Every Picture Tells A Story: Paul Oakenfold

This photograph was one that was completely unplanned. This is Paul Oakenfold in front of the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood. Well, this was supposed to have been shot inside the Chateau Marmont, but that turned out to be a non-starter. Let me explain: this took place in 1998, when I was supposed to do a photo shoot during an interview of Paul for one of my dance music mags. Well, the interview got scratched when the interviewer (a local promoter who shall remain nameless) claimed that he got lost because he didn’t know where the Chateau was. Yeah, my reaction was the same as yours: what the fuck??? So Paul and I wandered out into the Chateau’s courtyard to do the shoot, which was promptly halted by Chateau staff. I went to the hotel management, who informed me that, contrary to what I had been told by my editor, I didn’t have any clearance to shoot on the grounds! I immediately got said editor on the phone, who basically confirmed what management had said. That’s when I realized, “Wait a second…he’s counting on me to pull a rabbit out of hat, and do his job for him!” Needless to say, I was pissed, especially because that editor made me look completely unprofessional in front of Paul, who at the time was pretty much the #1 DJ in the world. So, after explaining the situation to an exceedingly patient Paul, we went outside to the sidewalk and shot a bunch of frames in the ivy surrounding the hotel in about five minutes.

 
Each pictures tells a story, and there are hundreds of visual stories like this one in the pages of DANCEFLOOR THUNDERSTORM: Land Of The Free, Home Of The Rave. Go to the book’s IndieGogo campaign and pre-order it for yourself today!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dancefloor-thunderstorm-rave-photo-book-campaign/x/8611451#/story