Torleif Svensson was only an ordinary freelance photographer, tucked away in a photo lab in the basement of Sweden’s Cartography Association when he was presented with perhaps one of the most important questions a man in his profession could ever be asked - would you like to the be photographer of Queen’s final tour? For Torleif, there was really only one answer to this question; hell yes. This offer did however not come easy; only prior to this had he gotten his entire portfolio stolen. In this exclusive interview, Svensson sits down to talk about his unforgettable summer with the legendary Queen, as well his spectacular career providing a helping hand in African countries.
· Can you remember your very first photography job/gig? I have always liked music, especially rock music. During my time as a photo lab manager I had already started taking photos of concerts in my spare time. In connection with a job trip to Birmingham in 1984 for a graphical convention I chose to stay in London to be able to go to concerts during the nights. That week it just so happened that multiple world renounced artists were performing, Jethro Tull, Queen and loads more. Queen were playing at Wembley Arena. - Was Wembley Arena the biggest venue you’d taken photos at up until then? What did it feel like? In Sweden, I had photographed outdoor concerts at Ullevi Festival, for example Dylan and Bowie, but Queen at Wembley was probably the biggest indoor gig I had been to. · Tell me about how the camera roll ended up stolen after that same night? After the concerts in London I had 50 rolls of undeveloped film of world-famous artists in my bag. It safely stored in the trunk of my rental car. I was going on a study visit outside of Liverpool but wanted to take the time to visit the Beatles’ museum. When I got back to the car I saw a huge rock in the front seat that had crushed the car window and from there, the thieves had gotten into the trunk. The camera bag with the film rolls were gone. It was raining that night as I went to the police station to report the theft, and after that I drove around to look in trash bins for the bag of film which I supposed had been tossed out. For the thieves, it was the cameras that held any sort of value, but for me it was the film. Queen’s concert was the one that made the biggest impression in London that week, and I absolutely wanted new photos of them. Two years later, in May of 1986, Queen are playing that The Montreaux Golden Rose Festival. I had then terminated my employment as photo lab manager and had then started freelancing as a photographer. I buy 100 rolls of film and drive straight to Montreaux. On my way down I call a weekly French magazine to ask if they could possibly arrange my photography credentials for the concerts. They granted it and I get new photos of Queen, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Duran Duran and a couple of the rest of the artists. Later on, I found Brian May at the hotel. I wanted to hear about Queen’s concert in South Africa in 1984 that had made them blacklisted by the United Nations. I had myself been to South Africa for the first time in 1984. We had an interesting conversation and later I got invited to a PR cruise on the Geneva Lake that Queen had arranged. I had a huge exhibition with various rock photos at the department store, NK, in Stockholm. Queen was going on their European tour in June, which would be the last one with Freddie Mercury. NK requested me to print a photo large enough to go on the storefront window before the concert. I had an 8m² image printed from the Montreaux concert the month before. Only three printing machines in the world were capable of printing images of that size, and none in Sweden. The image was printed on a fabric in England and arrived too late for the display at NK. So there I stand, a massive roll of fabric in hand, having no idea what to use it for. On the rainy day of the concert I bring the roll with me to the arena of Råsunda and ask for the event manager at EMA Telstar, Thomas Johansson. I had met him in concert related events before, and he suggests I put it up backstage. Only as a gesture, with no ulterior motive. But I have now access to the backstage area, and after the concert I went to find Brian May for a brief conversation and a picture with him in front of my massive fabric image. I thought it was a huge success. · How did Queen ask you to be the photographer for their final tour? How did it feel? The day after the concert I was called to the Grand Hotel where Queen were staying. Their manager Jim Beach had more than heard of my stolen camera film through Brian May and suggested that I’d tag along on the rest of the tour, above all on the big indoor arenas. I had shown several experimental images from Montreaux that impressed both May and Beach. Queen paid for travels and accommodation, but established that the photo materials were mind. Later on, Queen paid for publishing rights to use them on album covers and other publications. · What are a few of your fondest moments from that tour? Brian May is very interested in photography and when he saw that I used, among others, a Hasselblad camera, which NASA used on the moon, he was very impressed. He asked me to develop the film after each concert. I looked up places to develop film in the cities we travelled through and then we’d look at the images together. · Looking back at your entire experience with Queen, does it feel surreal? Yes, of course. To have fragments of memories of going from bar to bar with Brian and John or when I went through images and showed Freddie. Or when a friend of mine got to tag along as my assistant on a concert in Zurich. It was hot and he didn’t want to sweat in his new Lacoste sweater, so he takes it off. Shirtless in the photo pit, we could see Freddie Mercury glancing over only a meter or so away from the edge of the stage. · How would you describe the great Freddie Mercury as a person? I didn’t get especially close to him. Only a few times when Brian wanted to show him some photos from the concerts. He was very humble, and maybe even a little bit shy. On the stage, however, he an excellent exhibitionist, and larger than life. · Do you have any comments about the recent Bohemian Rhapsody film? I’ve seen it multiple times and I think it’s unbelievably good. It tells the story up until the Live Aid concert in 1985 and I only tagged along with them during the summer of 1986. Chronologically, it’s not always correct but why does that really matter? The actors are superb, not the least Rami Malek, of course. · What other photographic adventures have you been on after Queen? I was a music photographer from the eighties to the early 2000’s, a little over 20 years. In more recent times I mostly do documentations of various aid organizations, mostly in Africa. I have documented different assistance projects in Africa, often for Doctors Without Borders. For example, I’ve been planting trees in Ethiopia and South Sudan, orphan childcare in South Africa and well drilling in refugee camps in Darfur, Tchad and Nigeria. I’ve also participated in projects in Asia and Central America, and documented Star For Life, from its start in 2005. It’s a Swedish initiative for preventing AIDS in schools in South Africa and Namibia. Like a lot of other people, I’m also fascinated by wild animals in Africa and have photographed from hot air balloons in a few African countries, especially in Kenya. Svensson has had a photographic career like no other. His spectacular photos on Queen during their last tour can be found in his book “Queen: The Last Tour”, as well as an exhibition located in his apartment in the heart of Stockholm.