He was born in London, and studied at Emanuel School before going on to study modern languages at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge - it was here, at Cambridge in 1966, that he met and photographed Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett, one of his first subjects. By 1972, Rock was becoming well-known as a photographer, particularly for his photographs of Bowie and Ronson during the Ziggy Stardust tour, on which M Mick Rock is a photographer best known for his iconic shots of 1970s glam rock icons such as Queen, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Lou Reed, Kevin Ayers, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and Blondie.