Public Enemy by David Corio

Photographer: David Corio

Location: Hyde Parke, London England

Edition: 50

Date: 1987

"This was Public Enemy’s first day in London on their debut European tour. They were plugging their first album ‘Yo! Bum Rush The Show’. Due to massive press interest and their very crowded schedule I was allocated a session with them on a foggy November morning. Their gangsta poses and Black Power salutes for the camera seemed incongruous in a Hyde Park criss-crossed by suited men striding to work, dog walkers and early morning joggers. What concerned them most that morning was the dearth of McDonald’s en route from the airport. They wanted reassurance that there was at least one somewhere in England. I told them in my most reassuring voice that I thought I’d heard of a branch up north but I wasn’t certain where, which they naturally refused to believe. Over the years the magnitude of Flavor Flav’s clock increased in proportion to his fame. When I took this photo, his present incarnation as a reality TV star was unimaginable. It is as well he didn’t become as celebrated as Michael Jackson or he’d have Big Ben hanging around his neck."