Celebrate Friendship with Tim Pope

Bedsitter – Soft Cell 

My very first music video was for Soft Cell with this song back in 1981. I dressed Marc Almond in shirts that matched the wallpaper of his claustrophobic apartment, so he disappeared into the walls-  a visual metaphor for the song's 1980s club world. 

Close to Me – The Cure 

My longest and most famous creative partnership has been with The Cure. We've worked together for over 40 years and still do today. For this one, I famously filmed the band inside a wardrobe - a surreal idea I recently revisited by putting Willem Dafoe in a wardrobe for my Laphroaig whisky film. 

Lust for Life – Iggy Pop & David Bowie 

"Here Comes Johnny Yen Again..." sings the Godfather of Punk. Seeing Iggy live for the first time in 1977 - with David Bowie on keyboards in the backing band - was possibly the greatest gig I've ever witnessed. I later made several films with Iggy, and he introduced me to Bowie, beginning a 12-year creative partnership. 

Constipation Blues – Screamin' Jay Hawkins 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was larger than life. After we'd worked together in New York filming a drama, he invited Iggy Pop and me to one of his gigs, where he rewrote ‘Constipation Blues’ on the spot, singing: "Tim Pope's got the constipation blues..." A career highlight I never expected. 

Since Yesterday – Strawberry Switchblade 

I loved working with these two polka-dot princesses from Scotland. For ‘Since Yesterday’, I animated them frame by frame to create a bizarre, jerky movement. It looked magical, but demanded incredible patience from both Jill and Rose. 

It's a Hard Life – Queen 

Freddie Mercury was another brilliant character and enormous fun to spend time with. For the video, he chose to wear a flamboyant costume that many say resembles a giant Mediterranean prawn. Once you've seen the prawn, it's impossible to unsee it. Go check it out. 
 

Wonderin' – Neil Young 

Neil was the first person to take me to America to shoot a music video. For ‘Wonderin’’, I had him mime to the playback at half speed. By running the camera at half speed too, we created the strange effect of the world racing by behind him like a Buster Keaton movie, while Neil remained perfectly natural. I still see Neil whenever he's in London, and we always end up laughing about those early days. 

Waiting for My Man – Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground 

As we were preparing to film David Bowie's 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, Bowie mentioned, almost in passing, "Lou's coming in today." "Lou who?" I shot back, knowing full well whom he meant. Not long afterward, Lou Reed walked into the studio, and I had the privilege of watching the two legends perform ‘Waiting for My Man’ together. It was one of those genuine pinch-yourself fanboy moments - the sort my teenage self could never have imagined. 

Slow Emotion Replay – The The 

Matt Johnson, the singer behind The The, has been one of my closest friends since the mid-1980s. We shared countless adventures making videos together in wonderfully strange places - including one memorable shoot beneath a working steam engine. For this song, we filmed in a bar in New York. I turned my camera on an elderly man and asked, "What's up with the world, sir?” His only response was to quietly break down in tears. With his permission, I overlaid that moment with the section where Matt sings, "I'm just a slow motion replay of someone I used to be.” 

I Want to Be a Tree – Tim Pope 

 That’s me singing on this one - uhm, if singing is the right word. My backing band for the song I wrote when I was 12 years old was The Cure, with Robert Smith playing the rip-roaring guitar solo. I supported The Psychedelic Furs for one night at Hammersmith Odeon, the very stage where David Bowie retired his fictional rock star character, Ziggy Stardust. On that same stage, I retired my own character too: Twoggy Sawdust.