From atU2.com
London-based photographer Perou has traveled the world with his camera, catching everyone from David Beckham and William Hague to Marilyn Manson and other famous (and infamous) people since the 1990s. He's been commissioned by BBC Three to visit Africa and offer his unique view of the continent. And now, his lens has captured U2 for the upcoming November issue of Blender magazine.
Perou is a new name for U2 fans who are more familiar with the likes of Anton Corbijn, Anja Grabert, Kevin Mazur or Rankin. Blender tapped Perou for the U2 shoot in Eze, France, because "they wanted some pictures that really showed the band as good friends (which they are and have been for so many years)," Perou said.
"A lot of pictures we have seen of U2 in the past feature them very graphically posed -- Bono in the foreground out of focus and the Edge standing over here, Larry over there and Adam in the distance," Perou said. "Blender wanted some pictures that were a bit more relaxed and fun, less formal. Before we began shooting, we discussed with the band what we were hoping to do and they had lots of ideas of their own...We also shot in a local town hall in a makeshift studio that we took a day to set up before the actual shoot day."
Blender teased its readers with the one-page promotional ad in their October issue, showing the band up to their knees in water and Larry missing a shirt. "I think it was suggested to Larry that he get his kit (shirt) off as he has good form: and if you've got it, you gotta flaunt it," Perou joked. "I think Bono may have suggested it...it just happened spontaneously."
The Blender photo shoot occurred just after the band notified the French police that a CD-R of their unfinished album had been stolen from a photo shoot. "Thank God (for selfish reasons) it happened on another photographer's shoot the day before we arrived here," Perou wrote in his July 15, 2004 personal blog.
"A couple of hours before the shoot, I got a call from Sharon (U2's stylist and much more) to say that I should get down to Bono and the Edge's house on the seafront as we could do some shots there as I'd hoped, but that we hadn't thought would be possible. It was a great location so I decided to swap the planned mountain top for the seafront...but the band were so relaxed and accommodating: they made everything good," he continued in his blog.
Perou expanded on the shoot: "I don't really like studios or shooting in them, but the criteria for shooting a magazine cover is so strict we had to try a cover option there before packing up and heading down to the beach...had to stop the shoot at one point and tell the band how genuinely thrilled I was to be photographing them, at sunset, all standing together in the sea, with their new album being played loudly from their house: a band shoot couldn't get much better."
Perou wrote, "The first track off the new album kicks: dirty guitars...I love it." (The first track is reported to be U2's current single "Vertigo"). He expanded on the album a bit more to @U2, "we were listening to the album whilst we were shooting on the beach: it was being played out of their house loud enough for us to enjoy but not too offensively loud for the rest of the beach front. I think it's a great album."
"After the shoot the band disappeared to get dry and changed and I was sad to not get a proper opportunity to say goodbye. But each of the band took the trouble to climb up the drive (where we were loading the cars) to say thank you and goodbye. It's hard to explain how much good will this sort of simple gesture generates. Everybody on the shoot had a great day and most of that was to do with how friendly the band were: they were proper gentlemen and it's what is so stupidly and sadly lacking in so many young bands that I deal with."
For his first time taking pictures of U2, Perou says the band ranks highly with other celebrities he's photographed before. "U2 were really good to shoot: I had a very happy day with them. I have to admit I'm a big fan. Often when I meet my heroes, it's a bit of an anti-climax. But U2 did not disappoint. Blondie was the most gorgeous 58-year-old I've ever photographed. Michael Stipe was a little affected in front of the camera but not off-camera. Jay-Z thought I was funny and let me hang around, although his bouncer told me, 'If you make my boy look sh--, I'll come to London and fu-- you up.' There are plenty of stories behind each of the people I photograph and meet."
Perou's photography has been picked up by the likes of GQ and Dazed and Confused. He said he took up photography because " can't paint, can't sing. I thought about being a missionary or a long distance lorry driver. I can't do anything else but this, it's what I do. I was a butler to Viscount Brentford for a while. I'd be taking pictures 'round the world if people weren't paying me. I'm just lucky they do."
"To be honest, I love my job. The photos to me are just a residual trace of people I've met, 'moments' I've had and places I've been," Perou said. "Photographing U2 in the sea outside their house, at sunset, in the south of France, listening to the new album...that's my idea of a good shoot."
Perou's plate is full in the upcoming future. "I've just finished doing a double marathon session with Marilyn Manson at my studio in London. And I can tell you we're working on a sequel to the BBC film they did on me in Africa last year. This time we're off to Tokyo and I'm directing with my mate Bill Yukich," he said. Perou also manages to find time for his girlfriend, affectionately named Mrs. Perou, their son, Maximum, and their dog (also known as the Perou zoo).
For more on Perou's life, work, and thoughts, check out www.perou.co.uk.
Glad he liked the band
London-based photographer Perou has traveled the world with his camera, catching everyone from David Beckham and William Hague to Marilyn Manson and other famous (and infamous) people since the 1990s. He's been commissioned by BBC Three to visit Africa and offer his unique view of the continent. And now, his lens has captured U2 for the upcoming November issue of Blender magazine.
Perou is a new name for U2 fans who are more familiar with the likes of Anton Corbijn, Anja Grabert, Kevin Mazur or Rankin. Blender tapped Perou for the U2 shoot in Eze, France, because "they wanted some pictures that really showed the band as good friends (which they are and have been for so many years)," Perou said.
"A lot of pictures we have seen of U2 in the past feature them very graphically posed -- Bono in the foreground out of focus and the Edge standing over here, Larry over there and Adam in the distance," Perou said. "Blender wanted some pictures that were a bit more relaxed and fun, less formal. Before we began shooting, we discussed with the band what we were hoping to do and they had lots of ideas of their own...We also shot in a local town hall in a makeshift studio that we took a day to set up before the actual shoot day."
Blender teased its readers with the one-page promotional ad in their October issue, showing the band up to their knees in water and Larry missing a shirt. "I think it was suggested to Larry that he get his kit (shirt) off as he has good form: and if you've got it, you gotta flaunt it," Perou joked. "I think Bono may have suggested it...it just happened spontaneously."
The Blender photo shoot occurred just after the band notified the French police that a CD-R of their unfinished album had been stolen from a photo shoot. "Thank God (for selfish reasons) it happened on another photographer's shoot the day before we arrived here," Perou wrote in his July 15, 2004 personal blog.
"A couple of hours before the shoot, I got a call from Sharon (U2's stylist and much more) to say that I should get down to Bono and the Edge's house on the seafront as we could do some shots there as I'd hoped, but that we hadn't thought would be possible. It was a great location so I decided to swap the planned mountain top for the seafront...but the band were so relaxed and accommodating: they made everything good," he continued in his blog.
Perou expanded on the shoot: "I don't really like studios or shooting in them, but the criteria for shooting a magazine cover is so strict we had to try a cover option there before packing up and heading down to the beach...had to stop the shoot at one point and tell the band how genuinely thrilled I was to be photographing them, at sunset, all standing together in the sea, with their new album being played loudly from their house: a band shoot couldn't get much better."
Perou wrote, "The first track off the new album kicks: dirty guitars...I love it." (The first track is reported to be U2's current single "Vertigo"). He expanded on the album a bit more to @U2, "we were listening to the album whilst we were shooting on the beach: it was being played out of their house loud enough for us to enjoy but not too offensively loud for the rest of the beach front. I think it's a great album."
"After the shoot the band disappeared to get dry and changed and I was sad to not get a proper opportunity to say goodbye. But each of the band took the trouble to climb up the drive (where we were loading the cars) to say thank you and goodbye. It's hard to explain how much good will this sort of simple gesture generates. Everybody on the shoot had a great day and most of that was to do with how friendly the band were: they were proper gentlemen and it's what is so stupidly and sadly lacking in so many young bands that I deal with."
For his first time taking pictures of U2, Perou says the band ranks highly with other celebrities he's photographed before. "U2 were really good to shoot: I had a very happy day with them. I have to admit I'm a big fan. Often when I meet my heroes, it's a bit of an anti-climax. But U2 did not disappoint. Blondie was the most gorgeous 58-year-old I've ever photographed. Michael Stipe was a little affected in front of the camera but not off-camera. Jay-Z thought I was funny and let me hang around, although his bouncer told me, 'If you make my boy look sh--, I'll come to London and fu-- you up.' There are plenty of stories behind each of the people I photograph and meet."
Perou's photography has been picked up by the likes of GQ and Dazed and Confused. He said he took up photography because " can't paint, can't sing. I thought about being a missionary or a long distance lorry driver. I can't do anything else but this, it's what I do. I was a butler to Viscount Brentford for a while. I'd be taking pictures 'round the world if people weren't paying me. I'm just lucky they do."
"To be honest, I love my job. The photos to me are just a residual trace of people I've met, 'moments' I've had and places I've been," Perou said. "Photographing U2 in the sea outside their house, at sunset, in the south of France, listening to the new album...that's my idea of a good shoot."
Perou's plate is full in the upcoming future. "I've just finished doing a double marathon session with Marilyn Manson at my studio in London. And I can tell you we're working on a sequel to the BBC film they did on me in Africa last year. This time we're off to Tokyo and I'm directing with my mate Bill Yukich," he said. Perou also manages to find time for his girlfriend, affectionately named Mrs. Perou, their son, Maximum, and their dog (also known as the Perou zoo).
For more on Perou's life, work, and thoughts, check out www.perou.co.uk.
Glad he liked the band
