SNAP!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I passed rather a pleasant hour or two yesterday, amusing myself after I'd read an article in The Times ..

There's a well-known photographer called Tom Wood - affectionately known in his adopted home town of Liverpool as 'Photie Man' - who's being honoured with a big exhibition at the city's Walker Art Gallery. The newspaper article featured over twenty of Tom's pictures, taken back in the late 70s to early 80s, the same period of time I was working on my own 'street photography'. What a nice shot, I thought, as I admired his picture of a group of Scouse scallies leaning against a metal railing. It reminded me of a photograph of my own, the shot you see here of three 'Teddy boys' in my own home town of Eccles. Snap! I chuckled. How interesting ..

And then .. what a nice shot, I thought, as his picture of two girls on a bus brought a smile to my face. That reminded me of another shot from my archive, a worried-looking mother smoking on a bus as one of her children slept and the other tried to evade boredom.

And then .. what a nice shot, I thought, as an image of two Passport-photo machines put me immediately in mind of a remarkably-similar picture of my own.

And then .. 

Well then, folks, I worked my way through the entire set of his photographs and realised I had a similar-looking photograph to every one of his. I felt rather pleased to have (in my opinion) comparable work to one of documentary photography's masters, and I've put them onto a web page, if you fancy taking a look. 

I'd love to hear your opinion ..  

SNAP!

Dad ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad died fourteen years ago today. The passing of time has erased the sadness and shock, but the 'missing' still goes on, of course. I miss him like mad. We had such fun, me and him. Just look at him, hamming it up as a 'punk' for my camera, with an apple-core key-ring pinned to his ear. You were a one-off, Dad. I'll miss you forever ..

Showtime!

A sliver of new moon appeared in a darkening sky, Venus glowing above it as the sun went down on Saturday night. In the old French town of Guîtres, the 11th century Abbey of Notre-Dame took on its own majesty as lights came on in the square. A crowd gathered as music began to crackle from a pair of speakers. Divine music, uplifting music, joyous .. The Pop Group, The Cure, Virgin Prunes!

It was the opening of my Joy Division/Manchester exhibition, and a cold-wave (post-punk!) disco sparked the evening to life after speeches by myself and the mayor. I was so delighted with the turnout, as well as the interesting questions I attempted to answer in French. I can only thank the lovely people from 'Asso Biodynaboum', the organisation that offered me the show, for the great job they've done in promoting it. (And the mayor with the funky Converse trainers!) ..

The show is now on view at the Marie (town hall) in Guîtres until the end of June. I hope you manage to see it .. 

Instagramatastic ..

 

 

 

 

 

It's not often I'm at the cutting edge of modern trends, but I allowed myself a wry smile when I realised I'd got in early with one of today's big-name Instagram 'influencers' ..

Model Sophia Peschisolido has 360, 000 followers on Instagram and, as the daughter of renowned businesswoman Karren Brady, appeared in some 'At Home' photographs I shot of Mum and then-footballer husband Paul Peschisolido for OK! Magazine back in the 90s ..

I really must tell my Instagram followers about this. All three hundred and eighty of them ..!

 

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "How's Eddie?" I asked a friend over the internet yesterday. "Eddie?" he replied. "He died last year .."

And so I bid a belated farewell to my old boss Eddie Fuller, the photographic manager at the Warrington Guardian. (That's him giving the 'OK' sign in the group photograph. I'm the young punk at the back!) It was Eddie who gave me the nickname 'Mo', as he would assign photo-jobs to each of us on a Friday evening and scribble what he thought were my initials next to the jobs I was given. Sadly, he's not the only person in this photograph that's no longer here. Rest in peace, guys, rest in peace ..

 

Fame!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I've had my fifteen minutes of fame and I hope you managed to catch them. I was interviewed about my new photography book by Mike Sweeney on BBC Radio Manchester on Monday, and was immediately overwhelmed with a rush of orders. Two of them! The Porsche is still on hold .. 

(And if you really want to hear it, it's two hours 32 minutes in here .. )

 

 

Get ye to Guitres ..

 

 

 

 

 

There's a village in France called GuÎtres, a quiet little place with an ancient abbey, an old town hall .. and a Mayor in trendy trainers who's decided to stage a photography exhibition!

He and his cultural association have invited me to be the first person to display my pictures in their 'mairie', and are going to kick off my two month show there with a 'vernissage' - or opening night - at the Abbey, with a post-punk DJ playing music alongside a selection of my work.

What started as a small show of my Joy Division pictures has grown to include an extra 20 or so images from my archive of 1970s Manchester photographs, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to share my Manchester upbringing with the lovely people of rural France. (Copies of my new photography books will also be available to purchase! End of commercial break ;-) .. )

The show opens to the public on April 22nd and will run until the end of June. Guitres is just an hour from Bordeaux, in the wine-growing area close to the fantastic Chateau de Geai (Best red I've ever tasted!).

It would be great to see you there .. especially if you're wearing Converse One-Stars!     

Give it time ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The little girl in this photograph is forty-one years old next month. She has two children. Paula and Ian here are proud grand-parents and I'm a photographer wondering where the hell so much time has gone! Thank God I had a camera with me as it passed. It captured so much of life in the days before pronouns and mobiles and Taylor Swift. (I was going to say 'normal' life but I suppose internet-porn and 'on-demand' and shit music are normal life for kids these days!)

For those of you who still 'do' books, I'm putting together a set of five to showcase these archive photographs, and I'm pleased to say they're starting to attract interest. I've had a couple of great reviews on Amazon and tomorrow I'm being interviewed by Mike Sweeney on BBC Radio Manchester. Who knows, in another forty years, my work might be part of someone's dusty 'antique' book collection. Here's hoping! 

 

Mother's (and Father's) Day

 

 

 

 

 

It's Mother's Day today, and also the feast day of St. Joseph, after whom my Dad was named. My Mum got flowers, chocolates and a long telephone call. My Dad got moments of fond reminiscence and a wish that he was still here.

To my parents .. I love you both x

Eternal ..

 

 

 

 

 

Astonishing to think that forty-four years have gone by since I took these photographs. Great to know that people are more interested in them than ever ..

I was just eighteen when Joy Division played at Bowdon Vale Youth Club on March 14th 1979, and I made a set of photographs that has come to play a big part in their legacy. Four of the images have just been used in a MOJO magazine Joy Division special; a fashion company in Tokyo is just about to launch a range of t-shirts featuring my pictures, and the complete set of prints will go on display in an Abbey near Bordeaux towards the end of next month.

Lead singer Ian Curtis killed himself just over a year after I took these shots. I'm proud to play my part in keeping alive his memory  ..

Book me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm often asked why I haven't produced a book of my photographs. Well now I have, and I'm proud to announce the launch of Book One in a series of 'Wrong Way Wround' photography publications, a compilation of fifty-seven photographs from my 1970s archive. Available on Amazon world-wide for just ten quid (ish!) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVTFSV7C - or directly from me for a signed copy. (Please contact me for details)

 

Ps: Book Two is out in April!

 

Happiness is ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night's sunset. Nothing overly-special about it, except that it crept up on me when I had my back turned. I'd had a busy afternoon fitting a new water-butt and, just when I'd decided to call it a day, a little weed waved at me from one of the flower beds. Before I knew it I was on my hands and knees with only a chirping blackbird to keep me company, and I'd been weeding for over an hour before our church bell chimed at six o'clock. It was a wonderful moment. Six o'clock and still sunny. Spring is on the way and I couldn't have been happier. Simple pleasures, eh? 

Treasure them ..

Now we are three ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's all happening at once ..!

 I've finally finished my latest book! Tofalofalos is the story of a man who takes a two-week holiday to forget about his wife .. the wife who's just left him for another man. It's available now on Amazon. Why not give it a try .. ?

I have also agreed to the use of my Joy Division photographs on a new range of clothing from Japan, and the press release is about to go out on a new exhibition I'm having near Bordeaux.

Three's a crowd? Man, I'm loving this crowd ..

Happy Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight's the finale of 'Happy Valley', and that's all the excuse I need to dig out my old photograph of Sarah Lancashire. I used to shoot the PR photography for Granada Studios tour, and this was a press shot for the opening of a new 'Alien' attraction back in the 1990s. Let's hope Sergeant Cawood gets her teeth stuck into the baddies tonight!

And in other news ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Happy New Year, and it's started well. Please allow me a moment to blow my own trumpet, as I go into 2023 with exciting news. I've been asked if I can stage an exhibition of my photographs, and have been offered the chance to have my work used on a new range of clothing ..

A town near Bordeaux has invited me to show my work in a Spring solo show staged in a vineyard .. details to follow .. and a fashion designer in Japan wants to use my Joy Division photographs on a new range of clothing. All very exciting ..

In other news, our car's broken down and a friend just told me he's got prostate cancer. Life sure has a way of keeping you grounded ..

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a wrap ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there you have it .. 

2022, over and done with and on we go. Forward to a year where countries don't fight each other, recessions are reversed, diseases are eradicated, famine and food-waste are things of the past, plastic gets recycled, neighbours smile at each other, common sense makes a reappearance in modern life, the world population starts to decline, green energy becomes the norm, the books I've written get picked up by a major publisher and I don't sit here all day daydreaming over my blog ..

Still, nice to picture, isn't it? And, speaking of pictures, here are my favourites of 2022. Not many shots of people in there, but then I don't seem to photograph people any more. Perhaps that should be my New Year's resolution. Get back into portrait photography. Yes, good idea Martin. Get it sorted ..

In the meantime, thank you for reading my blog, and may I wish you a fantastic New Year full of peace, happiness and whatever it is you might need to put the icing on the cake that is your life ..  

Big Money ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were two articles about professional writers in the 'paper this week. The first informed me that the average income for a professional author is now around £7,000 a year. Wow, I thought, I can't wait to earn that much! Of course, I don't class my writing as professional, and that's just as well, as my books earned me the grand sum of 82p last month! (The Aston Martin is on hold yet again.) The second item was about writers' book-signing sessions, in which even some of the most famous names in the book-writing world told of events where no-one has come along ..

I take encouragement from an email I had this week from a reader in America. Your story (Page 99, by Joe Bancroft), she said, is entertaining and your writing is both distinctive and interesting. She is now going to order two more copies as Christmas presents for friends. Hey, now that's a good idea. Why don't I give you a helpful link to my website, where you can read all about my books. Hey, why not buy one? Save a writer from the Job-Centre 

(Today's photo, from my archive .. circa 1977) 

 

It's written in the stars ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, let's get upbeat again .. 

I have great news! I've written and illustrated a series of children's story books, all about Space and adventures in the Cosmos. I self-published them on Amazon but, to be honest, the individual cost of each of the four books was a lot higher than I'd have liked. So, I've compiled the first three stories into one single book - The Anthology - and you can buy it now for just £15. A veritable bargain, I'm sure you'll agree, and a great Christmas gift idea if you know any kids from age eight and upwards. The stories are fun but educational, and the drawings are really amusing, if I say so myself ..

Plus, the final book 'Don't go near the Black Hole, Sunshine', will be available within the next couple of days. That book costs just a tenner. I know, so reasonable!..

You can order the book in the UK - or France - or the USA .. or just search on Amazon.

I thank you, and Merry Christmas. It's written in the stars ..

 

Rest in peace ..

 

 

 

 

 

I woke this morning to hear that Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie had died. It's the third death I've heard about this week, and one of those I literally heard about as I walked into the crematorium for the funeral of a friend who died last week! And that on the day we went to pick up the ashes of our poor little Cocker Spaniel ..

So .. 

Fucking enjoy yourself. That's all I've got to say today. Make the most of it whilst you're here, and try to rise above the bitty shite that makes us humans. Not too eloquent, I grant you, but there you are. 

 Sermon over .. 

Fireside football ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful and, do you know what, I'm really getting into the fact that this year's world cup is in the 'winter'. Gone is the guilt of a July tournament, sitting in front of the telly on a glorious summer's day, missing out on a tan, worrying about how much gardening needs to be done. Oh yes, this way it's so much better. The weather outside is frightful - far too horrible to be out there gardening - and you can't beat stacking up the wood-burner ready for the first afternoon kick-off of the day, so yeah, bring it on. Even my teams have joined in with the feel-good stuff, with 6-2 and 4-1 wins in their first matches ..

England, England, allez les bleues ... 

(Today's shot? One of my earliest ever colour slide photographs, taken circa 1977 outside an electrical store in Eccles.)