Born in 1951, in Haarlem, Jan took up photography in 1972. In 1970, whilst visiting his family in London, the young 19 year old thought that he had found his vocation by becoming a concert stagehand. Jan then definitively left the Netherlands and toured with music groups. In 1972, whilst working for an underground group from Manchester, Jan had to cross the Atlantic. ‘At the age of 21 I had a morbid fear of existence. Through socio-political expedients I was looking for pretexts to avoid reality and facing up to my desire to create.'He therefore took up photography alone. He dropped his militant activities and made contact with his former acquaintances in the world of music. He got on the music tour bandwagon again but this time as a photographer. In the course of a career spanning 39 years, Jan met rock and pop idols from the generations that followed.