Peter Rowen Photography

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Peter Rowen Photography

Dublin based Commercial Photographer shooting for a wide and varied group of clients including Eircom, Sky, Channel 4, Live Nation, DAA, The Gate Theatre.

07/10/2026

Released in October 1998 to promote ‘The Best of 1980 - 1990’ Yep, that’s me in the gas mask 😆😎

05/10/2026

March 1983 - As far I know ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’ was climbing the charts fast in ‘83 and U2 needed to make a video fast. Who did they call? Me of course 😆 My memories from the shoot which took place in Paris are again pretty vague - I’m thinking the fumes from all the ‘genies’ must’ve messed with me brain box! I remember my Mum & Dad came along to look after me. I think we may have stayed and extra day or two. I remember being blown away by the height of Anton Corbjin. I was always small for my age but this dude was huge! Think I remember him jumping right over Larry Mullens drum kit at one point during the shoot. I remember telling the director, after watching one of the acrobats doing a cartwheel, that I could do cartwheels too. Two minutes later he had me cartwheeling up & down the street in my now famous little blue duffel coat. I remember they gave the little gyroscope that appears in the video, to keep after the shoot was done. I wonder where this now, I’ll probably come across it buried in the attic someday. Anyhow the whole thing was a cool experience. I have three children now myself and it’s funny looking back at all this stuff, I see so much of them in me then ❤️

The B&W’s are from one of Anton’s books called ‘U2 & i’ He very kindly sent me a copy many years back. Great book!

03/10/2026

In 1981 we moved from Cedarwood Road to a little place in the countryside near Ashbourne in County Meath. I was 7 and this place for me was like Heaven. We had huge gardens and were surrounded by fields in every direction. Wasn’t long before my Dad - who was a little eccentric and extremely impulsive - had amassed a small farm consisting of a goat, a horse, 2 donkeys, 2 dogs, about 10 cats and 500 chickens! I was a real out door kid and I absolutely loved the country life, learning to ride the horse, milk the goat and ate the eggs 😆

One day after school U2 and Anton Corbin arrived out to see if they could borrow me for an hour or two to take some pictures. We ended up shooting just down my road on the road itself, in a field on the left and in a little swamp on the opposite side where I used to play on a raft with my mates. Here’s a few pictures from that shoot..

As it happens I’m actually back living here in my childhood home which still feels like Heaven 😊I drive past the spots where these shots were done on a daily basis.

02/10/2026

One funny story that came from the release of WAR was the day that Michael Jackson had a huge record store in NYC close its doors so he could do a bit of shopping in privacy. Apparently he took a shine to a massive promo poster for the album which of course had my little mug on it. He asked could he have it so they promptly took it off the wall and he left the store with it rolled up under his arm 😆😮

01/10/2026

1982, 8 years old now and apparently U2 were stuck for ideas for their 3rd album cover. Not sure who it was but some genius came up with the idea of using me again. At this stage Guggi was working as my full time manager and chief negotiator. Mars Bars were no longer an accepted form of currency. Cash only thanks. I believe the U2ers were surprised to hear that my day rate had jumped ten fold but at that stage I was at the top of my game so it was a sort of take it or leave it situation. A deal was done and we got to work. WAR would go on to knock Micheal Jackson’s Thriller off the top spot in the UK charts the following year and I do remember one or two stories from the shoot which I’ll share tomorrow 😎🥳

30/09/2026

My memories from living on Cedarwood Road are pretty vague. I remember little moments here and there. I remember my four older brothers, Clive, Derek, Trevor & Andy used to sleep in a couple of wooden huts that my Dad had built in the back garden because there wasn’t enough room for us all in the 3 bed semi d! My Dad, who owned an electrical wholesale business at the time, had wired up an intercom system so we could communicate between the huts and the house. The whole set up was extremely impressive to me and my mates at the time. I remember one evening standing so close to the open fire in the back sitting room that my polyester/ plastic shorts ( long before plastic clothing was ever cool 😆 ) went up in flames! My fast acting Dad yanked them off me in seconds sparing me from any serious injuries. I remember in the year before we moved out I had started sneaking round to the local shops to hang out with the ‘corner boys’ as me Dad used to call them. That didn’t go down at all well. I remember getting into serious trouble one time for blowing all 3p of my pocket money on a few boxes of matches and doing a ‘genie’ with them all at once behind the wall on the green. Serious rush for a 6 year old 😆

One thing I don’t remember is the Boy shoot. Can’t remember one thing about it but here’s a funny quote from that shoot I just came across in an old book written by Bill Graham that someone gave me years back.. it’s called U2 The Early Days - another time, another place.

The concept for the sleeve of U2’s first album Boy was well thought out even before they secured a record deal. Peter had already featured on the cover of their first single - U23. When Hugo was shooting the session for the album sleeve Peter got restless. ‘Was this a big record for a big record company’ he asked Hugo. ‘Yes’ the photographer replied. ‘Then I’m worth more. Tell Bono I’m going on strike’ Peter countered. As Bono negotiated extra payment of another box of Mars Bars, Peter stood stock still with his hands behind his head, while Hugo snapped away. And so the cover was shot.

28/09/2026

1980 - Cedarwood Road. I was 6 years old, second youngest of 10. As me Mum Winnie used call me, Clive, Derek, Trevor, Andrew, Freddie, Jonny… Peter. She always got there eventually. We also had Gwen, Ruth, Miriam and me Dad, Robbie. We lived in number 5. Paul Hewson, or Bono as he likes to be known lived across the road in number 10. He was mates with a few of my brothers at the time. Andy, Trevor & Derek or Guggi as he likes to be known. The idea for putting my little head on the cover of their debut album was Bonos, as far as I know. Guggi acted as my ‘manager’ for the gig and a grand sum of one hundred Irish punts, plus a large bag of Mars Bars was agreed as the final figure - not exactly life changing but I was 6, the Mars Bars end of it was all I was really interested in..

26/09/2026

Where it all started. That’s me of course. 5 yrs old. First shoot with U2 I would go on to be photographed again age 6 for their debut album Boy and again aged 8 for their third studio album War. Aged 9, I was flown to Paris to star in their video for ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’ and then in 1997 my face was used again on the cover of their ‘Best Of’ 1980 - 1990 release. Apart from all that they also used my face on the cover of I think 5 singles as well as all sorts of merchandise, everything from mugs to mouse mats.. think it’s fair to say they’ve had pretty good mileage out me 😎 I’ve been asked so many times about it all over the years that I thought now was probably a good time to tell the actual story of how it all went down.. it’s not quite the story everyone thinks. It’s far more odd than most could imagine

17/08/2026

Healy Pass

20/07/2026

Just took this portrait of my brother Andy earlier today. His life story is pretty incredible. Part of that story was recently told in a great new documentary commissioned by RTÉ One It’s called ‘Bad, the song that saved my life’ and is currently available on the RTÉ Player Well worth a watch.

Address

Liberty Lane
Dublin
COUNTYDUBLIN

Website

http://www.peterrowen.com/

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