Patricia Steur's book THE ROCK STAR TATTOO ENCYCLOPEDIA chronicles two different types of rock stars: rock stars of the tattoo world and the rock star clients they've tattooed. The 1980s is the snapshot captured by her camera, with highlights of the London and Los Angeles club scene of the time featured front and center.
Photographer Patricia Steur had a great vantage point for keeping an eye on the world of tattoos and rock bands. Her marriage to Dutch tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher, aka Hanky Panky, gave her a front row seat for keeping an eye on tattooed rock starts. Among Schiffmacher's most notable clients are the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But these photos and tattoos predate the RHCPs.
The artists profiled encompass Lyle Tuttle (San Francisco), Don Ed Hardy (San Francisco), Cliff Raven (Hollywood, CA), Dennis Cockel (London), Spider Webb (Woodstock, NY), Henk Schiffmacher (Amsterdam, Holland), and Bob Roberts (traveling artist). The band and musician portraits by Steur are a who-whos of the early 180s music scene, including The Stray Cats, Bow Wow Wow, Rose Tattoo, Golden Earring, Anti-Nowhere League, Mink de Ville, X, Fear, the Ramones, Motorhead, the Clash, Billy Idol and many more. The photographs are all in color with mostly natural lighting and in casual settings. Occasionally the images show the musicians playing with their bands, but most of these shots show everyone hanging out or sitting around with a beer. Some of the pictures show whole bands but most are singular portraits and close-ups.
You can learn more about Patricia and her photography on her website. Read more about Rock Star Tattoo Encyclopedia
THE ROCK STAR TATTOO ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
