David Crosby turns 73 today! When we launched Guido Harari‘s “Classic Editions”, we kicked off exactly with the Croz. Guido originally photographed him in 1989 for Rockstar magazine. Crosby was so over the moon with the shoot that a few years later he picked one of the photos for his Thousand Roads album cover. Two years ago Crosby accepted to sign his “Classic Edition“ edition of only 15 prints worldwide in Milan, at Teatro Smeraldo. Graham Nash of course gave his personal approval and supervision. The Crosby/Harari “Classic Edition”, size 36x60cm, printed on Hahnemuhle Museum Etching paper, can be ordered emailing us at info@wallofsoundgallery.com.

Hear some of the great Italian music photographers talk about their life-long passion in “Passioni. Il suono fotogenico” on RadioTre, around 10.50am. Sat. Apri 19 and Sun. April 20: Guido Harari, Roberto Masotti, Mauro Balletti. Sat. April 26 and Sun. April 27: Cesare Monti (featured here one of his classic photographs of Fabrizio De André), Gianni Greguoli, Paolo Soriani.

Eric Clapton turns 69! We celebrate one of the greatest guitar players of all time with this classic photograph of Cream, taken somewhere in the US by the incredible Art Kane for Life magazine’s “New Rock” issue in 1968. 

Kate Bush fans all over the world are in deep shock as the elusive artist just announced out of the blue that she will take to the stage again. 35 years since her 1979 “Tour Of Life”, Kate Bush will perform a series of 15 concerts at London’s Eventim Apollo, titled “Before The Dawn”. Tickets are expected to sell out in a second. Guido Harari has collaborated closely with Kate between 1982 and 1993, shooting her official press & promo sessions for albums like Hounds Of Love, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. He was also summoned by Kate on the set of her film The Line, The Cross & The Curve. Some of these photographs ended up on the cover of records like Rubberband Girl and Moments Of Pleasure, as well as in the booklet of the This Woman’s Work box set. Enjoy this image by Guido from 1985.       

We’re deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Francesco Di Giacomo, unforgotten vocalist of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, one of Italy’s leading prog bands from the Seventies. This photograph by Cesare Monti is culled from the shoot for the band’s historic debut album, known as “Salvadanaio” (“Money-safe”) for its money-safe shaped album cover. Like all of Cesare Monti’s images, it is available as a fine art signed/numbered print.

Wall Of Sound Gallery commemorates the great singer-songwriter 15 years after his passing with Luca Greguoli‘s historic contact sheet, selected by Fabrizio in 1975 for the inner sleeve of his Volume 8 album. Luca shot the whole album package, but these contacts somehow achieved a life and a popularity of their own. Luca obtained this peculiar montage superimposing images from different negs as a sort of small diary of the album recording sessions. Volume 8 marked a new collaboration for Fabrizio with a very young Francesco De Gregori. This contact sheet, as well as several other extraordinary gems from that same shoot, are being made available now to collectors for the first time as signed/numbered fin art prints.

Goodbye Martin Sharp. One of our myths of the Sixties’ psychedelic art scene just passed away. Martin Sharp’s true icons have indelibly marked the collective imagination of an era, with his posters of Bob Dylan (Sharp was a big fan of Mr D), Donovan, Hendrix, Cream, Van Gogh, the art direction of the controversial underground zine Oz and the cover of Richard Neville‘s Play Power book. Of the psychedelic era he said: “There was a feeling of optimism, the possibility of the world working. That was definitely part of the experience”. A sense of freedom that was quite evident, with bold vitality and originality, in his designs and day-glo colors.

Born in Australia, Sharp moved to London in the mid-Sixties. His Hendrix Explosion poster (inspired by a picture by Linda McCartney) launched him at the top of the alternative art scene of the time. He soon befriended Eric Clapton and got to contribute the lyrics to the song Tales Of Brave Ulysses for Cream‘s Disraeli Gears album whose cover he also designed. Back to Australia in the Seventies, he generally kept a low profile rarely leaving the family home while maintaining his wide circle of friends in the arts world. You can always find a selection of his works at our gallery.

Are you in New York City tonight? From 7 to 9pm enjoy a special evening at the PowerHouse Arena wuth a one of a kind exhibition of Joe Alper‘s photographs to celebrate the 50th anniversary of legendary Caffe Lena from Sarasota Springs, home of blues and folk greats, from Bob Dylan to Mississippi John Hurt. Last summer we produced the fantastic Dylan Before Dylan show of Alper’s vastly unseen photographs, including those of a very young Bob Dylan caught by Joe between 1961 and 1965.

Joni Mitchell turns 70! What a long “Night Ride Home” it’s been since Both Sides Now, Woodstock and Blue! We join in the celebrations with this great photograph of Joni by Guido Harari. It was taken at Joni’s house in Bel Air in 1990. She’s posing sitting on a huge poster of the GAP campaign shot by Herb Ritts, which she had added paint on turning it into her own piece of art. Guido asked Joni to dress up exactly as in the poster shot and she duly obliged, adding a few brushes and striking this unusually insane pose. Later Joni’s then husband Larry Klein pointed out to her and Guido that her fly was, em, open!

This is no Magic, but just Loss, to quote from one of Lou Reed‘s most touching albums. Today we’ve lost a unique artist and a close friend. In sending out our condolences to his family and wife Laurie Anderson, we remember Lou with this intimate portrait by Guido Harari. It was taken in 2002 at the Lingotto, Turin, during the one and only tour by Lou with Laurie.