Meeting Pelé: A 2015 Memory That Still Makes Me Smile
In very early 2015, I had the incredible honour of meeting football legend Pelé at Halcyon Gallery on Bond Street in London. I was lucky enough to get half an hour of his time. The meeting was in preparation for the Pele art exhibition later that year. I had prepared eight aluminium and resin portraits of him in different colours for signing. Pelé signed every one personally. At the time, the neon elements for some of the pieces weren’t quite ready, so I added them after the signing session. I later met Pelé again in September for the actual exhibition opening.
Looking back at these newly uncovered photos, the images show a thinner version of me — I had lost over two stone in the months prior after a near-fatal pulmonary embolism (My “White Light” moment that later inspired the name of my gallery). I was still recovering, but the opportunity to meet a legend was something I wasn’t going to miss.
Pelé was everything you hope a legend would be — chilled, warm, very funny, and surprisingly down-to-earth. He made me feel completely at ease despite my nerves. I asked him two questions that have stayed with me: First, I asked what happened to the famous Warhol portrait of him from 1978. (Warhol had given him a complimentary portrait as part of the payment for the sitting.) Pelé laughed out loud and said, with complete honesty, that at the time when he was playing for New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL) he didn’t really know who Andy Warhol was or how important he was — so he just gave it away to a mate, even though it would be worth tens of millions today !
My second question was: “Who is the best player in the world right now — Messi or Ronaldo?” He smiled, paused for effect, and replied with a twinkle in his eye: “Both are excellent players… but neither is as good as Pelé!”
These photos capture a special moment in my career — Pelé wasn’t just a football icon; he was a man who rose from humble beginnings to global greatness and was the very first sporting global superstar. It feels like the right time to finally share the full story and photos. I hope you enjoy these photos from the archive as much as I do!