For acclaimed British photographer Tom Pallant, Yungblud: IDOLS, a world-first photography exhibition following one of modern rock’s most explosive talents, is the result of a relationship built over years.
Having worked alongside Yungblud since 2019, Pallant has documented the artist’s rise from pub shows to sold-out arenas, evolving from tour photographer into a key creative collaborator along the way. The images in IDOLS span 18 months of touring, recording and world-building, capturing both the spectacle and the exhaustion that come with life inside Yungblud’s orbit.
As the exhibition opens in Sydney this week ahead of Yungblud’s tour, Tone Deaf chatted to Pallant about their long-running partnership, the moments that defined IDOLS, and the trust required to capture an artist at his most unguarded.
See here for more details about the gallery, and check check out an exclusive sneak peek of the photos here.
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Tone Deaf: Tell us about your working relationship with Yungblud and how it began.
Tom Pallant: Dom and I have been working together for coming up to seven years, which sounds really mad when you say it out loud. I jumped on his UK and Ireland tour super last minute in March 2019. I’d just gone freelance shortly before and was painfully short of consistent work. Fortunately, through a friend of mine, I was put in touch with his management and got a call two days before his Dublin show saying they needed a photographer to join his tour ASAP.
The next thing I knew, I was waiting for him at Victoria train station in London to get the flight over to Dublin, talking about what he wanted his imagery to look like and the bands he aspired to be like. A lot of it aligned with photographers’ work that really inspired me when I was starting out, which surprised me to a degree and wasn’t necessarily what I expected to hear him say. But I remember thinking in that moment, ‘Okay, I reckon I know how to do that.’
I think we really met at the right time for both of us to start this creative partnership, and we’ve grown together a lot. That first show was to 150 people in the back of a pub, and now, filling arenas all over the world, it’s been a crazy ride. We have a lot of respect for what each other creates, and definitely push each other, but we always end up in a good place where it ultimately feels right for the project at that time.
My role progressed from just filling in in a touring capacity to creating artwork, music videos, and overall album creative, partly out of necessity as we were constantly putting out music alongside a very busy touring schedule, and partly because I was just ‘there,’ which definitely helped. I’ve learned how to do a lot of aspects of my job on the fly, and there’s definitely been an element of, ‘I don’t know how to do that, but give me a few days and I’ll work it out.’
For you, what has been the most memorable moment of the last 18 months on this project of Idols?
There’ve been so many moments over the past 18 months while putting IDOLS together, but I think one of the more ‘what on earth are we doing?’ moments was standing on top of a snowy mountain in Bulgaria at 6am in early February, shooting the music video for the first single, “Hello Heaven, Hello”. It was an absolutely wild experience. Dom was adamant that he should be riding through the snow on horseback in Bulgaria, and that’s exactly what he did. Seeing an idea like that come to fruition in such a real way was very special, and Charlie Sarsfield, the director of the video, really pulled that one out of the bag.
Is there a particular shot in this gallery you are most proud of?
I think the main artwork image from the exhibition, GHOSTS I, of Dom lying exhausted on the stage floor is definitely up there for me. I’ve really pushed myself to shoot more of the shows on film over the past few months, and this is one of those special frames I was especially excited to get back from the lab. It comes at a point in the set where he throws everything into the performance, and dropping to the floor feels like the only option after exerting himself so completely.
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You’ve worked with some incredible names in music. What sets Yungblud apart?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked with the people I have so far in my career, and to have been afforded the opportunity to shoot a lot of people I would only ever have dreamt of. I think what sets Yungblud apart is his insatiable work ethic. His commitment to the cause is absolutely unparalleled from what I’ve seen, and he’s the only person I know who never takes a day off (even when he probably needs and deserves it). I think that’s a huge part of why he’s got as far as he has today, and it’s a testament to who he is as a person, not just as Yungblud, but as a human being.
What’s next for you and who would you like to shoot?
That is a great question. The first part I don’t really know the answer to, other than the current touring schedule. We have a very busy 6 months ahead, and in between all of the shows, who knows? There’s some things I can’t really talk about…
As I say, I’ve been very lucky to shoot a lot of people that I would really have liked to. I think one I’d still love to do is Post Malone, my good friend Adam DeGross is basically Posty’s equivalent of me with YB. Adam’s a legend and has come and shot Dom a few times at shows so I think I’d love to shoot alongside him at some point.
