Richard Young, photographer

Mar 15, 2026

Richard Young, photographer once dubbed the 'king of the paparazzi', whose five-decade archive captures countless cultural icons. He tells vivid tales of gatecrashing Elizabeth Taylor, first shots of Paul Getty Jr., close friendships with rock stars and working at Electric Lady Studios. Stories touch on trust, nightlife, iconic portraits and a life spent at the centre of celebrity culture.

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INSIGHT

Trust Is Currency In Celebrity Rooms

Trust is currency in celebrity photography and opens doors that aggression cannot.
Richard Young says being polite, calm and using please and thank you earned him access into rooms others couldn't enter.

ANECDOTE

Amy Winehouse Cuddles Her Crying Mother

Richard Young describes photographing Amy Winehouse at a late-night Riverside Studios speakeasy where she won five Grammys.
He captured a moment of Amy holding her crying mother on stage, which he calls a beautiful, story-telling photograph.

ANECDOTE

Friendship With Mark Bolan Redirected His Life

A schoolfriend Mark Feld (later Mark Bolan) pulled Richard out of football and into Soho, shaping his future.
They skipped typical youth routines to hang in coffee bars and fashion streets, sparking creative influence.

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Richard Young is a photographer who was once known as the “king of the paparazzi”.

His portfolio is a who’s who of some of the biggest stars in film, music, stage and popular culture from the past fifty years. From gatecrashing Elizabeth Taylor’s party for Richard Burton’s 50th at the Dorchester to later being invited to photograph her Damehood celebrations. He can count the first photographs of Paul Getty Jr. after his kidnapping as just one of his many scoops.

He was born in Hackney to a Jewish family and his father ran a hosiery stall in Berwick Street market for more than sixty years. Richard has dyslexia and after being expelled from school at fourteen, he went to Soho and landed a job in fashionable clothes shop frequented by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, David Hockney and Francis Bacon.

A two-year stint in New York followed, working as a studio assistant at Electric Lady Studios, before he returned to London and found himself in a bookshop handed a camera and told to get on with photographing authors.

For the past fifty years, he has lived a nocturnal, high octane life of private jets, parties and exclusive events, eventually becoming as much a fixture in the world of celebrity as the people he photographed.

Richard lives in London with his wife Susan. His photography gallery is in London and has visitors from around the world.

DISC ONE: Rehab - Amy Winehouse DISC TWO: Just Walkin’ in the Rain - Johnny Ray DISC THREE: Cosmic Dancer - T. Rex DISC FOUR: Positively 4th Street - Bob Dylan DISC FIVE: Point Blank - Bruce Springsteen DISC SIX: Isn’t It a Pity - George Harrison DISC SEVEN: A Beautiful Day - Queen DISC EIGHT: The Gypsy’s Wife - Leonard Cohen

BOOK CHOICE: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse LUXURY ITEM: Caviar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Point Blank - Bruce Springsteen

Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Desert Island Discs has cast other photographers away to the island over the years including David Bailey, Sally Mann and Vanley Burke. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.