Interview with Dominique Tarlé

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Tony Sheridan

Dominique Tarlé
Ravi Shankar

Genesis's Publisher Brian Roylance has just got back from Milan where he was checking and correcting the printing of the sheets for the forthcoming book, Exile: The Making of Exile on Main St. Before he went he interviewed author Dominique Tarlé about this extraordinary book which is attracting so much attention. This interview is exclusively presented on this website.

Brian Roylance: Well Dominique, it's been a long time, thirty years in fact. Why has it taken so long for your Exile archive to be published?

Dominique Tarlé: Right from the start, I knew I did not choose the easy way when I decided to photograph each member of the band separately, not even playing their instruments. I was already convinced that only a book could deal with this massive amount of pictures. I realised that I would have to be patient. I'm lucky, you know, because I am a very patient man! It's like with a good wine, you have to wait many years before it matures. Then I had to wait for the right publisher to come along with a project that would meet my own desires. You and I started working on Exile during the summer of 1997. It took us months to find out that we really wanted to share this experience together. The only pressure that we had on our shoulders was to give the very best that we could. I think that we did not miss our target. It was worthwhile waiting, instead of contributing to books on The Rolling Stones that I did not even bother to read. I was very much surprised by the lack of ambition of most publishers. So, long ago, I decided to simply refuse to illustrate those terrifying articles on the so-called rock'n'roll life of Keith and Anita. I know publicity is better than no publicity at all, but I have to recognise my own limits.

BR: So many of the photos have not been seen before. Is this the first time that many have been printed in a larger form other than in contact sheets?

DT: I took a few thousand photos down in the South of France and I spent a year and a half making prints. Then you and I went through the whole lot of the contact sheets again to make sure that we did not miss a single one. You've seen and published so many great pictures, that in the end, your final choice complemented perfectly the work already done.

BR: What does the publication of this book mean to you?

DT: A few years ago I had an awful dream. You know, I told you about that dream before? The Rolling Stones had a new album out and I could not listen to it because I was too old and deaf. This is when I took the decision to work on this book. Time will wait for no one.

BR: How important to you in your life was the time spent at Nellcôte in 1971 with Keith and Anita?

DT: From the beginning, Keith and Anita made me feel like part of the family. I didn't expect so much. I wasn't prepared for it, but it came so naturally. I waited thirty long years before publishing my archive on Nellcôte. It gives you some clues how much those few months meant to me.

BR: I believe you've recently had contact with them both again?

DT: When I realised that the prospect of publishing those pictures was taking shape, I got in touch with Anita. We met at a cafe in Paris on a cold Sunday afternoon during the winter of 1998. I asked her, 'Do you think Keith would mind if I published all those pictures?' And she replied that, 'I know Keith, when he will see all those pictures, he will cry.' But to tell you the truth, I felt much better a few days ago, when I read the foreword that Keith wrote for Exile.

BR: You must have been pleased with Keith's enthusiasm for the book?

DT: From the very beginning, the whole project was built on enthusiasm. Enthusiasm from the author, the publisher and the contributors. And now, enthusiasm from Keith himself. So I could say to Keith that thirty years ago he gave me the opportunity to achieve in complete freedom the type of work I had in mind for a long, long time. And I would like to thank him for his contribution to Exile. It feels to me like pure, unconditional love.

BR: So many contributors have readily come forward to provide fascinating insights and recollections to accompany your photographs. Really, we haven't known such enthusiastic participation since we published Michael Cooper's book Blinds & Shutters. Did all this suprise you?

DT: I really enjoyed reading each participation in the writing of this book. It is exactly what I had in mind at the very beginning of this project. Even if I had never expected so much. This book is our book, you see what I mean? It's not only my book, or your book, it's his book, it's her book, it's the book of all the contributors. I always wanted to share this project with every one of you. That is one of the reasons that makes it so special. To say that I am pleased with the result is far below reality.

BR: Did you know that we're in negotiation for Mick Taylor to go to Australia and New Zealand to launch Exile there and to perform in a few concerts?

DT: When I heard that Mick Taylor was willing to promote the launch of Exile in Australia and New Zealand, I could not believe it. Every time you put a bunch of The Rolling Stones fans together, they start speaking about Mick Taylor and his magical guitar stuff within a few minutes. There is no mystery about it, we all miss Mick Taylor. This book seems to be able to generate good surprises one after another. I think to myself, when is it going to stop? Do we wish this to stop one day? I think we all have the answer.

BR: You and Michael Cooper must have had similar qualities. Many of the contributors, including Keith himself, have said that they weren't really aware that you were recording on film that summer of '71.

DT: It is a very difficult question to answer but maybe Michael Cooper and I realised that pictures are far more important than the photographers themselves. We surely could choose something at the right time, at the right place, with the right people. For myself, I could only say that the whole of the game was to remain invisible and to have the least possible impact on what was going on around me.

BR: I'm sure that all the contributors and the Stones will make contact with you when they receive their copies of the final leather-bound book. No doubt this will be a proud moment?

DT: I think it can be the start of a new relationship between all of us and then all my dreams will be fulfilled. We are not so many people able to share that kind of experience.