‘Sid’s reading Mad magazine beside his cowboy hippy bodyguard. He was drinking so much he didn’t even think about the three-inch cut in his arm’
I learned photography from my mother. After school, I didn’t want to join the establishment, so moved in with this New York psychedelic pop band called the Glitterhouse and ended up taking pictures. When they got a record deal, Atlantic used my pictures. I then sold some photos of Tina Turner and my career started to snowball. I was introduced to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who asked me to take pictures. Their manager introduced me to Malcolm McLaren, who managed the New York Dolls. I ended up touring with them and taking photos.
In late 1976, I went to see my son in Paris, and travelled on to London, where Malcolm took me to Club Louise, a lesbian and gay club in Soho. The Sex Pistols, the Clash, Billy Idol, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Soo Catwoman were all drinking in the basement. I basically walked in on the beginnings of punk. I remember thinking Johnny Rotten was the most obnoxious person I’d ever met. He was just spewing visceral, an unending litany of insults. I thought: “No wonder they call him Johnny Rotten.” But I didn’t take it personally and we quickly became friends.
