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I live in Hampstead. Honestly, if you\u2019d said to me three or four years ago, you\u2019re going to be in Hampstead, I would have laughed at you because I have never thought of myself as somebody who would live there. Now, I\u2019m like, \u201cThis is the best place I\u2019ve ever lived.\u201d It\u2019s funny because I was born in Glasgow and they say that if you\u2019re born there, you have the shortest average lifespan, whereas if you\u2019re born in Hampstead, you have the longest. I hope I\u2019ll be somewhere in the middle. <\/p>\n
Where was your first flat in London?<\/p>\n
Peckham. I went to the London College of Printing and my dad found some work for me in Peckham. I love the 53 bus and the Old Kent Road. <\/p>\n
What was your first job ?<\/p>\n
Coming out of college I started a magazine called Dazed & Confused. We used to borrow the Student Union Apple Mac equipment to work on it at the weekends. We very quickly realised that magazines weren\u2019t going to pay much money, so Jefferson [Hack] and I got into the nightclub scene. We were both from outside London so it was a good way to build a community. I met pretty much all of the Dazed & Confused staff at nightclubs or parties. <\/p>\n
\u201cI get a bit irritated by people slagging off London. Every time I go out, it feels like the old days. London is really happening\u201d<\/p>\n
Where do you let your hair down?<\/p>\n
I would probably go to the Groucho \u2014 it\u2019s the only club I\u2019m a member of. You always meet someone or bump into someone. I get a bit irritated by people, especially Americans, slagging off London. Every time I go out, it feels like the old days. London is really happening. There are more show openings \u2014 theatre, music, art. London has always had creative people, but this has got a lot to do with the Mayor and the openness to different types of people and the communities they build. <\/p>\n
Who do you call when you want to have fun?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t really phone people up. What happens is you go to a thing \u2014 it might be a gallery opening, a fashion party, a film premiere \u2014 and you meet people and it\u2019s the unpredictability that\u2019s the most exciting bit. Stephen Webster is always fun to bump into, or the other day I bumped into Rob Montgomery and Greta Bellamacina. It\u2019s not necessarily the people you know the best. <\/p>\n
What\u2019s your favourite restaurant?<\/p>\n
I would go to J Sheekey<\/a> every day of the week. It\u2019s where I\u2019ve had the best meals. I love the Dover sole<\/a> and the creamed spinach. I live near some really great pubs too: the Vine for good food and the Spaniards Inn for good vibes.<\/p>\n J Sheekey<\/p>\n Press handout<\/p>\n Who is the most iconic Londoner?<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to say two people: the Queen and McQueen. I think Queen Elizabeth II was the most amazing woman in the world. I got to photograph her and she was so extraordinary. She was so empowered and so funny \u2014 she really made me laugh. I knew Alexander McQueen<\/a> and I think he was the epitome of how creative you can be as a Londoner. <\/p>\n What\u2019s the best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?<\/p>\n When I say I\u2019m a photographer, they always ask what I shoot. I say, \u201cOh, you know, portraits, famous people.\u201d And the other day one cabbie replied, \u201cIt must be really hard.\u201d I was like, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d and he goes, \u201cMaking those people look interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n Who\u2019s the best person you\u2019ve photographed?<\/p>\n I say David Bowie, not because it\u2019s my best shot, but because when I photographed him he made me realise that I should never presume anything about anyone. He walked into the room like he was Tigger from Winnie the Pooh and I had been expecting this cold, cool, distant guy. But he was so enthusiastic. <\/p>\n What\u2019s your London secret? <\/p>\n![\"J](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Copy-of-WH1_7812-copy-16-42-23.jpg\")
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