So this is permanence?..

 Sticking with the theme of Memories in May, I dug out an old scrap-book that features this Eccles Journal cutting of my first ever published newspaper photograph. It was in this month in 1977 that, as a 16 year old, I got my 'big break' into press photography and the rest, as they say, is history ..

Also assigned to history is Hooky's 'So this is permanence' gig, which took place a year ago today in Macclesfield. He sang every single one of Joy Division's songs in a gig that will stay forever in my mind, and that in itself was to mark the day that the band's lead singer killed himself. Good to see then that, almost forty years on, both Hooky and I are still doing what we love.
Pretty permanent, eh?..

Heavenly bodies ..

I was blabbing on yesterday about my calendar girl pictures, shot to raise money for charity and, before I'd even finished typing the blog, I had an email about another 'heavenly body' I'd photographed recently! This is an image I shot at a local church in the summer and the vicar wanted to talk about the possibility of having it printed up as a fund-raising .. tea-towel! Hey, whatever gets your work out there, right?..

And, from tea-towels to T shirts, I was dealing yesterday with another company who want to start selling T shirts showing my music photographs! Things are looking good and I'm pleased with the samples they sent me to try out. By the way, I now have enough free T shirts to last me 'til 2077!
I'll let you know how this pans out!..

Joy Division? Did somebody mention Joy Division? Another email I had to deal with yesterday was an interview for an online music magazine. They're going to do a piece on my photos of the band and of the gig I shot at Christ Church in Macclesfield with Hooky last May. Funny how things work out!..

God is watching me ..

Hooky & Peely and the passage of time ..

Back to Macc today to put up a selection of shots from last Monday's Peter Hook gig. They'll compliment the Bowdon Vale photographs perfectly, and it's lovely to be able to span 36 years of a guy's career in the space of a few photographs. I hope the shots will please the many fans who weren't able to get tickets to the event..

Thirty six years ago the Radio One DJ John Peel was in his prime and, to my delight, I've just found out that there are entire shows of his available to download. As I sit here now I'm listening to a show from 1980, replete with weird music, wacky music and superb music ..  all interspersed with Peely's droll observations and introductions. Takes me right back! When I worked for the Warrington Guardian I was invariably still busy in the darkroom until 11 and 12 at night, so would always listen to John's shows as I printed my photographs. I find it delicious that I can, once again, work on my photographs as I listen to John Peel. A great way to pass the time ..

So that was Permanence..

Blimey! It's all over!..

The gig has gone and the only things that remain are the images. Ironic that the show was called 'So this is Permanence'! (Ok, I know they made a CD of the gig but let me have my moment!) ..

What an incredible event. Peter Hook sang every single one of Joy Division's songs in 3 hours 15 minutes to a mere 470-odd lucky people in an audience in an old church! It was really poignant to hear the songs live, especially with Hooky's voice even often sounding like Ian Curtis.
Spine-tingling .. 

For my part I shot over 1000 frames and have just finished narrowing them down to a delicious 150 images which I've now added to my Flickr site. The key for me was to try to replicate some of the shots I took of Joy Division in 1979.

I think I succeeded ..

Man! It's almost hard to go back to 'normal' life again! Even tonight there's more Joy Division 'stuff' to do as I'm going to see the play 'New Dawn Fades' at Bury Met, where the band were famously involved in a riot in 1980! ..

Tomorrow, I'll get back to normal tomorrow ..

The Hook Line ..

And so the mystery is solved! I was back working with Hooky yesterday evening - that's Peter Hook of Joy Division fame to the two of you out there that haven't heard of him - and I took along my copy of his book to get it signed. I'd bought it as soon as it came out and hoped I might be mentioned as I feel my little set of pictures of the band do have their place in the history of the group. Well, I am mentioned in the book, but I'm mentioned as - get this - "a very young Martin Ocomin" .. !! Ocomin? Oh, come on! Where the hell did Ocomin come from? Well, I asked him last night. "Eh?" .. he said "Who? What?..." Turns out .. it's a typo! Plain and simple as that! Seems there's apparently at least one line of text missing from the O at the beginning of my surname to where Hooky goes on about "kicking me up the arse and telling me to piss off!!" (One of my claims to fame but answers on a postcard, please, as to what that line might say!) So, anyway, there we are. He emailed the publishers there and then and says they'll have it corrected for the next print run.

After that, he signed the book and then there was nothing left to do but pally up and have a picture taken!..

Oh, he signed it "Thanks for the tip" ..

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