An image can sometimes take on an afterlife in ways unimaginable at the time of its creation.
That’s undoubtedly the case with a photograph in the Pressphotoman collection that started life more than 30 years ago.
Much to my amazement and pleasure, it is being published tomorrow (6th October 2026) in The Island Book of Records 1971-72 (Manchester University Press, £85).
The 480-page volume, edited by Neil Storey and designed by Jayne Gould, is the third chronicling the story of every release on the legendary Island record label.
Turn to page 251 and you will find a feature dedicated to ‘The bench,’ an integral part of the making of Nick Drake’s final album Pink Moon released in February 1972.
At the heart of the feature is an image of photographer Keith Morris (1938-2005) whose portraits of the revered singer-songwriter have helped define his posthumous public image.
The bench in question was located on London’s Hampstead Heath where Morris was commissioned by the label to create photographs for Pink Moon’s gatefold sleeve and art work.
Such was Nick’s fragile state at the time that the photographer’s only option was to portray his subject as he found him on that day and in that location.
The resulting contact sheet reveals Nick walking around and, at one point, sitting on a park bench staring into the distance.
In 1995, I was fortunate enough to meet and interview Keith Morris for a planned tv documentary.
The chosen location for the interview was another bench on roughly the same spot where Keith had photographed Nick in late-1971.
The image being published in The Island Book of Records 1971-72 is taken from the original rushes of that interview.
‘The bench’ has since become a place of pilgrimage for Nick Drake fans from all over the world, so it’s a pleasure to be able to share this image with a wider audience.
If you are interested in Keith Morris’ photographic relationship with Nick Drake, a Pressphotoman post from 2024 marking the 50th anniversary of Nick Drake’s death at the age of 26 can be viewed on the link below.
Keith Morris – Pressphotoman blogpost – 25th November 2024
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