Bent Rej’s playful behind-the-scenes photos of The Who
As part of Far Out Magazine’s official ‘Bent Rej Retrospective’, we will be looking back at the Danish photographer’s incredible body of work, which captured some of rock’s most iconic figures, most notably, The Rolling Stones. His photography captured the essence of his musical subjects like few others. Both Rej and his subjects’ personalities shine through his celluloid snapshots, achieved through the close rapport he built with them.
When Rej was 25, the newspaper Ekstra Bladet asked the photographer to capture images of The Rolling Stones on the Scandinavian and German dates of their tour. The year was 1965, and the Stones were approaching the height of their fame after their second studio LP, The Rolling Stones No. 2, reached number one in the United Kingdom and Germany. Rej quickly became friends with the English musicians, particularly Brian Jones, even introducing the band to Anita Pallenberg, who became the girlfriend and muse of both Jones and Mick Jagger.
Surrounded by some of the period’s most influential musicians, Rej captured behind-the-scenes snaps and on-stage shots of massive names from The Beatles to Bob Dylan. His work is a visual history of a landmark period of creativity, where music affected culture like never before. According to the Bent Rej Archives, “Bent’s work not only shows us portraits of legendary rock musicians from the 1960s, it also represents a rare insight into a musical universe littered with personal memories thanks to his intimate friendships with the artists.”
Rej continued his career as a rock photographer through the years, as well as snapping images of pin-ups, cityscapes and other landmarks on his travels. Besides the Rolling Stones, the photographer captured some excellent shots of The Who in the mid-1960s, ranging from energetic snapshots of their sweaty live performances to playful behind-the-scenes photos of the band in a park.
Via the Bent Rej Archives, the photographer stated: “On one of my first trips to London in 1965, I went to Stevenage in Hertfordshire to take pictures of a new band called The Who – it was at Bowes Lyon House Youth Centre. It was a Thursday evening and that afternoon the band had been in Manchester recording TV’s Top of the Pops“.
He continued: “They told me that they had flown on a charted aircraft to Luton Airport just to make the gig. It was mayhem when the Who went on stage. There were forty bouncers in a human chain across the front of the stage and girls were fainting and being carried backstage, where my wife Inge used smelling salts to revive them. We became friends and in February the following year, we flew to Switzerland to do some skiing and make a photo session for publicity.”
A few shots from The Who collection are taken on a fish-eye lens with a lucid film stock that highlights the bright green of the grass and the band’s colourful outfits. Another fish-eye shot taken in black-and-white is taken from the ground, looking up at the band as they peer over the lens, the length of their legs dominating the frame. Not only do Rej’s photos capture each band member’s personality, but he does a great job of showcasing their outfits, encapsulating the style of the period remarkably well.
