, Patti
Smith Group, DJ Tricky, Wilco Johnson, and many many more.
Here are some views of the Festival. |
 |
Aug.
5, 2001 - Tokyo We came to Japan last week to see the
Fuji Rock Festival and now we're in Tokyo. Tonight we
saw Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bo Diddley with our
good friends Sheena & Makoto Ayukawa, (Sheena &
the Rokkets Band). It was great to see Bo play here at
the Blue Note club. The crowd loved the show and cheered
Bo back for a rockin' encore. |
 |
Tribute
page to the World Trade Center. -- I was out getting
my car tuned in New Jersey and saw one of the World
Trade Center's tower on fire. I pulled off the road
into Liberty State Park and sat on a bench there and
then saw a plane fly low over the harbor and crash into
the other tower. It was the worst thing I have ever
seen. It broke the fabric of reality and has changed
the way we live. I've been thinking of the words of
Winston Churchill, "If you're going through hell, keep
going" I think we must go forward and not let them stop
us. I hope our leaders can find a way to peace on Earth.
- Bob Gruen - NYC - 9/2001 |
 |
Sept. 26, 2001
- London - I had a party for the opening of my exhibition
at the Alex Proud Camden Moss Gallery to celebrate the
release of my new book "The Clash, Photographs
by Bob Gruen". It was a smashing success, with
over 1000 people, including Joe Strummer and Mick Jones,
seen above at the party with me. Click
here to buy "The Clash" book online |
 |
Nov.
13, 2001 - New York - Iggy Pop played two shows at the
Irving Plaza. Jim Jarmusch and Steven Tyler, with his
daughter Liv, were among the happy fans. Iggy is one of
Rock's true masters. It is always inspiring to see his
nonstop energy in action.
More photos |
 |
Jan.
11,2002 - New York - Ryan Adams filmed a video for his
song "Answering Bell'. from
his new CD 'Gold'. The video has a 'Wizard of Oz' theme.
Singer Leona Naess played the pretty girl and Elton John
was the Wizard,
More |
 |
Feb.
23, 2002, Paris, France - I was in Paris this week and
went to see Ike Turner at the Lionel Hampton Lounge in
Le Madison Hotel. He did one of the best sets I've seen
him do in years, playing his "Rocket 88", the
first ever Rock & Roll song. He also did a great blues
version of Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed"
as well as the Jazz number "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"
More |
 |
March 18, 2002
- New York - The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame held their
17th annual induction dinner at the Waldorf Astoria
Hotel. This year's inductees were: The Ramones (left),
Brenda Lee, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Chet Atkins,
Gene Pitney, Isaac Hayes, Talking Heads, and Jim Stewart,
(founder of Stax records). It was a great night with
big stars inducting living legends
More Photos |
 |
April 1 - 6, 2002
- New York - Joe Strummer and his band the "Mescaleros"
came over to play five shows at the new venue 'St. Ann's
Warehouse' under the Brooklyn Bridge. What a week it
was! The shows were great and we stayed up partying till
dawn each night. Joe played new material from the Mescaleros
two albums, as well as some old favorites from the Clash
days. click
here to see more photos from Joe's week in New York |
 |
May
6, 2002 - New York - The Rolling Stones landed in New
York to announce a new world tour. Flying in on a blimp
with the Stones logo painted on it, they said they were
looking forward to playing three types of shows: in stadiums,
arenas and clubs. They all looked in fine form, except
Charlie, who looked a little airsick from the blimp ride. |
 |
May 18 - 25, 2002
- Havana, Cuba -- I went with my wife Elizabeth to Cuba
to attend the opening of a photo exhibition titled "The
Revolution of Rock & Roll". The show was at
the Fototeca De Cuba Gallery and was organized by Chris
Murray of the Govinda Gallery in Washington, DC. We
had a great time in Cuba, the opening was a good party
and I gave a slide talk at the gallery on Rock &
Roll photography. The photo above is of the John Lennon
sculpture in Havana. Click
here to see more from Cuba
|
 |
May
31, 2002 - Green Day played at Madison Square Garden
and everyone had a ball! They are the most fun live band
around and they really involve the audience. The best
part of the show is when they take fans from the crowd
and bring them on stage and let them play a song! I first
saw them do this a few years ago; Billy would get a fan
up and give him his guitar, but now they replace the whole
band! It was amazing to see them pull it off at Madison
Square Garden. Click
here to see the Green Day page. |
 |
Aug-Sept
2002 - NYC - Hangin' out with Ryan Adams. I'v
gotten to know Ryan over the last year, and this summer
spent several nights going to events in New York with
him, We also shot a session for his new publicity photos.
Click
here to see shots from our photo session and the MTV aftershow
party as well as the opening of Ryan's show of his paintings
at the Niagra club. |
 |
Summer,
2002 - It was a very busy summer.
Check out scenes from Ace
Frehley at Don Hill's Club, Blondie at Jones Beach, and
more!! |
|
|
August,
2002 - The
Strokes and the White Stripes played Aug 15th at New
York's Art Deco Palace Radio City Music Hall. In
front of more than 6000 cheering fans they showed why
they're both being talked about as the best of the "New
Rock & Roll" bands. Aug 29th, the Strokes played
at the Fader Magazine party after the MTV Music Video
Awards show, and then they all partied until dawn
at the East Village bar Niagara. |
|
|
December
22, 2002 - Joe Strummer 1952 - 2002
- I'm in shock over the sudden death of my friend Joe.
He was the strongest of men, a real inspirational leader,
a guy who never seemed to tire of listening to people
and talking to them, learning and teaching all the time.
He had true compassion for everyone he met. He was the
nicest and also the most fun loving person I have ever
known |
 |
February
18, 2003 - Yoko Ono celebrated her 70th birthday at a
great party thrown for her by her son Sean. She danced
all night with friends (like Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider
of the B-52's seen above) |
 |
March
10, 2003 - New York
- The
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame held their Eighteenth Annual
Induction Dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel. It is always a great evening as
some of the world's biggest music stars come to honor
their heros. This year the event was tempered by the recent
loss of Clash founder Joe Strummer, but for all the attendants,
including ACDC, the Police, Elvis Costello and the Attractions,
The Righteous Brothers, record exec Mo Ostin, sidemen
Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer, Steve Douglas and the surviving
Clash members,..... it was a night to remember! |
 |
April
19,2003 - The White Stripes played a very sold-out show
at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Above Jack is greeted
backstage after the show by Nicole Kidman. Click
to see more photos |
 |
May
9, 2003 - Jesse Malin played a great show at New York's
Bowery Ballroom. Billie Joe from Greenday joined Jesse
for a rousing encore performance of the Clash song "Death
or Glory" and then came backstage to celebrate. |
 |
NEW!
SPRING 2003 ROUNDUP
- It's
been a very busy Spring. So many shows and events that
I didn't have time to put up a page for each one Now I
have put up shots of Chris Robinson and his wife Kate
Hudson (shown on left), Lou Reed, Jewel, Led Zeppelin,
David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain, the Libertines, Craig
from the Vines, Link Wray, sexy Comedienne Tammy Faye
Starlight, Blondie, Star Spangles, Patti Smith, the Fugs
and many others. Check it out! |
 |
July
4,2003 - Happy Fourth of July! Ryan Adams and Jesse
Malin celebrate on the Coast Guard Statue in New York
City's Battery Park after their very successful free show
in the park. More
photos |
 |
July
25-27, 03 - Japan - Sheena & the Rokkets were among
the many bands at the Fuji Rock Festival. In spite
of the rain, more than 100,000 people came to dance to
the music and had a great time. Click
here to see what it was like. |
 |
September
15,2003 - Paris, France - Yoko Ono performed her "Cut
Piece" for the first time since 1965, For "Cut
Piece" Yoko invited the audience to come onstage
one at a time and cut a piece of her clothes off. It is
a very tense event as Yoko is vulnerable to strangers.
It is a piece symbolic of the way we must open ourselves
to each other to obtain peace in the world. |
 |
Oct.
27, 03 - Alice Cooper came to New York to inspire us to
dress up and act out for Halloween. Instead of the large
theatrical props for which he's famous, Alice had a hard
rockin' band and played a set full of hits (he has a lot
of them). He showed the cheering sold out audience that
he's a master of mayhem. |
 |
Nov.
16, 2003- This is the centerpiece of a video for Joe Strummer's
version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" from
Joe's new Mescaleros album "Streetcore". The
video, directed by Josh Cheuse shows artists Dr. Revolt
and Zephyr creating this mural on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village, while many of Joe's well known
friends and local neighbors watch. Click to see the video
at Epitaph
Records |
 |
Nov - Feb Photo Roundup - NYC - See events from the last few months, from Ryan Adams Birthday to the Star Spangles at CBGB (above) as well as Jesse Malin & Bruce Springsteen: Joey Ramone Place; NY Fashion week and more! |
 |
March 9,2004 - The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annual Induction Dinner - Once again the evening at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel was a great deal of fun for the honored inductees, their friends and families and lots of their lawyers and managers |
 |
March 17,18th - Courtney Love roared into New York City and shook up the town. She played the most exciting punk rock show I've seen in a long time |
 |
April 6 - Blondie introduced their new album "The Curse of Blondie" by playing in NY's City Hall Park. Then with an escort of NY's Bravest they went to sign CD's at JR Music World - More photos |
 |
May 6 - Morrissey and David Johansen pause for a moment between sets at NY's Apollo Theater. David opened the show as Morrissey played for 5 days at the historic venue. David will reunite with surviving NY Dolls to play at the Meltdown Festival in London in June, which is being curated by Morrissey. |
 |
June '04 - The NY Dolls, Sylvain Sylvain, Arthur 'Killer" Kane and David Johansen have reunited to play at the Meltdown Festival in London this week. They sounded great at rehearsals this week where I took the photo at left. They also have several other shows scheduled including one at Randall's Island in New York City in August |
 |
June 16 '04 - London - "The NY Dolls played a sensational comeback show! They've never played better! The Kings of New York!" So said the rave reviews in the London papers after their first show in almost 30 years |
 |
June 23, 2004 - London - MOJO Magazine held the first annual "Mojo Honours List Awards" ceremony in London. It was attended by an incredible group of winners, including Mick Jones for the Clash; Jimmy Page for Led Zeppelin; Roger Daltry for the Who; Noel Gallagher for Oasis; Ray Davies; James Brown (the "Godfather of Soul"); Sting; Morrissey; Television; Red Hot Chili Peppers and Me! More photos click here - (see article in London's Independent newspaper) |
 |
Aug 14, 2004 - Little Steven's Underground Garage Rock Festival - What a great day! Rock'n'Roll all day! With 44 bands including the Strokes and Nancy Sinatra, Bo Diddley to the Star Spangles, the day rocked! Before the Stooges and NY Dolls reunion shows Iggy Pop and David Johansen say hi! backstage, above. |
 |
Sept 21 &22 - New York City - Green Day performed their new album, 'American Idiot" in its entirety (with 4 additional musicians) at a hot club date at Irving Plaza on Monday 9/21 and then played the next day at an outdoor concert on Park Place for a crowd of over 7000 fans. They are the most entertaining live band around! |
 |
Oct. 8,2004 - Joan Jett and Debbie Harry were among the great people who played at the Spirit nightclub in New York as a tribute to the Ramones 30th anniversary. The evening was a benefit for cancer research. |
 |
Happy New Year 2005! I'm happy to say my book of photos of the Clash is once again in print and available. Called "The Clash" by Bob Gruen it is published by Vision On / Music Sales (London 2004). You can find it at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com or order it at a local bookstore. |
 |
April 28 - NYC - The New York Dolls started their new spring tour at the Irving Plaza in New York. They are better than ever! Catch them if you can. More photos click here |
 |
May 10 - NYC - The Rolling Stones announce their new tour at Lincoln Center! What a great spring day it was to see them rock out in the sunshine. Long live the Rolling Stones! |
 |
Aug. '05 - As I was leaving my house who should I see posing on the sidewalk? The Diddy himself, with a pretty model, all dressed in white, with matching white dogs. I heard it was a photo session for Harper's Bazaar. We've taken to calling my West Village neighborhood "Hollywood on the Hudson" Lookin' good! Photo |
 |
Aug. '05 - CBGB, the legendary rock club where countless musicians saw their first New York audience, is now facing eviction as rents in their neighborhood rise beyond reach.. With the best sound system around and only one rule "Bands must play music they write themselves" many artists found their calling at CBGB. -- www.savecbgb.org |
 |
Nov 12, '05 - At Fuse TV studio in New York, Green Day played their last show in the US for the year. Backstage they seem to have found something very interesting in Bob Gruen's new book "John Lennon - the New York Years"! Click for more photos |
 |
March 28,2006 - The New York Dolls played at CBGB as they start to promote their new album titled "One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This". It will be released this summer on Roadrunner Records. Click to see Fall -Winter '05-'06 update pages |
 |
April 15 - NYC - "The Killer", Jerry Lee Lewis, played at BB King's club and was in great form. He proved that Rock and Roll is not just for kids! More photos |
 |
June 23 - NYC - What do Ian Hunter, Robert Plant & Ryan Adams have in common? They came to the Beacon Theater to play at a benefit for Arthur Lee, the founder of the '60's band "Love" - check out more photos - For donation information and updates on Lee’s condition, go to thelovesociety.com. |
 |
Summer '06 - Virginia Lohle was my friend and photo agent for 31 years. She formed her own company, Star File Photo Agency, in 1982 and built it into a worldwide organization representing more than 40 photographers. She passed away on Aug 4th and will be greatly missed. To see what I've been up to this summer click here. |
 |
Oct 4 NYC - Miss Guy & Debbie Harry at the "Gimme Shelter Rock & Rescue Benefit" for abandoned animals held at the Hiro Ballroom. Click to see more photos. |
 |
CBGB was not just a place where some major bands broke out of, much more than that it was a very comfortable club. From the start CBGB had a high quality, high power sound system, where many budding musicians got to try out their songs for the first time, in a place with great sound. CBGB was always open, 7 days a week, with 7 or more bands a night for 32 years, and aside from the few dozen that made it big, most of the bands were never known. If kids don't have a place where bands can play when they are bad, they will never learn to be good.. Click to see photos of the closing weekend show |
|
Sean Lennon - New York 2006 - Sean Lennon has released a long awaited new CD titled "Friendly Fire". A mature collection reflecting his feelings on love and loss, he has a unique, beautiful musical style all his own. He has been plaing some live shows and you should see him if you can.Click to see more photos |
 |
March 12, 2007 - New York - The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame held their Twenty-second Annual Induction Dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Click to see more photos |
 |
May 4, 2007 - May 4, 2007 - Lordi, the Finnish Heavy Metal band that won the 2006 Eurovision contest arrived in New York for a visit. I took pictures of them around the city. Click to see more photos |
 |
Sao Paulo, Brazil - May 15, 2007 - FAAP University Museum held an extensive exhibition of the work of Bob Gruen. Titled "ROCKERS" the large multi-media installation featured more than 270 photos from Gruen's catalogue, arranged in nine areas with five different background soundtracks. The exhibition was on display May 15 - July 1, 2007. More than 40,000 visitors came to see it.Click to see more photos |
 |
Summer 2007 update - I've been getting around a lot lately, seeing a real variety of acts, from Suzanne Vega and Courtney Love (above on the same night in NY!) to lots of other shows, and also check out the closing days of the "ROCKERS" exhibit in Brazil. Click to see now!
|
 |
Videy Island, Reykjavik, Iceland Oct.9'07 - Yoko Ono, with her son Sean, Ringo Starr and Olivia Harrison celebrate the lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower. Yoko Ono said she was making the Peace Tower in Iceland because the energy of the earth flows from north to south, and so the wish for peace will flow around the world. Click for more of the story |
 |
Jan 2008 - It's been a very busy few months.......I've put together a page to show where I've been and what I've seen; like authors Ronnie Wood and Slash showing off their new books (at left).....click for more Rock & Roll scenes from Lucinda Williams in Oct. to New Years eve with the Golgo Bordello! |
 |
April 24, 2008 - 'Rockers' Opening at Morrison Hotel Gallery Bowery - I've put up my 280 favorite photos at the space that used to be the gallery at CBGB. It's an amazing retrospective of my whole career. I hope you get a chance to see it.
Click here to see more pictures from the opening. |
|
|
