I'm in love with the girl on the ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In photography, some things just work. A young couple hug in Eccles precinct, the lad's arms wrapped tightly around his girlfriend with a dangling 'sign' that says 'Virgin'! But I think this photograph is made so much better by the fact that the kid has spotted my camera. It's like we've caught him 'at it' .. we know what his plan might be now with this young lady, who almost seems embarrassed to have been discovered with him .. or am I reading too much into it? On another level, remember when everyone went around with LPs (they were never albums back then) in plastic bags from record shops? And, of course, this all ties in nicely with my Chris Sievey blog, as his band The Freshies did that famous track 'I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk'. Hey, maybe that's her!

In me 'ead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Sievey would have been 70 years old yesterday. Shocking to think he didn't make it past 54, the poor bugger, and even harder to realise he's already been dead for 15 years. Chris was Frank Sidebottom, if you see what I mean. It was his head inside Frank's, the only way he ever gained any real taste of fame after his band The Freshies failed to make it big. I was lucky enough to photograph a gig by the group in 1979, and shot them again a couple of days later during a fun day out in Sale. Years after that, I photographed 'Frank' at some launch event after I'd cheekily encouraged him to creep up behind Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh. (She wasn't best pleased after she spotted him, I can tell you!!) So this is for you, Chris. I just want you to know you're inside my 'ead, too!

Getting fresh ..

 

 

 

 

 

It was forty-six years ago today that eighteen-year-old me spent a couple of hours walking the mean streets of Sale with The Freshies. This was the band fronted by Chris Sievey, who transformed himself into Frank Sidebottom a few years later. On February 28th, the group had played Bowdon Vale Youth Club - scene of my 'famous' Joy Division photographs - and, after the gig, I asked if I could do a shoot. Why I didn't ask Joy Division I will never know!! ..

Anyway, here are three of the lads, larking about in Tesco's car park and outside the Blue Rooms disco in Sale. Great memories, great times ..

Sievey/Sidebottom

 

 

 

 

 

Like a doddery grandad that won't shut up about the past, I'm following yesterday's musical memory with another 'date-in-the-diary' that I thought you'd like to know about. We're going back to February 28th, 1979, meaning it's forty-five years to the day since The Freshies played the youth club at Bowdon Vale. Does that name ring any bells? Yes, it's the same venue in which I photographed Fast Cars and then Joy Division just two weeks later. (Recognise the wallpaper?) Anyway, here's poor old Chris Sievey (right) giving it his all in an effort for world domination. He'd later become Frank Sidebottom, of course, gaining fame and no fortune with a papier-mâché head stuck on his shoulders. Following the gig, I asked the band if we could arrange a photo-shoot, then spent a fun-filled morning snapping them all around the streets of Sale. Sadly those photographs, like the band, got nowhere ..

All hail, Bowdon Vale

Two packages have arrived in the post this week - a DVD in one and a magazine in the other - and I'm pleased to say they both feature some of my music photographs from Bowdon Vale Youth Club in Manchester. It was there in 1979 - aged just 18 - that I photographed Joy Division and The Freshies - two 'up and coming' local bands. The rise and sustained popularity of Joy Division is known to all - the 'oh-so-near' failure of The Freshies not so well documented ..

'Louder Than War' magazine features one of my shots on its cover and two other images of Joy Division in a celebration of the 40th anniversary of one of their albums, and I have several of my pictures of The Freshies used in a brilliant new documentary film about their lead singer. 'Being Frank' is a fascinating look at the life of Chris Sievey, the man inside the head of the comedy character 'Frank Sidebottom'. He turned to 'being Frank' after getting nowhere with The Freshies but it was whilst he was still trying to make it with the band that I set up a morning's photography with them on the sunny streets of Manchester. One of the stills is featured here - the lads running down the spiral car-park entrance to Tesco's in Sale. Gosh, what memories ..

The magazine article is really good and the DVD is incredible. I highly recommend them. Sad to think that Ian Curtis and Chris Sievey are now both dead but lovely to think my work is playing a part in keeping their memories alive. Thank God I went to that little club all those years back.
All hail, Bowdon Vale ..
  

Sit back, relax ..

Well, I set my quiz yesterday and sat back and relaxed, waiting for the deluge of email answers to flood in. I was totally underwhelmed! Two people answered! Two! (And they were both wrong! Sorry Simon and Jo!) Come on, dear reader, I am sulking! Where's your enthusiasm? There was a signed Martin O'Neill photograph up for grabs there! (Or is that what put you all off entering? Hm!..) Anyway, if anyone gives a monkeys, the answer was .. The Statue of Liberty. The shots were taken inside the statue and show the windows in the crown on Liberty's head, which was used as a fantastic viewing platform, and the very crowded spiral staircase which visitors climbed - and vertiginously descended - to get up to said Crown. So now you know. Quiz over ..

Great evening at my pal's book launch last night and all the more satisfying as I get two mentions in the story and a byline for two pictures within the book. Lots of laughs and love for the late, great Chris Sievey. By a strange coincidence I also received yesterday two contracts to sign, one of which was to grant permission for some of my Chris Sievey photographs to be used in a forthcoming film. The other was the hard copy from the Mary Evans Picture Library to arrange representation of my "terrific photographic collection". If it carries on like this I'm gonna have a mug as smug as Rod Stewart's, seen here at Maine Road and, yes, dug out of my archive during my latest 'root'! ..

Now, my IT bod says that, in order to get a better Google ranking, it's very important for me to mention Manchester Wedding Photography in my blog. Not too often, mind. Just enough for the great analyst in the sky to pick up the words. Oh, there ya go! Done! Sit back, relax ..

Being Frank ..

Oh, blimey! I had such a great day yesterday at the unveiling of a statue to the memory of Frank Sidebottom, the alter-ego of Timperley comedian/musician Chris Sievey. Hundreds of people turned out for the occasion, eventually blocking the entire crossroads at the centre of the village! Anarchy! The fun thing for me was that, unlike the press who were gathered around the statue, I didn't have to get the picture of the day for a newspaper. Rather, I was able to wander at will around the whole event and document it from all angles. Happily, that involved covering the music being played in the Stonemasons Arms, and the sight and sound of Chris' son Harry playing Freshies' songs with two of the original group - echoing a shot I did at Bowdon Vale Youth Club in 1979 - is a memory I'll cherish for a long time. Click on the pix to see 'em larger and here if you've the time to wade through all 445 shots of the day. Nice to see Steve Sullivan and his crew there too, filming more footage for their forthcoming documentary Being Frank, and it was nice to be able to show some of my old Freshies' pictures at a 'pop-up' exhibition in Timperley Library. Over 150 fans walked across to see it! Thank you for the interest, everybody!

So, back to portraits and I'm looking forward to shooting a couple of family sessions at the studio this week. Interestingly, I've also been booked to shoot a forthcoming Baby Shower. It's good to know this other work is coming in as, being frank, the Wedding season has more or less dried up for this year now, and it'll be a couple more months before I cover another one. Come and keep me busy at the studio .. 

Must dash ..

Just four hours until the unveiling of the Frank Sidebottom statue in Timperley, and just two hours until my pop-up Freshies exhibition 'pops up' to accompany the event! I'm having a small selection of photographs of Chris - aka Frank - on display - for one day only - at Timperley library. What an exciting day for fans of Mr Sidebottom, and I'm particularly looking forward to it as I've been asked if I'll photograph the occasion for posterity!
In fact, I'd better dash ..

Timperley, here we come ..

All the signs are suddenly pointing to Timperley, where I'm to have a 'Pop-up' One-Day exhibition at the library to coincide with the unveiling of the Frank Sidebottom statue! I was contacted yesterday by Timperley library who've offered, because the event happens on a Sunday (20th!), to open up just to show my work. Now I've blogged enough about Chris Sievey/Frank Sidebottom for you to know who I'm talking about, so if you still don't know then go and find out! What a great opportunity to get my work shown, and I'm sure his fans will love the pictures. Although I shot the band on stage at Bowdon Vale Youth Club most of the images are from the afternoon I spent with Chris and his mates wandering around Sale on a bright spring afternoon. They bring back some fantastic memories of my earliest days as a spotty-faced 18 year old press photographer! They really do ..

Double whammy ..

I've just come back from a meeting about a possible exhibition of my Freshies photographs, and I've come away scoring a rather tasty double-whammy! I want an exhibition of my photographs of Chris Sievey and his band to tie in with the opening of the 'Being Frank' film, but that looks like it's at least a year off yet so, to tide me over, the gallery I've been to has offered me space to show a selection of my other music photography - the director there was enthusing over my shots of Toyah! - so I've come home all excited about which shots to pick! Toyah? Siouxsie Sue? Henry Rollins? Ah, sod it .. one of everything! Why not?...

My shots today show The Freshies on the same stage at Bowdon Vale Youth Club, two weeks prior to the Joy Division gig. Makes me wonder now why I asked Chris and his cohorts to come out for a shoot rather than Ian Curtis and his gang! Damn!...

#culchethstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Turned out nice again ..

Wow, what a weekend! It started with a feature in a magazine and ended with me being filmed for a forthcoming documentary! In between that, another Wedding booking for next year and an enquiry for one in .. 2015!

Yes, I had one of my Weddings featured in 'Real Weddings' magazine and I'm really pleased with the results. They used six images from Dee and Ian's Wedding in June - made 'special' by the fact that an amazing thunderstorm caused all sorts of problems on the day but, ultimately, didn't spoil the Wedding or the mood of the day. Oh, and I was described as having a 'jolly personality'!

So, I then met with Liz and Ben, who've booked me for their Wedding in Rochdale next April. I knew I was dealing with 'my kind of couple' when Ben suggested to Liz they had Slayer's 'South of Heaven' as the music to their first dance!

After that it was off to Static Records in Wigan, which had been turned into a 'movie studio' for the day. I was being filmed for the forthcoming documentary film 'Being Frank', about the life and times of Timperley's own Chris Sievey! I photographed his band The Freshies in  ... ah, you read all that in Sunday's blog! It was a really enjoyable experience, and the director described my piece as 'self-deprecating and humorous'!

So, as the magazine says, it all turned out nice again!

#culchethstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

All roads lead to ..

Well, how exciting! I'm off to Wigan this afternoon to be interviewed for the forthcoming film 'Being Frank'. It's all about the life and times of Timperley's finest - the late, nearly great Chris Sievey, who you'll more likely know as the character Frank Sidebottom. Before he donned the papier-maché head Chris had a band called The Freshies, who I photographed at Bowdon Vale Youth Club a couple of weeks before the Joy Division gig. Chris and a couple of other band members then came out with me for a shoot around Sale one afternoon and Steve Sullivan, the producer of the film, saw the contact sheets of the session when he was going through all Chris' memorabilia, describing one of my shots as 'one of the best pictures of a band I have ever seen' .. !!

Hopefully I'll get some of this work shown in the film, then I aim to get a little exhibition together once the film is launched. Quite a few of the pictures have never been seen! By anyone! Well, apart from Chris and Steve, but you know what I mean!

Right, hair .. make-up! I'm ready for my close-up, darlings ..

#culchethstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Bye, buy ..

I've certainly hit the road running this week, as I've woken to an email from Japan letting me know my range of T shirts is now on sale in Tokyo! Joy Division, Devo, The Smiths and The Human League all feature. Quick, get over there! Buy, buy ..

My picture today is from a Wedding I shot in June, and I'm pleased to say that it's going to be featured in Pure Weddings magazine as a 'Real-Life Wedding'. It was certainly a different day to your 'average' Wedding, as the weather caused havoc with all the bride's plans. There was an absolute cloud-burst just before the newly-weds came out of the church, meaning they had to wait inside until the storm had passed. Then, there was ..  oh, what am I doing? You'll have to read the magazine. Quick, get out there! Buy, buy ..

I'm being filmed for a movie in Sunday! Oh, yes .. touch my hem! I'm being interviewed for a film called Being Frank, about the life and times of the late, great Chris Sievey. He used to have a band called The Freshies, which I shot a couple of times in 1979, but then he subsequently morphed into the 'cartoon character' Frank Sidebottom and never came out of his, erm, head .. again! Anyway, my shots of the band are hopefully to be featured in the movie along with my quirky, amusing reminiscences about the band (It says here!)

Before that there's one other big event in my diary. For the first time since I opened the studio I'm going to be shooting a dog in there! (Sorry .. photographing a dog! Don't go phoning the RSPCA!)
Better go get set up! Bye, bye ..

#culchethstudio
www.studiofivefour.com

Tell 'em about the exhibition, Martin..

It's like bloody buses round here! Having just teamed up with the chap that's making the Chris Sievey film I spent yesterday meeting with an artist who wants to involve my work in his future shows, and then checking out the venue for a new exhibition I'm having! Three new projects in the space of two days! Phew! Anyway, the 'new' venue is a restaurant in Eccles called Smiths. It offers wall space to local artists, and the owners invited me to exhibit after seeing my Twelve for '13 show at Eccles Art Gallery. This new show will start in the middle of May and, well .. Smiths? Guess what pictures I'll be showing! Correct! Although, as well as my Morrissey shots, the idea came up in conversation that I should show a few of my archive photographs that relate to food and drink. Restaurant? Food and Drink? Geddit? To be honest, I didn't think I'd have enough pictures for that to work ..  and then I started trawling! I've ended up with over a hundred shots that have something to do with food or drink. Today's image is one of 'em.
Have you worked it out?..

Move on up to the Kwik-Save Disco..

I had another of those amazing photographic coincidences yesterday when a piece popped up on Facebook to say that a film was being planned on the life and times of the late Chris Sievey. (He was the singer in Timperley pop/punk band The Freshies, though will always be better known as the head in the head of Frank Sidebottom - if you see what I mean!) I contacted the director of the film to say I'd photographed a Freshies gig at Bowdon Vale Youth Club just two weeks before I shot Joy Division there, and had then set up a photo-shoot with them which we did around Sale, just south of Manchester city centre. Amazingly, he said that he'd been going through Chris' personal possessions, and had come across two sheets of contact prints featuring those very shots. However, being a dimbo of an eighteen year old I'd not put any ID on the contacts, so he didn't know who'd taken the pictures. Then a mutual friend of ours - the writer Mick Middles - identified them as being mine, and the director was just on the verge of contacting me when I dropped him that email. So, with any luck the shots will feature in the film, and I've been asked if I'll be interviewed myself to talk about the work. The funny thing is that last year I photographed Mick's Wedding to the lovely Vicki, and we recreated one of my Freshies' shots down the ramp of the Tesco car-park! Have a look at it here .. and now please join me in a rousing chorus of "The men from banana island whos (sic) stupid ideas never caught on in the western world as we know it" Two, three four....

Mick in the middle..

My good pal Mick Middles, erstwhile music writer and red wine drinker of this parish, got hitched to his beloved Vicky at Sale Town Hall in Manchester on Saturday, and they picked me to take their shots for them. I am so flattered! The funny thing was that, when we talked about their photography, I mentioned a shoot I'd done in Sale in 1979 with Chris Sievey and his band The Freshies, and thought it would be fun to replicate as we were so close to the location - ie: The Tesco car park! Well, as you can see, the plan worked and all the more so because, after that one frame, Mick decided it was too dodgy to carry on and get any more shots - Hey, it's not my fault people were driving up and down the ramp to do their Saturday shopping! Imagine!  Anyway, here's the amazing thing. The Wedding was a small one - 9 guests - but guess who was one of them. Tosh Ryan! The guy who owned The Freshies' record label! Small world, eh?

PS: Ok, I realise there might be one or two of you readers out there who haven't heard of Chris Sievey, so I'll tell you he was the man behind  - inside! - Frank Sidebottom, and he sadly succumbed to cancer a couple of years ago. The Freshies played Bowdon Vale Youth Club in the same series of gigs as Joy Division in 1979. You can check out the shots here...

Joy Division? They're just one of the bands Mick has written a book on. He's also written about The Fall, Arcade Fire, Stone Roses.. oh, the guy's a genius! (That ok for ya, Mick?)