Have you ever wondered where famous faces who spent a lifetime in front of the world’s press and studio photographers got their passport photos done? Actors, artists, sportspeople, and musicians such as Mick Jagger, Muhammad Ali, David Hockney, Stephen Fry, Angelina Jolie, Little Richard?
Since opening its doors in 1953, Passport Photo Service – an unassuming studio on Oxford Street in London – photographed thousands of people for passports, visas, and green cards—and some of them just happened to be famous. Promising prints that were ‘Ready in 10 Minutes’ before anyone else in the city, it was a family affair run by professional boxer turned photographer Dave Sharkey, his wife, Ann, and eventually, their son Philip.
Conveniently located a walk away from the US embassy and directly opposite the department store Selfridges, Passport Photo Service displayed their enviable collection of famous faces in giant frames hung on the studio walls or pinned to the stairwell that led up from the busy shops of Oxford St.
For the first time outside the studio, in our charming new book, Passport Photo Service: An Unexpected Archive of Celebrity Portraits, Philip Sharkey has curated more than 300 never-before-published photographs taken from 1953 to 2019, including those of actors, writers, musicians, athletes, and more.
It makes for an unexpected archive of celebrity portraits – from Muhammad Ali and Madonna to Mick Jagger and Angelina Jolie. Over one hundred of the photographs are accompanied by humorous and insightful anecdotes and memories penned by Sharkey.
Many of the stars were repeat customers: two different Sean Connerys sport two different moustaches, while David Hockney apparently never traveled without his round owl-eye glasses, even five years apart. Muhammad Ali was photographed on his way to what is now the DRC to fight George Foreman in the famous Rumble in the Jungle boxing match.
When Sharkey’s uncle Peter suggested that perhaps Bianca Jagger should perhaps remove her large hat for her photo, as the government might not accept the picture. she responded, ‘They will for me'.
Elsewhere in the book, Sid Vicious’s girlfriend Nancy Spungen, wearing a badge that read “I’m a McLaren Puppet” is placed alongside to punk singer Poly Styrene of the band X-Ray Spex, photographed for an Indian visa while deep in her Hare Krishna phase. Meanwhile Motorhead’s Lemmy is immortalised in the book next to his childhood hero, Little Richard.
As loyal customer Sir Stephen Fry declares, “those lucky enough to have come before Sharkey’s lens always left feeling that we had participated in a ritual that elevated us to a special kind of club.”
With a striking leatherette cover that evokes both the design of the passport and the studio’s iconic photo wallets that held developed prints, Passport Photo Service is a book that will be loved by celebrity spotters, photo historians, and also those nostalgic for a disappeared slice of London celebrity life. Take a closer look at Passport Photo Service: An Unexpected Archive of Celebrity Portraits here.
