Bob Marley by David Corio

Photographer: David Corio

Location: Crystal Palace Bowl, London

Edition: 20

Date: 1980

"This was Bob Marley’s last London concert and one of his final shows before his untimely death 10 months later. I’m sure not many people knew of his illness as he performed a stirring two-hour show that afternoon. He wasn’t even aware how sick he was himself. This venue has a lake in front of the stage and as I didn’t own a really long lens I waded into the lake with my camera and a few rolls of film in a plastic grocery bag. I got to the front of the stage where the water was about four feet deep and shot from there. Bob performed in an almost hypnotic trance. Of the three rolls I shot I think he has his eyes open in only two of the photos. He was a shaman dancing, his locks all over his face throughout the show. This photo, the 37th frame on the roll, is for me the one that worked best graphically and symbolically."