Sonic Editions

Few photographers have left as lasting a mark on popular culture as Anwar Hussein. With a career spanning more than four decades, Hussein’s lens captured not only history in motion but the faces that defined entire generations. From rock legends to royalty, his archive is both vast and deeply personal, a visual diary of the 20th century at its most compelling.

At Sonic Editions, we are proud to remember Hussein as our Photographer of the Month this September, a year on from his passing, celebrating a body of work that ranges from candid intimacy to cultural spectacle.

A Photographer of Rare Range

Hussein’s portfolio is unmatched in its breadth. He was the longest-serving official royal photographer, chronicling the British monarchy across decades with rare access and sensitivity. 

But Hussein was never defined by a single subject. His lens shifted seamlessly from palaces to stadiums, from the regal to the rebellious. He photographed rock royalty with the same instinctive clarity as he did actual royalty: KISS in full theatrical fire, Freddie Mercury commanding the stage, and Roger Moore as Bond. His archive reads like a who’s who of modern culture.

A Signature Style

What set Hussein apart was not just access, but approach. He never intruded, yet always revealed. His images hold a certain restraint, a refusal to over-direct or over-style. What emerges instead are photographs that feel lived in, moments suspended in time, real rather than constructed.

It’s this balance of intimacy and scale that makes his work timeless. Whether standing in front of thousands at a stadium gig or inside the private gardens of Kensington Palace, Hussein found humanity at the centre of spectacle.

Explore the Collection

At Sonic Editions, we are proud to offer a curated collection of Anwar Hussein’s work. These are not just prints; they are fragments of history, carefully framed and ready to live on in new spaces. From the glamour of rock stages to the quiet dignity of royal portraits, Hussein’s images continue to resonate, proof that his lens captured not just people, but eras.