Big Day Out 20th anniversary: Through the lens

30 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

Over Tony Mott’s 30-year career in rock ‘n’ roll photography, he has carved himself a meaty slice of Big Day Out history with his archive of trademark images.

2008 - “Rage Against The Machine were on at three o’clock in the afternoon and they were at the height of their angst. They just walked onstage and were just all left-wing politics; in the middle of the set, Zack (De La Rocha) stage dived straight into the middle audience, right across the pit and I got a shot of it.”

2004 – “The Flaming Lips - I got crap photos of them, they were a nightmare to photograph, they had the fucking worst lights I’ve ever seen but they were just brilliant onstage.

“They got practically every Big Day Out crew member and all their friends to dress up in animal clothes. Drew Barrymore was knocking up the drummer from The Strokes at the time so I had Who Weekly and everybody hassling me for photos and she said, ‘No I don’t want them’ so I played a trick on them. I told everybody they could have an exclusive and they got it.

She dressed up as a bear every night and danced onstage with the Flaming Lips and was dry humping The Strokes drummer who was dressed as a big rabbit. So I took a photo of a dancing bear and sent it to them. I got some very irate emails after that.”

2001 – “PJ Harvey was coming every single year and never came; she cancelled every time. When she did play she was just mesmerising - this little girl with such charisma, she was just fabulous and dressed fabulous.”

1995 - “The first time Silverchair played they were referred to as Nirvana In Pajamas. Courtney Love was on the road then and the crowd just went fucking off, to say the least. In Sydney there was a guy at the top of a pillar and it was literally swaying and people were just thinking ‘oh god this is going to be the end of Big Day Out, this guy’s gonna fucking die’.”

“They were on the rooftop of all the sheds in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast, the side stage was packed with a thousand people and everyone was there for Silverchair.”

1992 – “The first travelling Big Day Out is easily my favourite and I’ve never topped it. It’s the only Big Day Out where they never had a headliner, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave and Sonic Youth took it in turns. Every single finish they’d jam and do Iggy Pop’s I Wanna Be Your Dog, it was amazing.”

Sophie Howarth has been a staple in Big Day Out pits since the festival’s inception.

2011 – “I was asked by Henry, Iggy Pop’s manager to do a photo shoot for Iggy and The Stooges. My photo appeared on a CD cover this year for Sadistic Summer: Live At The Isle Of Wight.”

2003 – “This is the year I was asked by Big Day Out to be an official photographer. I felt I really earned this position.”

1992 – “I was there but with no camera or film - all in the film of my mind. I remember Nirvana in the Hordern. Hanging off a railing sweltering. The site at the Showground had a grassy, kind of magical Easter Show vibe to it. It was all very relaxed and spontaneous.”

The above photograph is from Sophie Howarth's book Peace, Love and Brown Rice, out now.