ANTON CORBIJN

Random and bite-sized facts on all things on the mythical photographer who is Anton Corbijn. Totally random but totally fascinating if you're into it. Do you know Anton Corbijn now?

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HE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHED U2 IN 1982

Anton Corbijn first photographed U2 for the NME in New Orleans in 1982. What started as one photo session eventually became one of the longest-running creative relationships between a photographer and a rock band.

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DEPECHE MODE RARELY QUESTIONED HIS IDEAS

When Anton Corbijn suggested ideas to Depeche Mode, the band generally just went along with them. Corbijn said they rarely held meetings to discuss his ideas — they would simply get on with it.

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DAVE GAHAN WASN'T KEEN ON THE KING IDEA

For Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence", Corbijn imagined Dave Gahan dressed as a king, carrying a deckchair through empty landscapes. The band weren't initially convinced by the idea, but trusted Corbijn enough to let him make it.

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HE DESIGNED DEPECHE MODE'S STAGE SHOW

Corbijn's work with Depeche Mode went far beyond photographs and album covers. He also designed their logos, T-shirts, videos and even their stage shows.

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HE TURNED A U2 ALBUM INTO A FILM

For U2's "No Line on the Horizon", Corbijn made "Linear" — a film designed to accompany the entire album rather than simply provide another music video. It grew from footage he'd shot with the band in Morocco.

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HE WANTED CONCERT FILMS TO FEEL REAL

When filming Depeche Mode live, Corbijn deliberately avoided making the cameras too flashy. He wanted it to feel like you were actually standing in the audience watching the band.

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CONTROL WAS HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM

After years of photographing and filming musicians, Corbijn made his first feature film in 2007. "Control" told the story of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, with Sam Riley playing Curtis.

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ANTON CORBIJN DIRECTED DAVID SYLVIAN'S FIRST SOLO VIDEO

After seeing Anton Corbijn's video for Propaganda's "Dr. Mabuse", David Sylvian approached him to direct "Red Guitar" — his first solo single after Japan. Corbijn based the video's main visual idea on a photograph by Angus McBean.

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SYLVIAN APPROACHED CORBIJN AFTER SEEING PROPAGANDA

David Sylvian saw Anton Corbijn's video for Propaganda's "Dr. Mabuse" on television and approached him to direct "Red Guitar". Corbijn had already photographed Sylvian several times during the Japan years.

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ANGUS MCBEAN ENDED UP IN THE VIDEO

Anton Corbijn based the main image in David Sylvian's "Red Guitar" video on a 1938 photograph by surrealist Angus McBean. Corbijn contacted McBean for permission to use it — and McBean ended up appearing in the video himself.

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ANGUS MCBEAN WAS 80 WHEN HE APPEARED ON TOP OF THE POPS

Angus McBean appeared in David Sylvian's "Red Guitar" video at the age of 80. Anton Corbijn later recalled that McBean couldn't believe he was appearing on "Top Of The Pops".

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CORBIJN STRUGGLED TO COME UP WITH THE IDEA

Corbijn spent several days alone in a Brussels hotel trying to come up with an idea for David Sylvian's "Red Guitar" video. He later admitted that he found it surprisingly difficult to come up with something worthwhile.

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THE IMAGES WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE

For David Sylvian's "Red Guitar", Corbijn deliberately put together a series of images that had no obvious connection. His idea was to let viewers decide for themselves what the video meant rather than give them a fixed story.

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CORBIJN MADE ANOTHER SYLVIAN VIDEO THAT YEAR

"Red Guitar" wasn't Anton Corbijn's only video with David Sylvian. He also directed "The Ink in the Well" later in 1984. After that, their collaboration continued through photography rather than more music videos.

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CORBIJN FIRST PHOTOGRAPHED DEPECHE MODE IN 1981

Anton Corbijn first photographed Depeche Mode in 1981 for the cover of NME. He wouldn't become closely involved with the band's visual identity until several years later.

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HE DIRECTED HIS FIRST DEPECHE MODE VIDEO IN 1986

"A Question Of Time" was the first Depeche Mode video directed by Anton Corbijn. Shot in Los Angeles in black and white, it marked the beginning of a much bigger creative relationship with the band.

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THE BAND LET CORBIJN TAKE CONTROL

Alan Wilder later said that it wasn't until Corbijn became involved in 1986 that Depeche Mode realised they could take more control over having a cohesive image as a group.

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THEY HATED HIS IDEA FOR "ENJOY THE SILENCE"

Corbijn's idea for "Enjoy The Silence" was Dave Gahan dressed as a king, wandering around with a deckchair looking for somewhere peaceful to sit. The band hated the idea at first — but trusted Corbijn enough to let him make it.

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THE DECKCHAIR HAD TO TRAVEL EVERYWHERE

For "Enjoy The Silence", Corbijn and Dave Gahan travelled as part of a tiny five-person team. They carried a Super 8 camera and the rather less portable king's deckchair with them between Scotland, Portugal and Switzerland.

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THE VIDEO WAS FILMED IN FREEZING CONDITIONS

The "Enjoy The Silence" shoot began in Scotland in December 1989. Corbijn later remembered how difficult the cold was before the production moved on to Portugal and Switzerland.

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"STRANGE" WAS SHOT ON SUPER 8

Corbijn shot the Depeche Mode videos collected on "Strange" on Super 8. The rough, grainy look became part of the visual character of the films rather than something to be cleaned up.

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"STRANGE TOO" WAS HIS COLOUR VERSION

"Strange Too" followed in 1990 with six Corbijn films from the "Violator" era, including "Personal Jesus", "Policy Of Truth", "Enjoy The Silence", "Clean", "Halo" and "World In My Eyes". This time the films were in colour.

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MTV CENSORED "PERSONAL JESUS"

The original international version of Corbijn's "Personal Jesus" video was uncensored. MTV in the US used a slightly edited version which removed some of Martin Gore's silhouette shots.

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"HALO" TURNED THE BAND INTO CHARACTERS

Corbijn's "Halo" video gave the four members very different characters. Martin Gore appeared as a clown, Dave Gahan as "The Strongest Man In The Universe", while Alan Wilder and Andy Fletcher appeared as strange undertaker-like figures.

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"VIOLATOR" WAS MORE THAN JUST A PHOTO

Anton Corbijn designed the artwork for Depeche Mode's "Violator", including its famous single red rose against a black background. The same visual world continued through the album's singles and videos.

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HE DESIGNED THE "SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION" COVER

Corbijn designed the sleeve for "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" as well as taking the photographs. Unlike earlier Depeche Mode albums, it was the first of their studio album covers to feature the band's faces.

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THE CORBIJN FILMS WERE FINALLY RESTORED

When "Strange" and "Strange Too" were released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2023, the 11 films were restored from their original Super 8 sources. Six previously unseen outtake "vignettes" were also included.

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CORBIJN DIDN'T EVEN LIKE U2'S MUSIC AT FIRST

When Anton Corbijn first went to photograph U2 in New Orleans in 1982, he admitted that their music wasn't really his thing. He had mainly accepted the job because he wanted to photograph New Orleans.

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THE FIRST U2 SHOOT WAS ON A BOAT

Corbijn thought he'd photograph U2, listen to a few songs and then go exploring around New Orleans. What he hadn't realised was that the concert was on a boat which sailed onto the Mississippi — so he was stuck on board for the entire show.

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THE JOSHUA TREE CHANGED EVERYTHING VISUALLY

Corbijn photographed U2 in the California desert for "The Joshua Tree". The stark black-and-white photographs became one of the defining images of the album and of U2's visual identity in the late 1980s.

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BONO WANTED TO LOOK LIKE CORBIJN

When Bono first met Corbijn, he had a very specific request: make him look tall, skinny, intelligent and funny. Corbijn's response was basically: "So you wanna look like me?"

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CORBIJN SAW U2 CHANGE IN FRONT OF HIS CAMERA

Corbijn said his book "U2 & I" showed more than just the band's changing appearance. He saw their attitude change too — particularly the difference between "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby".

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BONO HELPED PUSH CORBIJN INTO COLOUR

Corbijn said Bono knew what he had been doing with Depeche Mode's colour photography and encouraged him during U2's transformation around "Achtung Baby". He said their willingness to accept his mistakes helped both sides develop.

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"ACHTUNG BABY" WAS CORBIJN'S OTHER FAVOURITE PERIOD

Corbijn later singled out "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby" as the two most interesting periods of his work with U2. He felt the experimental music of "Achtung Baby" was reflected in the photographs.

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HE HAD PHOTOGRAPHED U2 HUNDREDS OF TIMES

By 2005, Corbijn estimated that he had photographed U2 at around a hundred sessions and hundreds of shows. He had been working with them since that first New Orleans shoot in 1982.

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"U2 & I" WAS TWENTY-TWO YEARS OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Corbijn's book "U2 & I" brought together two decades of his photographs of the band. He said it also documented his own development as a photographer alongside U2's transformation.

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"LINEAR" STARTED WITH A FILMING TRICK

The idea for Corbijn's "Linear" film began during a 2007 U2 shoot in Morocco. He filmed the band standing completely still while things around them moved, almost like a photograph that had somehow come to life.

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"LINEAR" WASN'T A NORMAL MUSIC VIDEO

For "No Line On The Horizon", U2 asked Corbijn to make something more ambitious than a conventional promotional video. "Linear" became a companion film to the album, turning themes from the songs into a continuous road journey.

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CORBIJN'S U2 RELATIONSHIP LASTED DECADES

Corbijn wasn't simply hired for individual album covers. His photographs became part of U2's visual identity across decades, from "War" and "The Joshua Tree" through "Achtung Baby", "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and beyond.

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JOY DIVISION BROUGHT CORBIJN TO ENGLAND

Anton Corbijn moved from the Netherlands to England in October 1979 because he wanted to be closer to the music he loved. Joy Division were a major reason for the move.

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HE MET JOY DIVISION WITHIN 12 DAYS

Corbijn arrived in England at the end of October 1979. Within 12 days he had persuaded Joy Division to meet him at Lancaster Gate Underground station for a photo shoot.

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THE BAND NEARLY IGNORED HIS FAMOUS PHOTO

Corbijn's famous photograph shows three members of Joy Division walking towards a tunnel while Ian Curtis looks back at the camera. He later said not a single magazine initially wanted the picture — but Joy Division themselves liked it.

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THE IDEA WAS JOY DIVISION WALKING INTO THE FUTURE

Corbijn deliberately posed Joy Division with their backs to the camera because he wanted their bodies to symbolise the music and the idea of the band walking towards the unknown.

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IAN CURTIS TURNED A GOOD PHOTO INTO SOMETHING ELSE

Corbijn knew the photograph was strong when he took it, but Ian Curtis's death six months later completely changed how people saw it. Corbijn later said the image began to look as though he had somehow known what was going to happen.

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CORBIJN'S PHOTOS WERE BLACK AND WHITE FOR A PRACTICAL REASON

Corbijn loved shooting in black and white, but there was another reason he photographed Joy Division that way. The music magazines interested in publishing pictures of the band were printed in black and white.

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THE JOY DIVISION PHOTOGRAPHS HELPED DEFINE CORBIJN

The Joy Division photographs were among Corbijn's earliest important images in England. Their stark look became closely associated with both the band and Corbijn's developing photographic style.

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"CONTROL" WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HIS FIRST FILM

Corbijn had been offered film projects before "Control" but turned them down because he didn't feel a connection with the stories. He eventually returned to "Control" because Joy Division and Ian Curtis had such a strong personal connection to his own life.

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HE MADE "CONTROL" IN BLACK AND WHITE FOR THE SAME REASON

Corbijn filmed "Control" in black and white because his memories of Joy Division were black and white. He also felt that almost all the surviving visual record of the band was monochrome.

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CORBIJN HAD SEEN JOY DIVISION LIVE

When making "Control", Corbijn wasn't reconstructing Joy Division's stage performances from old footage alone. He had actually seen the band live, so he had his own memories of how they moved and performed.

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"CONTROL" WAS HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM

"Control" became Anton Corbijn's first feature film. He had already spent years making music videos and photographing musicians, but had never directed a feature before.

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HE STARTED WITH HIS FATHER'S CAMERA

Anton Corbijn was 17 when he borrowed his father's camera to photograph a band playing in his new hometown in the Netherlands. He was too shy to go to the concert without a reason — the camera gave him one. Three of the pictures were published by a music magazine.

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HE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY

When Corbijn took those first photographs, he didn't know about f-stops, photography history or much else. He simply loved music and wanted a way into that world. He taught himself as he went along.

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HE USED BLACK AND WHITE FOR A VERY PRACTICAL REASON

Corbijn's famous black-and-white style wasn't originally some grand artistic decision. In the 1970s, the music magazines he was working for were generally printed in black and white, while colour was more associated with commercially successful artists.

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THE GRAIN WAS PART OF THE POINT

Corbijn deliberately embraced grain, blur and imperfect focus. He felt that technically perfect, sharply lit photographs didn't look like the way he experienced real life. For him, the imperfections made photographs feel more human.

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HE DIDN'T WANT MUSICIANS TO LOOK LIKE ROCK STARS

When photographing musicians, Corbijn often left their instruments out of the picture. He wanted to photograph them as people rather than simply showing them performing or posing as musicians.

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HE OFTEN PUT PEOPLE IN THE LANDSCAPE

Corbijn often made his subjects relatively small within a much larger environment. He wasn't interested in filling every photograph with a famous face — the surroundings could be just as important as the person.

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HE WORKS VERY FAST

Corbijn became known for taking remarkably short portrait sessions. He has sometimes completed an entire session in only a few minutes, believing that limited time can actually force a photographer to concentrate harder.

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HE LEARNED TO LIMIT HIS EQUIPMENT

Corbijn has talked about deliberately limiting the equipment he uses. Instead of carrying lots of lenses and constantly changing his setup, he believes restrictions can make you more inventive.

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BRIAN ENO TAUGHT HIM SOMETHING ABOUT LIMITS

Corbijn has specifically credited Brian Eno with influencing his approach to limitation. Eno's idea was that restricting the way you work can force you to become more inventive — something Corbijn carried into his photography.

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HE DIDN'T START OUT WANTING TO BE AN ART PHOTOGRAPHER

For years, Corbijn's only real photographic subject was music. It was only later that he became interested in photography itself as an art form and began photographing painters, directors, actors and other artists.

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HE CHANGED CAMERAS TO STOP REPEATING HIMSELF

After completing his first book, Corbijn felt that he was beginning to see photographs in his head through the same camera. He changed from his 35mm camera to a Hasselblad partly to challenge himself and avoid simply repeating what he had already done.

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HE WANTED THE PERSON TO CHANGE, NOT JUST THE POSE

Corbijn has said that portraiture interests him because it can show someone differently from their public persona. He isn't simply trying to reproduce the image people already have of a famous person.

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