Billy Childish is a fabulous looking man. An artist, musician, painter, poet, debonaire, there is not much he doesn’t try his hand at, all of which add to his charisma. On meeting Billy, one could find him slightly intimidating. You feel instantly that his dark eyes are trying to sum you up to see what you’re all about, yet there is a warmth in them and every so often a reassuring grin.
I didn’t have too long to shoot him for the latest Stool Pigeon as he was soon to be whisked away for a BBC live session set with his latest band The Spartan Dreggs.
We met in a gallery/studio space in East London from where he often works which as you can imagine was cluttered with fabulous curiosities but fortunately there was a plain space in the corner. Although often I love to feature a cluttered environment, Billy’s aesthetic is so compelling I wanted to strip it back and keep the rest of the shot clean so you really get a sense of his personality.
He was dream to shoot, mainly because he looks so cool but also he is used to being photographed so appeared at ease with the camera. Towards the end I noticed a door with a lovely little phrase ‘minimise efort, maximise effect’ which I really liked (even the spelling mistake) and as he was already supping his tea, I thought it would make the perfect backdrop for a final shot.