Kate Bush, the Rolling Stones and a lot more at Harrogate's RedHouse Originals gallery

Photographer Gered Mankowitz – famous for iconic images of the Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Jam, Duran Duran, Wham!, Oasis and more – turned up in person at RedHouse Originals in Harrogate today, Friday with award-winning British artist Christian Furr.

The latter may have been commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 but it’s Gered’s photograph of Kate Bush in the late 1970s that inspired the most striking work in the new collaborative exhibition, whose public launch is tomorrow, Saturday, April 22.

Talking to the Harrogate Advertiser, Christian said: “When I saw the image of Kate which Gered sent me, I thought “that’s incredible”, that needs to be out there again, it needs to be seen by the public.

"The young Kate looks so strong but so vulnerable, too.

"Gered was there at a magic moment in this amazing musician’s life but it’s his eye and skill and personality that captured that magic for everyone.”

A true creative collaboration, Christian has also applied his immense artistic talents to Gered’s images of the Rolling Stones on the mid-1960s.

Gered remembers the decade as a magical time of creativity and challenging hidebound traditions in culture and life – and an era of honesty.

"Before I sent Christian the prints, we’ve already talked about the colours we want to use to transform my photographs and what feeling we want to get across.

"It’s a truly creative collaboration, rather than me just giving Christian some photos to do a ‘remix’ of.

"We also don’t want to lose the character of any of the great musicians who I photographed.”

Something of that lingering spirit of the 1960s comes across in the glittering luxurious, almost psychedelic new solo works by Christian Furr in his ‘Diamond Dust’ series which are just as worth seeing.

In Wonder starring Christian Furr and Gered Mankowitz runs until May 26.