A biography for David Baileyhasn’t been written yet.
“It's only a few nutcases who do art for themselves, like Van Gogh.”
“There's nothing wrong with being a fashion photographer, but it's a bit limited.”
“Being trendy is dangerous. I've never been trendy, which is why I've never really fallen out of favour.”
“Rather than knowing more, I think I've got more open-minded.”
“If I have any sexist feelings they are aimed at men: I hate manly men.”
“All I could do at school was paint and draw and that was the only time I ever passed any exam. It was the only thing I ever got right at school.”
“Nothing wrong with retouching - nothing new about retouching.”
“Rockers are the nicest people to photograph. They have no inhibitions.”
“I've always tried to do pictures that don't date.”
“I used to love the '20s.”
“I was dyslexic, so I was put in the silly class at school.”
“I sort of fall in love with them when I'm photographing them - men and women.”
“My exploits are nothing now to the average person.”
“Actors are hard to photograph because they never want to reveal who they are. You don't know if you're getting a character from a Chekhov play or a Polanski film. It depends what mood they're in.”
“I know everything should be photographed. It helps me make sense of my existence.”
“I guess I'm the last of the Cockneys.”
“I was a terrible father. The most I ever did for my children was to teach them chess. At least they got that.”
“I was surrounded by strong women so it had never even occurred to me that women were anything other than equal to men.”
“I have never met an ugly woman.”
“Girls are more attractive to me than dresses.”