I live in Hampstead. Honestly, if you’d said to me three or four years ago, you’re going to be in Hampstead, I would have laughed at you because I have never thought of myself as somebody who would live there. Now, I’m like, “This is the best place I’ve ever lived.” It’s funny because I was born in Glasgow and they say that if you’re born there, you have the shortest average lifespan, whereas if you’re born in Hampstead, you have the longest. I hope I’ll be somewhere in the middle.
Where was your first flat in London?
Peckham. I went to the London College of Printing and my dad found some work for me in Peckham. I love the 53 bus and the Old Kent Road.
What was your first job ?
Coming out of college I started a magazine called Dazed & Confused. We used to borrow the Student Union Apple Mac equipment to work on it at the weekends. We very quickly realised that magazines weren’t going to pay much money, so Jefferson [Hack] and I got into the nightclub scene. We were both from outside London so it was a good way to build a community. I met pretty much all of the Dazed & Confused staff at nightclubs or parties.
“I get a bit irritated by people slagging off London. Every time I go out, it feels like the old days. London is really happening”
Where do you let your hair down?
I would probably go to the Groucho — it’s the only club I’m a member of. You always meet someone or bump into someone. I get a bit irritated by people, especially Americans, slagging off London. Every time I go out, it feels like the old days. London is really happening. There are more show openings — theatre, music, art. London has always had creative people, but this has got a lot to do with the Mayor and the openness to different types of people and the communities they build.
Who do you call when you want to have fun?
I don’t really phone people up. What happens is you go to a thing — it might be a gallery opening, a fashion party, a film premiere — and you meet people and it’s the unpredictability that’s the most exciting bit. Stephen Webster is always fun to bump into, or the other day I bumped into Rob Montgomery and Greta Bellamacina. It’s not necessarily the people you know the best.
What’s your favourite restaurant?
I would go to J Sheekey every day of the week. It’s where I’ve had the best meals. I love the Dover sole and the creamed spinach. I live near some really great pubs too: the Vine for good food and the Spaniards Inn for good vibes.
J Sheekey
Press handout
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
I’m going to say two people: the Queen and McQueen. I think Queen Elizabeth II was the most amazing woman in the world. I got to photograph her and she was so extraordinary. She was so empowered and so funny — she really made me laugh. I knew Alexander McQueen and I think he was the epitome of how creative you can be as a Londoner.
What’s the best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?
When I say I’m a photographer, they always ask what I shoot. I say, “Oh, you know, portraits, famous people.” And the other day one cabbie replied, “It must be really hard.” I was like, “What do you mean?” and he goes, “Making those people look interesting.”
Who’s the best person you’ve photographed?
I say David Bowie, not because it’s my best shot, but because when I photographed him he made me realise that I should never presume anything about anyone. He walked into the room like he was Tigger from Winnie the Pooh and I had been expecting this cold, cool, distant guy. But he was so enthusiastic.
What’s your London secret?
I think going on the Thames Clipper is one of the most amazing things you can do. You can use your Oyster card on it. If I’ve got a couple of hours, I go to St Paul’s, go across the Millennium Bridge and then walk down the South Bank. You get to see a London that’s absolutely beautiful, that people have written songs about. That river is the one thing that holds us all together.
Aboard the Thames Clipper
Getty
What’s your favourite place to see art in London?
The Rothko room in Tate Modern is probably my favourite. I love the Photographers’ Gallery. I actually really like Madame Tussauds as well. I think it’s such a laugh but when you’re a Londoner you don’t really go there, which is sad.
What are you up to for work?
I’m working on a new book called The Absurdity, about my journey into, and experiments with, artificial intelligence. I have my first show of generative work in France this month, called La F.AI.M. I’m also doing a book of my contact sheets, out next month.
As told to Jessica Burrell
Rankin is lead judge at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, which take place on September 24