Eric Watson

Who was Eric Watson?

Eric Watson was an English photographer.

Watson moved to London in 1974 to study fine art at Hornsey Art College, where his contemporaries included Adam Ant and became an assistant to the photographer Red Saunders in 1980 and soon branched out as a photographer in his own right, primarily in the pop music business. From 1981 to 1985 he was one of the main photographers for "Smash Hits" magazine where his friend Neil Tennant was assistant editor.

When Tennant formed the Pet Shop Boys with Chris Lowe, Watson took the first photographs of them and was their main photographer and video director from 1984 to 1991. Watson was much in demand as a pop photographer throughout the 1980s, his images of Spandau Ballet and Frankie Goes to Hollywood being particularly memorable.

The first video he directed was "Opportunities" for Pet Shop Boys in 1985, his co-director being Andy Morahan. He subsequently directed a series of Pet Shop Boys videos, including "Suburbia", "What have I done to deserve this?", "Domino dancing" and "DJ Culture". He also directed videos for many other pop artists including Holly Johnson and Yaz before concentrating on TV commercials.