Friends of English at the time include Leicester natives fashion photographer David Parkinson and musician Ric Grech (Family and Blind Faith) both of whom died young.
He and Burton then left to form Contemporary Wardrobe,[2] leading to a commission to supply the costumes for the film Quadrophenia[3] and independent styling work for MPL (Paul McCartney), Italian Vogue and Boulevard.
After his mother's death from cancer, English spent five years working for oil companies in Madagascar, Nigeria and rigs in the North Sea, eventually becoming a flaneur/plongeur in his brother William's restaurant in London's Borough Market (Dining Room 1980–1990).
In 1989, using a borrowed camera, English photographed jazz musician Chet Baker after a chance encounter in Cannes, followed by a portrait of Andy Warhol that was published in The Sunday Times magazine.
[9] English's stills from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy were particularly lauded, featuring on the cover of Italian Vogue's February 2012 issue [10] and as part of a travelling exhibition sponsored by Paul Smith.