Allan Kliger: Hello Bob, It’s a pleasure to have an interview with you! It’s a great opportunity for Lens’ readers to get familiar with the man behind some of the most famous iconic photos of figures in the music scene during the past 40 years!

Gruen credits Ike Turner with starting his career. [3] He first saw Ike & Tina Turner perform at Madison Square Garden during the Rolling Stones' American tour in 1969. [a] [4] In 1970, Gruen took photographs of them performing at the Honka Monka nightclub in Queens. [3] He showed Turner the photographs and was invited to photograph them in California. "Ike introduced me to the publicist for their record company who took me to parties and introduced me to more people in the music business," he said. [3] Gruen developed a friendship with the Turners and shot the cover of their 1971 album 'Nuff Said. [3] In 2012, Gruen released Ike & Tina On The Road: 1971–72, a documentary he and his then-wife Nadya filmed of the Turners at their home and on tour. [5] [6] On view from Friday 29 July until Friday 19 August, iconic and never-before-seen images will chronicle the vibrant scene of 1970s punk music and culture from the underground worlds of London to downtown New York. Curated by Stephen Colegrave - coauthor of the definitive text, Punk – A Life Apart (2010), the new exhibition presents photography by Gruen and Childers whose works collectively represent the best record of the changing music scene of the 1970s. Since the brand's inception in 2017, D'Stassi Art has established a unique platform for the world's most inspiring emerging talent. In the traditionally exclusive art world, D'Stassi Art looks to discover, encourage and help introduce clients to works of art based purely on how passionate we are about them. The gallery has helped to introduce a variety of the art world's clientele to important contemporary artists through immersive and inclusive events. And, perhaps unusually for the time, they ate very well – Yoko was very knowledgeable about nutrition and health, and she certainly made John well-informed of that. She also stood firmly for feminism and equality, and that was something John became quite aware of, too.”Marking Gruen’s first major exhibition in the UK since 2014, Legendary Moments will also see his first ever UK limited edition. In addition to these iconic prints, Gruen has collaborated with renowned printmaker Gary Lichtenstein on a new series of original screenprints, digitally printed on canvas for the exhibition, adding new dimension and texture to G ruen’s storied images.

CBs was a very comfortable place. Hilly Kristal [was] unlike a lot of club owners. He just wanted a bar where he could have a beer and watch television. That way, if he had a nice bar, there would be enough people to pay the rent and make a little money. That’s all he wanted. B.G.: My mother. She was an attorney, but her hobby was photography. She liked to develop and print out her own pictures. So when I was around four or five years old, she had built herself a dark room. She took me in and showed me how to develop and print photos. So by the time I was eight, I got my own camera. Shortly after John Lennon moved to New York in 1971, Bob became John and Yoko’s personal photographer and friend, making photos of their working life as well as private moments. In 1974 he created the iconic images of John Lennon wearing a New York City t-shirt and standing in front of the Statue of Liberty making the peace sign – two of the most popular of Lennon’s images. Butcher, Terrence (November 26, 2012). "Imagine This Power Duo Together Again: 'Ike & Tina: On the Road: 1971-72' ". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05.

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Being an intuitive photographer is anticipating what might happen. You can’t see something and then catch it – you need to have good instinct, or you’ll never catch anything.” John Lennon’s ‘New York City’ Photo Bob Gruen: Thanks Allan, It’s a pleasure! Right now I’m working on a couple of books. Next fall I’m going to have a book of all my photographs of the band Green day. And I’m also working on a biography or an autobiography, so I’m organizing my archive of 50 years worth of collecting and photographing, I kept just about everything I’ve made along the way. Self-expression isn’t just what you say — it is also where and when you choose to tell the story. This can require you to travel off the beaten path and make a way for yourself. “To be independent, you wake up every day unemployed. It takes a lot to strike out on your own and not listen to your parents or get a job just because it’s comfortable and pays the rent — but to actually be in a situation where you can’t pay the rent and your phone gets cut off. But that’s okay because you’re pursuing what you want to do,” says Gruen, who started making and selling photos at the age of 11 while at summer camp.