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Red Hot Chili Peppers laid bare in revealing new book from top British photographer
British photographer Tony Woolliscroft’s new book gathers more than 200 Red Hot Chili Peppers photographs from his 25 years of access to the band, most previously unpublished. It pairs the images with personal stories, including his account of the group’s performance at the troubled Woodstock ’99 festival.
Woolliscroft says Jimi Hendrix’s sister asked the band to end their set with “Fire”, which they had not played for nearly eight years; they rehearsed it three times before performing it. As the song played, some festival-goers set catering and vending carts alight amid protests over food and water prices, leading newspapers to suggest the band had chosen the song in response to the unrest. Woolliscroft says that was not the case.
In short
- Tony Woolliscroft’s book includes more than 200 Chili Peppers photographs.
- Hendrix’s sister asked the band to play “Fire” at Woodstock ’99.
- The band’s choice of song was unrelated to the crowd unrest.
Explained simply
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Their music blends rock, funk and punk, and the group became known for energetic live shows and songs such as “Under the Bridge” and “Californication”.
Woodstock ’99 was a large music festival in New York state, held over three days in July 1999. It was marked by complaints about high prices for food and water, and fires and other unrest broke out as the festival ended. Tony Woolliscroft is a British photographer who has followed the band for 25 years, documenting their concerts and life on the road.