- 15 hours ago
A Life In Ten Pictures - Season 3 Episode 1 - Putin
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:03I've photographed David Beckham quite a few times I laid out just a few things because my connection
00:16with David kind of goes back quite a way when Manchester United won the treble I was invited
00:24up there to do a formal portrait and actually my favorite pictures are these with them actually
00:31getting ready you get to see the dynamic of all of them and you get to see also Beckham sort
00:39of just
00:39as one of the team here is like fixing his tie here he's laughing at someone's joke so I pulled
00:47him aside and I said you know can I can I just take a couple of pictures of you on
00:51your own David
00:52I didn't know him at the time so he said sure he's very gracious he's very calm he's not rushing
01:00he has this sort of look that he's in control but fame is a machine that needs feeding
01:16he is the most influential footballer in the bigger sense of the word there's ever been
01:22he was as the tabloids described him the footballing hunk with the boy band looks
01:35he realized that this was someone who had more intent than just being an amazing person on a pitch
01:41Richard Desmond offered a million pounds he said you have to sign on the dotted line now
01:57Beckham from a very young age enjoyed playing with his public image
02:05shall we talk about the haircut first and get it out of the way if you want to go on
02:08he knows he's going to be photographed and he knows he's going to cause a sensation
02:20the sarong this shook the world didn't it
02:25the idea of somebody coming from football would embrace his gay audience was groundbreaking
02:40he's pushed boundaries of what's considered normal or acceptable
02:47brands need fame and fame need brands that was the perfect combination
02:57there is the lineup of brand Beckham
03:01you are projecting an image of a very wholesome perfect family unit
03:06the problem is as we all know families are not perfect
03:15brand Beckham is a business it's about making money
03:18he commodified himself he commodified his image
03:21to live in the spotlight you have to be really really committed
03:25david has proved to be probably one of the world's greatest celebrities who have mastered that
03:48in 1986 like so many other young boys the 11 year old david beckham loved nothing more than a kickabout
03:56in his local park
03:58but there were already signs that this boy was different
04:03i first became aware of david beckham as a school friend of my nephew
04:10he often spoke about his friend even a very young age he was a really really good footballer
04:17and it turned out to be david
04:21lawrence lustig was working as a fleet street photographer
04:25when he heard that his nephew's friend david had won a national football skills competition
04:32the prize was a trip to barcelona
04:36i thought this is a really good story and i was the first to go and photograph him
04:43he was playing for a team called ridgeway rovers they played on this very ground
04:48and i just wanted to show the excitement of a young lad going off to train with barcelona
05:09in the middle of the picture you may notice a familiar face and that is a young david beckham
05:15jumping over his teammates this is my version of him celebrating
05:22my name is michael hyde and i was fortunate enough to know david
05:25because we played in the same sunday team from his youngsters
05:31i remember this photo this is me here the one laughing
05:34one of the smallest ones in the team with a big grin on my face
05:38watching david jump over some of the our teammates
05:42we were probably the smallest in the group to be honest with you diminutive
05:46about immense talent obviously david had immense talent
05:50david fantastic at striking the ball at a young age
05:52his quality was way above the general age group of the players we played against
05:57david was addicted to football driven focused from a young age
06:04the crucial part of that picture is getting david at his full height
06:11that's why if you look i've got their heads sort of leaning into each other
06:16because i needed to make sure that david was high enough
06:20that's where your hand eye and anticipation come into it
06:25you have to make sure that you're bang on the button there
06:33the young david beckham was flying high
06:37and soon it was the turn of television producers
06:41to see something in the football prodigy
06:44why are you special in the sports world
06:47well i run the bubble chart in the soccer school
06:50comp finals skills finals
06:52brilliant so where are you off to
06:55barcelona
06:55come on come and show me how you did it
07:01oh
07:02hey
07:09the boy from chingford was quickly learning how the media operated
07:14and what it required from him
07:18four years later in 1990 he would be back on television
07:22this time when his childhood dream came true
07:26we're going to meet one 14 year old boy who's just signed for manchester united
07:30there's a picture of you there signing with alance ferguson
07:34what was it like when you signed that how did you feel
07:36well it was brilliant straight from when we left here
07:40when we got there it was just brilliant
07:44signing the paper and i just couldn't believe it was happening
07:49i was elated
07:50this is one of our players one of us
07:53so you somehow have success through his success
07:55you know this person you know you're happy you're glad
07:58i think all the team was
08:00beckham and his young teammates at united became known as the class of 92
08:06they were all gifted footballers on the cusp of success
08:10but there was still something about beckham that made him stand out
08:19a champagne breakfast for the new premiership champions
08:22one of the most extraordinary aspects of this team's phenomenal success
08:27is that many of the players are still so young
08:32by 1997 the 22 year old beckham was catching the eye of both fans and newspaper editors
08:45his looks his skills and his swagger made him a favorite on the terraces and in the tabloids
08:52and very soon he learned that his image could sell more than just newspapers
08:59he started conventionally enough by advertising football boots
09:03but he soon moved into uncharted territory
09:07that played not just to his football talent but to his pop star looks
09:12real cream, new high performance gels, wax and styling cream
09:20when we started to see the way he looked, the way he dressed, the way he turned up
09:25suddenly you realise that this was someone who had more dimension
09:28and kind of more intent than just being an amazing person on a pitch
09:33there he is, baby, straight round, baby, let's speak
09:36ah, there I am
09:38hanging on in there
09:40running behind, holding a notebook
09:41the old fashioned way
09:44Sarah Bailey was a journalist given access to follow beckham
09:48on the day he was launched as the new face of Brill Cream
09:54we'd collected David at Heathrow
09:57we all jammed into the black can
10:00it was quite hard to get the conversation rolling
10:05he was not comfortable
10:09he hadn't got his patter sorted
10:14Beckham himself knew that his strength lay in his appearance
10:18rather than how he sounded
10:20my grandad used to use it
10:22and I used to try and sleep a bit
10:25the look and feel was so male
10:29so masculine, so sort of hunky for the day
10:32and then he would speak and it was a kind of
10:34oh, okay, I didn't expect the voice
10:37to kind of be as high as it was
10:41so I'm sure they kept the speaking to a minimum
10:43for very, very good reasons
10:48he may not have been a confident talker
10:50but Beckham knew he had something more than just footballing talent
10:54he had the look that everyone wanted
10:57and that was worth something
11:00there was something new about him as a sports star
11:04he was, as the tabloids described him
11:06you know, the footballing hunk with the boy band looks
11:12Brands need fame and fame need brands
11:14that was the perfect combination
11:19But Beckham's look was a far cry from most other footballers
11:23and a departure from the game's macho culture
11:26dominated by hard men on and off the pitch
11:33football was a different game
11:35it was a more physical game
11:37and it was viewed as a male dominated sport
11:41off the pitch, the crowds were essentially male
11:45there wasn't many women that you saw going to football
11:51but by the late 90s, football was moving with the times
11:55male grooming was in
11:57and Beckham quickly became its new poster boy
12:01The term metrosexual was coined in 1994
12:05and Beckham knowingly or unknowingly
12:08represented this new type of masculinity
12:12and young masculine beauty
12:18Men's attitude towards the way they look
12:20and how they're groomed is changing
12:23Have you got a good moisturiser for men?
12:26I've got one, it's perfect
12:27It's called The Present by Philosophy
12:29It's all free so they love it because it's like an afternoon
12:32It's just amazing
12:37Men, be they gay or straight
12:39actually caring about cleaning their face
12:42and grooming their hair
12:43making yourself look more handsome
12:46more acceptable, you know, for whoever you wanted to attract
12:51Metrosexual and Beckham became two words that you saw in sentences quite a lot
12:56He did give permission to have a conversation for men
13:01about having pride in how they groomed
13:04what they bought
13:04maybe no longer stealing their wives products but having their own products
13:09and of course he was essentially a beautiful looking man
13:13but very much a man
13:16David Beckham was starting to realise that his face could be his fortune
13:20but that same afternoon after the Brillcreme press call
13:24he also undertook his first fashion photoshoot for Sky Magazine
13:32Magnum photographer Peter Marlow would capture a young man as comfortable in a suit as a football kit
13:39I look at these contact sheets and I see a sort of innocence and a sort of goofiness
13:45he's a little cautious, a little shy
13:50I can see him warming up for the camera
13:52and yet on the left hand side when the pose is coming together
13:57it suddenly snaps together, you know, his body looks like, you know, a male model
14:03this is his potential as a fashion icon
14:22he's got his weight over on one hip, he's got one leg cocked
14:27so you've got this kind of lovely serpentine body shape that he's presenting
14:31and the fact that he's got his hands behind his back and he's got the jacket pulled back
14:36it's really emphasising these broad shoulders, the tiny waist
14:40a lot of attention pulled to the crotch area
14:43it's very much making you aware of what will soon be referred to as golden balls as golden balls
14:50as a setting for photographs of young men
14:54the urban rooftop is one that I would associate more with the music world
14:58so you get this imagery of, you know, quite grumpy looking guys
15:04looking disaffected and like they don't fit into the street level world of the day to day
15:10but they're up there on the roof kind of fomenting revolution
15:13so I think it's trying to infuse him with this more kind of urban swagger
15:18he's not really performing as David Beckham the footballer
15:21it's very much more like an acting role
15:26the choice to dimensionalise his presence beyond being on the field
15:32was obviously super smart and super unusual
15:35because of course the more you can dimensionalise
15:39then actually the better a celebrity you become
15:42you learn from how the media reacts
15:44you learn from how the population that you're trying to reach reacts
15:48you learn about the imagery and that's super important
15:54with the Brill Cream launch
15:56Beckham was learning how to make money from promoting other people's products
16:01but he was also learning how to sell himself
16:11and he was about to experience a whole new level of celebrity
16:17as one half of the country's most talked about couple
16:28In early 1998, Beckham and Victoria Adams, Posh Spice, announced their engagement
16:35Victoria, can you show us?
16:37I'm embarrassed now, stop it
16:40when he met her, she was far more famous than he was
16:44she was the one that had the security force around her
16:47she was the one who had the sort of machinery around her
16:50much more than he did
16:51he didn't have that sort of celebrity management
16:54he had sports management
16:55and so he learnt from her world
17:01Alan Edwards was in charge of PR for the Spice Girls at the time
17:05and saw first-hand Beckham's arrival at the heart of a showbiz circus
17:10David was incredibly shy
17:17when I first met him, he'd literally be looking down at the ground when he was talking to you
17:24but he kind of enjoyed it, he treated it all as an adventure
17:31David and Victoria were hot property for the tabloids
17:35and everyone was on the hunt for the next lucrative photo of them
17:48I had a call from the office on my car phone
17:52saying, you've got to go to Nice tonight
17:57I had a bag packed
17:5980 to 100 rolls of film in the car
18:01all the gear
18:04Harry Page was following a tip-off to the Sun newspaper
18:07that the Spice Girls were staying at Elton John's house
18:11in the south of France
18:13Out came a Bentley with posh Spice in the back
18:19and to our amazement
18:21David Beckham
18:25The car drove off very slowly
18:29Within 20 minutes
18:31we arrived at a hilltop town
18:40The car pulled up here, the Bentley
18:43and they got out of the car and walked through these gates
18:46obviously they were going out for dinner
18:49At this point here, the path widened
18:53so I think I must have nipped ahead of them
18:56they would have walked towards me
18:58and I picked up the camera
19:01and went...
19:17Thomas Whittaker, the reporter on the paper
19:21I remember him shouting out
19:23Crikey, he's wearing a skirt
19:27David's got a bit of a smirk on his face
19:29I certainly don't think they minded us being there at all
19:32In fact, I would suggest that we were supposed to be there
19:35because how would we have known they were in the south of France
19:37in the middle of nowhere
19:39Even in those early days of Beckham fashion
19:43I think he knew that this was going to bring a reaction
19:47The photo was splashed across the front page of The Sun
19:53What had been a story about Victoria and the Spice Girls
19:57was now very much about David
20:00The sarong, this shook the world, didn't it?
20:04How unthinkable for a footballer
20:07to wear something like that
20:09The fans, you know, they were like
20:12What's going on here? I can't believe it
20:15He's wearing a dress
20:18The sarong is a Jean Paul Gaultier design
20:21This shows a true sophistication
20:25It's a very in-the-know outfit
20:29that signals to the tastemakers of the luxury fashion houses
20:35that this is a guy who gets it
20:43Famous, famous picture
20:45It was a big cultural moment
20:48It changed people's attitudes towards footballers in a certain way
20:54but it mainly changed people's attitudes towards him
20:57The first time I met him, he was very tentative
21:01and she was the dominant force
21:05She was the one who was slightly ahead
21:08She was the one who would speak to the journalist first
21:11because she was a pop star
21:12She was used to doing all this nonsense
21:14But with this picture with the sarong
21:17you can tell that he's starting to take control
21:21What I find really fascinating with this image
21:25is that he is absolutely the centre of attention
21:29It's like the light is drawn to him
21:31The light is drawn to the highlights of his hair
21:33It's drawn to his face
21:35and he's at this point holding the hands
21:37of one of the most famous and fancied women in the world
21:41and she's fading into the background
21:44She's looking down
21:45and all of the attention is on him
21:47So he's the peacock in this image
21:51He's here in quite a daring bit of kit
21:54wearing it right out in public when he knows he's going to be photographed
21:57and he knows he's going to cause a sensation
22:03This was probably the moment when all the international brands could see what this duo could do for them
22:13Despite the ridicule from some at the time, David Beckham refused to be shamed
22:18He had a new marketable asset
22:21He was a fashion trendsetter
22:24There has been a complicity which has helped his image
22:27because for that to work, for that relationship to really work
22:31you need two equal, enthusiastic partners
22:33You've got the media and you've got him
22:36Beckham was enjoying being a celebrity off the pitch
22:39and a star player on it
22:41The public and the papers couldn't get enough
22:45But less than a month after Sirongate
22:48he was about to grab the headlines again
22:50for all the wrong reasons
22:53Beckham had been selected to start for England
22:56in their World Cup last 16 match against Argentina
23:00Among English supporters, hopes were high
23:04The streets of England lay almost completely deserted this evening
23:08with much of the country in front of a television
23:15It's an England free kick
23:18As Beckham lay on the ground
23:19he did move his right leg
23:21in Simeone's direction
23:22but it seemed to be something and nothing
23:25and a red card for David Beckham
23:30It was an awful time to receive a red card in an international
23:35and one wonders as he goes down the tunnel
23:38whether he takes England's World Cup hopes with him
23:44It was an awful time to receive a red card
23:45Well, we're never going to forget this, are we?
23:47The expression of the referee, what a twit
23:49I was at that game, I was in the stand
23:51David gets himself sent off
23:54Suddenly, the world changed
23:59After Beckham's sending off, England went on to lose on penalties
24:05and Beckham became a national hate figure overnight
24:11This is such an extraordinary photograph
24:14and you really don't need to know anything about football
24:18to read this as an image of high drama
24:22It's got this amazing composition with this piece of evidence being held aloft
24:27right at the top of the image
24:29and we've got David Beckham's body turning away
24:32and you've got this crowd that's formed against him on the other side
24:36So it is him in this moment of isolation
24:39For me, this really fits into that grand tradition of history painting
24:44where we have this pivotal, decisive moment that's captured in a picture
24:49and the way that people are looking it directs your eye to the important objects
24:56and it's just absolutely that pivotal moment in a story that tells you what's going to happen next
25:04Even if we're not consciously making these connections to a historic work of art
25:08the power of an image like this really holds in your mind
25:12and it becomes the image of this match
25:16When he got the red card, the media threw everything at him
25:20It was very important and football's more important than anything
25:28Sending off, you know, cost us dearly
25:31Gutted is the word
25:34All that bad sort of previous 80s tribal vibe came out
25:40and he took the blame for the whole thing, which is ridiculous
25:46They had a dartboard in one paper, they had an effigy somewhere else
25:52It was so disgusting and violent
25:56He was like public enemy number one
25:59The sending off now threatened to destroy Beckham's poster boy image
26:04He needed to find a way back
26:09Tonight, David Beckham is on his way to New York
26:12to meet up with his fiancée, Victoria Adams, Posh Spice
26:19It's a bit heavy, to be honest
26:22Alan Edwards agreed to take on Beckham
26:26and tried to turn around the footballer's now-hated image
26:31This is an old Ryman's folder and we would have had many in our office
26:35and we put in press cuttings and PR plans
26:39And we're talking about our primary plan
26:42is to continue the successful rehabilitation of David's image post-World Cup
26:47by promoting David as down-to-earth, stylish and cutting edge
26:51We know David's shyness is sometimes misinterpreted as being distant
26:55to that result that we consider interview technique training
26:59so that David would be equipped
27:00I mean, it's funny, it all seems so innocent
27:09Step back! Step back, lads!
27:14Soon, Alan and Beckham would get a chance to try and eclipse the image of the infamous red card
27:24In July 1999, a media scrum greeted guests arriving at a secluded castle in Ireland
27:30The venue for David Beckham's marriage to Victoria Adams
27:36The wedding offered the couple the chance to rehabilitate David's image
27:40after the disaster of the World Cup
27:43They did so by selling exclusive coverage to OK Magazine
27:51Richard Desmond, the legendary owner of OK Magazine, offered a million pounds for the pictures at the wedding
27:57I had to go over and have this meeting with him
27:59And I'm thinking, we've only been offered 125 grand by all the others
28:04He said, there's only one proviso, Alan
28:06You have to sign on the dotted line now
28:09So I took my life in my hands, signed it away
28:13The next morning, I finally get hold of Victoria
28:15And there was this silence in the other end
28:17And she said, Alan, tell me you signed it
28:22I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, I did actually, as it goes, you know
28:26Sorry, lads, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong
28:28Then there's all the logistics of protecting the photographs
28:34We'd go round the site to make sure there was no areas that people would be there
28:38We'd literally be looking in the bushes, or someone could be hiding there
28:43But there was a breach, and the sun splashed the first grainy images
28:49Including the couple on a pair of matching thrones
28:54It confirmed a huge public appetite for a glimpse of the wedding
29:00Before OK Magazine published its official version
29:06Every restaurant or bar, there'd be people passing one copy of the magazine around
29:11Because it was sold out, and you could only get one
29:13I mean, I think Richard went on to earn millions of pounds out of these pictures
29:17So it was a genius investment
29:19And of course, David and Victoria were building up the biggest surprise ever
29:22David was going to be wearing a purple suit
29:38It was fun, it was a laugh, and all the thrones and stuff
29:43You could argue maybe that was the birth of super-celebrity era
29:48Maybe it starts then
29:50It's pretty grim, isn't it?
29:52Now, would we call that mauve?
29:55I think the shoes are mauve as well, aren't they?
29:59That's not right
30:02You can look at the weddings of many, many, many celebrities
30:08And because there is always an expectation that you have to be slightly
30:12You have to turn everything up to 11
30:15That it often goes wrong
30:18This is fashion as entertainment
30:21It's so fun
30:22There he is, Barbie's Ken
30:26But, in fact, there's more credibility to these outfits than you might suspect
30:31They're the work of Antonio Berardi
30:34Who is one of the real names of Core Britannia fashion
30:39These are images that are impossible for any of us to forget
30:44The now Mr and Mrs Beckham had even dressed their new baby, Brooklyn, in a matching outfit
30:52The colour, along with the thrones and the setting, suggested a tongue-in-cheek nod to royalty
31:00Going right back to Rome, where you could have, you know, purple border on your toga if you were very,
31:06very powerful
31:09All the way through to the British royal family, where they've got this association with purple being the colour of
31:14royalty
31:16It's a very purple picture, and David's kneeling on a flag, a purple flag, which looks like it's got gold
31:24embroidery
31:25I'm presuming with their insignia on it
31:28The whole setting of this photograph feels like they're in this royal estate where they've got this carcelated gatehouse behind
31:35them
31:36And among the images that caught a lot of flack in the moment were images of these matching thrones
31:42And I think the idea was that they sat as the prince and princess on their matching thrones
31:47With this idea of them being the new royalty, Britain's new royal family
31:53Prince David and Princess Victoria
31:56The wedding photos were selling a fairytale royal romance
32:00With Beckham cast as Prince Charming
32:03Best man Gary Neville even wore a nod to an earlier Beckham fashion statement
32:09But the images didn't go down well with everyone
32:14They were attacked in the press for the extravagance of the wedding
32:21But I think there was a lot of snobbery attached to it
32:25And I think that there was an element of the press saying
32:30Oh, I'm sorry, I mean really?
32:33You know, working class people behaving like this?
32:36It's a bit tacky, isn't it?
32:38And that was class snobbery
32:44The wedding photos got tongues wagging
32:47Which was precisely what David and Victoria intended
32:51He understood the power and value of an attention-grabbing image
32:57From now on, he would lean into surprising the press and the public at every possible opportunity
33:05Shall we talk about the haircut first and getting it out of the way?
33:07If you want to, go on
33:10Beckham, from a very young age, enjoyed playing with his public image
33:14You could tell that he enjoyed the attention and also the attention from the media
33:20And we became complicit very, very quickly
33:24New brand deals followed
33:26From sunglasses
33:29To fizzy drinks
33:32He was also finding less traditional ways to broaden the appeal of the Beckham brand
33:41You're this gay icon too, the gays love you
33:44And you talk
33:46But they do!
33:47It's true, isn't it?
33:47And that doesn't embarrass you, does it?
33:49No, not at all
33:49No, not at all
33:54Beckham was approached to appear on the cover of the leading gay men's lifestyle magazine, Attitude
34:02Its editor was Adam Matera
34:06We had done a poll with readers to find out who was the most flexible man at the time
34:10And I think it was between Robbie Williams, Russell Crowe, who was huge in Gladiator at the time, and Beckham
34:18And what we found was overwhelming
34:20I mean, I think we gave up after about the first ten minutes
34:23Because it was like everyone was saying to her Beckham
34:25There was no contest
34:40He dyed his hair specifically for the shoot, which we didn't even know he was going to do
34:44So that was cool really, because it gave another little twist to the whole thing
34:48You'd have like a test Polaroid
34:50And I remember them all being laid out on the table
34:52And David coming over and us looking at them together
34:55And David being very kind of proactive in kind of like, you know, I think we should do more like
35:00this
35:00And really, you know, having an opinion and being participating in how the shoot should be
35:07It was the first time that a gay magazine had had an exclusive photo shoot with a footballer
35:11And certainly a footballer at their prime that was like the biggest star of the day
35:15The idea of somebody coming from football, which was always seen as this, you know, bastion of real unreconstructed masculinity
35:26Would embrace his gay audience and actually do an exclusive cover shot for the magazine
35:33Was groundbreaking
35:34And it represented a real shift, I think, in things, in culture opening up
35:40It was seen that way, it really represented something, a moment in culture, I think
35:47In the football world, it was very difficult to come out
35:50Very few footballers did and they were vilified for it
35:55Attitudes towards homosexuality and sexuality that in any way that wasn't completely traditional
36:03Was kind of frowned upon
36:05But Beckham couldn't give a toss about that
36:10I generally think that he personally was unafraid
36:12And I think his team followed his lead
36:14And he knew that it would be good for his brand
36:18This is another demographic which he can appeal to
36:21He's got women, he's got gay men, he's got straight men
36:24People either want to shag him or they want to be him
36:28It was all, obviously, all part of a bigger PR plan that was going on
36:32Because his team were very strategic
36:35It was important to hit every demographic
36:39Make sure that he was known, he was loved, he was, you know, elevated to every possible sector
36:49Beckham was finding new ways to put his image to work
36:52To expand his brand
36:58And as he grabbed more media attention with a move to Real Madrid in Spain
37:03He made another surprising transformation
37:06From a commercial powerhouse
37:08Into a work of art
37:16My name is Sarah Howgate
37:18I am the Senior Curator of the Contemporary Collections at the National Portrait Gallery
37:25One of the most exciting parts of my role here is to work on the commissioning process
37:35David Beckham was an obvious choice because he was such a phenomenal footballer
37:41And he was very much in the news, in the public eye
37:44And the idea came about that actually Sam Taylor-Johnson would be a great person for that commission
37:52She was known for her very interesting portraits of male subjects
37:58And this sort of questioning masculinity in the traditional sense
38:05Sam Taylor-Johnson had recently produced a series of photos of famous actors
38:10Such as Laurence Fishburne and Daniel Craig, called Crying Men
38:16Showing a vulnerable side to them, at odds with tough guy's stereotypes
38:23In that spirit, she would now produce a portrait of David Beckham
38:27Unlike any that had come before
38:35It portrays David Beckham asleep in a hotel bedroom in Madrid
38:43I really remember the first time Sam showed me the portrait
38:48I was just really engaged, really enthralled by this beautiful piece of film
38:54And the fact that at times it appears to be a still image, like a painting
38:59And then suddenly he moves and it becomes a moving image
39:04And then it goes back to being a still image again
39:07It's incredibly engaging to watch
39:23It was lit with a single light source
39:26And that gives it sort of an old master feeling
39:33I'm thinking about an artist like Caravaggio
39:35In that it has this dark and this shade and these beautiful warm hues
39:44It's almost painterly in the way that it's been filmed
39:49It is a very intimate view
39:52He does appear to be asleep
39:54And according to his mother Sandra, he was asleep
39:57And he's doing who knows what
40:00He's moving around and it's a very intimate sort of erotic at times image
40:08He's really pushing the different ways that you can be seen to be a man
40:12You know, as a sportsman he also is the acme of what's understood to be the kind of masculine archetype
40:19He's very physical, he works with his body, he's very muscular
40:21And it's very interesting that these two elements really go together in the same person
40:31Just three weeks before the video portrait was due to be unveiled
40:35A very different image of Beckham was hitting the headlines
40:40In this exclusive footage, ITV News has the first video images of Beckham with the woman who claims to have
40:46been his lover
40:48Rebecca Luz, his PA at the time, is set to spill yet more beans in a television interview this week
40:55From a professional point of view, you just see this come out and think, goodness, this is going to run
41:00and run
41:00Here is the golden boy with the golden relationship
41:05Things might have been controversial on the field, but there wasn't controversy off the field
41:10So it burst a bubble
41:15Despite the allegations, which Beckham has always denied
41:18Back in London, the launch of Sam Taylor Johnson's video portrait went ahead as planned
41:26We are for a moment allowed to join an intimate circle
41:28Until recently, only Victoria, Brooklyn and Romeo
41:32Apparently were allowed to gaze lovingly on this head rested on a pillow
41:37Of course, it's been suggested there may have been a few others
41:42I guess the press did pick up on the fact that he was sleeping in a hotel bedroom
41:47And that was used in some red-top headlines
41:51Now you too can sleep with David Beckham
41:56Beckham's carefully curated public image had never been more under threat
42:10But rather than hide away, his response was to use his body to tell a different story
42:22My name is Platon
42:24I'm a photographer and a storyteller
42:27And I've photographed David Beckham quite a few times
42:35I was invited to Madrid in 2006
42:41By now, David is probably the world's most famous person
42:49Fame is a machine that needs feeding
42:51And even on a day off, there is no day off
42:55You've got to keep going
42:56So that's where I come in
42:58And I was invited to go and take pictures of him
43:01For the machine
43:19For the machine
43:21It's really nice
43:22It's epic
43:25I often shoot with a wide-angle lens
43:28In this case, everything fell into place beautifully
43:31Because the lens almost plays along with his stature
43:36And it broadens him even more
43:38So it brings out this sort of power that he has
43:43Without even flexing his muscles
43:46In the way that he's being lit
43:48They're really focusing in on the chiseled detail of his musculature
43:52Within a couple of years of this portrait being taken
43:56We start to see Beckham up there on our billboards
44:01Advertising underpants for Armani
44:02And he's there just in his briefs
44:05And the main attraction, of course, is his chiseled body
44:08Which is very much presented almost as a kind of artwork for our admiration
44:13It's a very deliberate evocation of, you know, classical sculpture
44:19That we all know from museums
44:21But they're impeccably defined muscles
44:24They're not meant to be attainable, real human bodies
44:27They're meant to be absolute perfection
44:30And, of course, in this era with this great emphasis on masculine body beautiful
44:37This ideal becomes something that people are actually expected or anticipated to have
44:43It is like a Greek statue
44:46It's statuesque
44:48What's really interesting to me is the mystery of it
44:51Because he's not even looking at you
44:54And we always think of David as looking at the camera
44:57Such a handsome man
44:59I must have been crazy
45:01But art is made of a series of stories that happen behind the scenes
45:12I was taking pictures of David
45:15Suddenly, the family arrive
45:17And there's sort of family chaos
45:21They all have this moment together
45:24And for a little bit of privacy, they all turn around
45:28So they're facing away from us
45:30And they all have this beautiful group hug
45:34And then afterwards, I approached Victoria
45:38And I said, could I have your permission to recreate that for a formal picture?
45:45She said, I hope you don't mind
45:48But I just want to be a mother today
45:51But you know what? David will do a back shot
45:54So she said, David, will you just turn around?
45:58He wants to do a picture of your back
45:59So David said, okay
46:01So I quickly ran on set, grabbed my camera
46:05Took maybe two or three frames of David
46:12Something happened
46:15Because in theory, he was alone now
46:19And you would think that it's quite sad that his family aren't with him
46:25But then you start looking at the tattoos on his back
46:30And you realise that the love of his children
46:33They're tattooed onto his back
46:36Romeo
46:38Cruise
46:39Brooklyn
46:42So, in many ways, it is a family picture
46:58Beccombe retired from football in 2013
47:02But he continued to use his image as currency
47:07For his own benefit
47:09And for others
47:11What Beccombe has done since he stopped playing football
47:13Should be taught at Harvard Business School
47:16It's kind of amazing
47:17He has managed to become a kind of institution
47:23National treasure
47:24And also still keeping his one foot in the kind of fashion world
47:34David Beckham may wear the names of his family on his back
47:39But now, he would also make them part of his brand
48:01This is a rather beautiful shot, isn't it?
48:04And there is the line-up of Brand Beckham
48:07Next to David is Anna Wintour, the iconic editor-in-chief of American Vogue
48:14Actually looking like she's enjoying the view of this beautiful, very powerful family
48:22From a fashion perspective, this is very much a status image
48:25Because seats on the front row of a fashion show are very sought after
48:29And you don't have just one seat here, you have the entire family, including all four children
48:35But what's really interesting is how styled this whole image is
48:40The kids are beautifully dressed, the parents are beautifully dressed
48:44Everybody's hair looks wonderful, they were all in not matching but very complimentary outfits
48:50And this is really the Beckhams as a brand, as a family, as a brand
48:56This shot for me sums up some of the journey of the Beckham family
49:02From being Beckham, to being Beckham and Victoria, to being Beckham, Victoria and children
49:10It's the whole family, they're coming as a package
49:15You are projecting an image of a very wholesome, secure, perfect family unit
49:23The problem is, as we all know, families are not perfect
49:29Families are problematic
49:31And there is a sense that you're sort of playing out the family in public
49:38It's a real-life family drama that's become a worldwide obsession
49:44In a six-page Instagram post, Brooklyn lays bare his true feelings
49:50One of the most famous families on earth, rocked by a social media post
49:57Using the family, if that isn't too harsh a word
50:02As marketing, and as brand building
50:07I think that, I think that isn't as successful
50:11There's something kind of wonderful about it
50:15But it does sometimes feel exploitative
50:19And potentially harmful
50:23Over the next few years, Beckham's painstakingly constructed image would come under fire
50:30As the man famously of few words
50:33Saw some rude ones of his own leak to the press
50:36Revealing the ambition behind the brand
50:39What next for David Beckham after those humiliating emails
50:42Which showed he was cross about not getting a knighthood
50:45It is claimed that David Beckham wrote to his PR representative
50:49They're a bunch of, expletive, I expected nothing less
50:54The fuss around the discovery of the emails
50:57He didn't come out of that very well
51:00Then in 2022, Beckham put at risk the hard work he'd done
51:04Building a profile outside football
51:07When he became an ambassador for the World Cup
51:12Hi David, how is it to be in Qatar?
51:14Do you regret this partnership now?
51:17When he was the ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar
51:19Which has an appalling legacy in terms of gay rights
51:23It's very draconian, very oppressive
51:25The idea that David, who had been elevated to this status
51:28As seen as some kind of, like, gay icon
51:31Would then do that
51:32It's kind of like...
51:36You know, it's not good
51:39Beckham's association with Qatar
51:41Was seen as a betrayal by many in the LGBTQ plus community
51:46Leading to comedian Joe Lycett taking matters into his own hands
51:51I asked Attitude if I could shred it
51:53And they were more than happy to oblige
52:03There's a lot of controversy around Qatar
52:06And safe talent managers don't want their clients
52:11To do deals with brands or in areas that could backlash
52:15His team would have absolutely analysed all of that context
52:20And weighed up all of the pluses and the minuses
52:22It's not going to be some random decision
52:25Frank Beckham is a business
52:26It's about making money
52:27He commodified himself, he commodified his image
52:30And so, if there's an opportunity to make money
52:33He's going to take it
52:35And I think, is it surprising? No
52:37Is it morally objectionable? Absolutely
52:43Beckham's reputation had hit a rocky patch
52:46But his instinct for a memorable image hadn't deserted him
52:50And later that year, it would help him once again
52:53To win back the hearts of the public
52:55Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
52:59These are some of the thousands upon thousands
53:02Waiting to file by the coffin of Her Majesty the Queen
53:08Amid this immense wave of gratitude and love for Queen Elizabeth
53:13One of football's greatest stars
53:16Just one of the crowd
53:20I thought it was actually one of the most amazing things that I've seen him do
53:24When he stood in line after the Queen died
53:28That ability to just be one of the people
53:31Have no special treatment and just pay his respects in a very patriotic way
53:36That just blew everything else of negativity of anything that might have been going on away
53:40Because you admire him for making that decision and being so dedicated to his country
53:48Some commentators sensed an ulterior motive for his actions
53:53Some people did accuse David of exploiting her death
53:57But if he genuinely wanted to show respect
54:01Then what other way was he going to do it?
54:04He's David Beckham. He's one of the most famous people in the world
54:11Whatever his motivation
54:13In 2025, Beckham achieved the royal recognition that meant so much to him
54:19A knighthood
54:26At the same time, he embraced a new identity
54:30That, on the surface, seemed far removed from his origins in East London
54:38The only ever guest editor other than a royal, I believe
54:48Oh, here we go
54:52This image is amazing
54:54The country squire and his tweeds and his shepherd's stick
55:13It's so cheeky, this image, isn't it?
55:15With the tattoos
55:18Amazing tweeds
55:19The geezer haircut
55:20I mean, he makes the country look very rock and roll, I must say
55:28This is Beckham's rather brilliant reinvention as country Beckham
55:34Everything about this picture is spot on
55:38He's got the right shooting jacket
55:40He's got the right breeches
55:42He's got the boots
55:44Yeah, even the right shirt and tie
55:47That is a good weave though, isn't it?
55:51I like the fact that he's shown in motion
55:53So he's walking towards us
55:55He looks like he's coming to greet us
55:57He's walking through his grounds, his land
56:00And he's looking very proprietorial
56:02So he's here presenting himself as a landowner
56:06This absolutely fits into the portrait tradition
56:11Of wealthy men being painted within the land that they own
56:18And we think of people commissioning artists like Gainsborough
56:21To portray them surrounded by the trappings of their wealth
56:27Looking very much like ancient aristocracy
56:33With more than 88 million followers on Instagram
56:37Beckham could now control the narrative
56:39To be all things to all people
56:42Celebrating his new nobility image
56:44While also keeping his working class credentials alive
56:49Posting a selfie in his favourite pie and mash shop
56:51As he shared the news of his knighthood with his mum and sister
56:58Beckham has not relinquished his past at all
57:01He's very proud of his past
57:02Proud of his family
57:04Proud of his origins
57:07He has stretched the idea of what it means to be working class
57:13During 30 years in front of the lens
57:16David Beckham has used the power of images to transform himself
57:21From talented footballer
57:22To global brand
57:25And from chingford lad
57:28To establishment gent
57:30I think it's really interesting how he's
57:34Pushed boundaries of what's considered normal
57:37Or acceptable
57:38Particularly in terms of the male body
57:41And class and taste
57:44He's empowered through success
57:47Through money and through adoration
57:49Yes, by a very clever manipulation of his image
57:55The access is extremely well managed
57:58That you get the feeling that you sort of see them
58:00But do you really see them?
58:02I mean, who really knows?
58:04To live in the spotlight
58:06And to be constantly feeding a machine
58:09You have to be really, really committed
58:12And I think, you know, David has proved to be
58:16Probably one of the world's greatest celebrities
58:18Who have mastered that
58:21There have been a series of different
58:24Scandals
58:25Or sort of low-key scandals
58:26That happened around
58:27Or could have been scandals with Beckham
58:29That always he keeps moving on
58:31It's all about putting the right image out there
58:34At the right time
58:35Remind people that you're an English gent
58:36Remind people that you're a family man
58:39The brand keeps moving on
58:41Because people want to believe it
58:43He's been embraced as this kind of national hero
58:45And people aren't going to let it go
58:51They've been embraced in a way
58:53With the best and open words
59:02If it wasn't given what to say
59:08They're really not successful
59:09And the best people were to stay
59:10To live in the world
59:11Let them find themselves
59:13And the best people were to be
Comments