Evan Dando photographed by Steffan Hill

I shot Evan in the reception of the Halcyon Hotel in Holland Park, London in 1996. He's the lead singer of a band called The Lemonheads. I knew he had a reputation for being a bit of a loose cannon, and was not disappointed! This guy had a huge problem with drugs, but I was told that all that was behind him. They had not arranged anywhere to do the photoshoot (usual story) so I asked the hotel if it was ok if I shot in the reception. It is quite a rock in roll place so they were cool with that.

I set my lights up and waited and eventually Evan walked in with his people and he was as pissed as a fart, totally off his head so it made for an interesting photo-shoot to say the least. He was generally rolling around the floor pulling faces, some of which worked and some of which definitely didn't. I have to admit I was struggling a bit. As with many hotels there was a large flower display handy, so I asked if I could 'borrow' a couple, they said of course and I think instantly regretted it as Evan pretty much destroyed their display.

If you look closely on this photo you can see the beer bottle to the right that was never far away from Evan during the photo-shoot. It certainly was not his first of the day!! Anyway, we had the flowers and the shoot progressed with him acting silly buggers, but eventually I persuaded him to calm done a little and captured the shot with him holding the flower in front of his eye. It's funny, he looks so serene, it totally hides what really went on in the shoot, but I was very pleased with the outcome, and to be fair to Evan, he brought a mile more energy and enthusiasm to the shoot than a lot of other musicians. I prefer my version with his mouth closed than the papers choice, as I feel he looks far more composed in mine and too wasted in the picture below...