The Fallen ..

Very sad to hear of the death of Mark E. Smith, lead singer/dictator of Manchester band The Fall. I can still remember the excitement I felt as an 18 year old, hearing the unbelievably different 'Bingo - Master's - Break- Out!' on John Peel in 1978, a single I still own and play to this day. I even have on my wall a poster for a Fall gig at Manchester Students' Union. I took it down when I moved to France and put it straight back up as soon as I got here. He's definitely one of my musical Marmites - some of his stuff is totally unlistenable to - but yes, it's safe to say Mr Smith has had quite a defining part in my musical tastes. God bless ya, Mark E ... 

Before the Fall ..

A Channel 4 programme last night highlighted perfectly the dangers of thinking you can make a living from photography just because it's your "passion". They featured a guy - somewhere in Manchester, I believe - who decided to ditch his day job and set up as a snapper. He was filmed photographing a local band with what seemed to be the most amateur of camera models (Ooh, get me! I'm a camera snob now!) Anyway, seems he really liked photography as a hobby so thought he would earn some dosh from it. Big mistake! The programme went on to tell us that, in the past eight months, this guy's earned the sum total of .. £250!! Ouch! I do hope that set off alarm bells with some of the people who've contacted me over the past few months asking for advice about a career in photography, 'cos my advice is, unfortunately .. don't do it! There are now too many people 'giving it a go', causing standards - and prices - to drop and meaning there's far less work around for the ever-growing number of photographers already out there. I thought a photograph of 'The Fall' would be rather appropriate today ..

How The Fall are mighty..

Oh, I know I go on a bit but honestly - trust me darlings - The Fall last night were amazing!!!! A mere 180 people and The Fall in The Studio at Salford's Lowry Centre was like having Mark E. Smith in your front room. Oh, the power! Oh, the excitement! Oh, I do wish he'd stop messing with the bass player's amp! And close? You betcha! I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to get near enough to the stage to take pictures, then actually ended up having to stand on it to get into a better shooting position. Most of the shots were on a 28mm lens, for goodness sake! Now that's what I call a gig! So, Ian Curtis, Morrissey and now Mark E.... my Manchester collection's complete!

A bit more scanning to do today - the archive is building up nicely - and then I've got another of those stints as a guest at a Wedding tonight! Memo to self .. don't spend all night taking photographs! Oh, I just can't help myself....

Don't let it go to your head..

The cool rock photographer leant back from the bar. Three hot chicks in tight pants caressed his shoulders as he lit a joint. The other five groupies waited patiently in the background! He knocked back a treble Jack Daniels and instinctively fired off a shot on his Leica -  a fifteenth at 1.8 - as Mick Jagger waved at him across the crowded room. The chicks sighed. The bar-keep refreshed his drink. The cool rock photographer smiled to himself. What a life! Rio tomorrow, Madrid for Queens of the Stone Age next Tuesday. It's a tough life, but someone's gotta do it!

Actually, Lesley and I just had fajitas and mugs of tea and watched a dvd last night, but yesterday will go down in my diary as the day my page of music shots got launched in America! How the other half lives, eh? It's true, though .. there's only one item of news to report today, and that is that my pages are now 'live' on the RockPaperPhoto site in New York! I am sooooo excited! I've got a whole heap of my music shots up, and on sale at prices that .. well, I'm blushing to think about 'em! Ahem! Anyway, in true rock 'n roll styley .. I do have a date laid on on Saturday to shoot Mark E Smith and The Fall when they play at a Social Club in Salford. Echoes of Joy Division, anyone? Now if I could just fight my way through the chicks to get my pint of shandy. Hope it doesn't go to my head...