Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols

Last week I had the chance to photograph Glen Matlock, one of the founding members of the Sex Pistols. He’s written a memoir called Triggers and was talking about his life, playing some of his songs and signing copies of the book at Quay West Studios. The event was organised by Kieron and Emma from Stoke Road’s amazing  record shop, A Slice of Vinyl. It got me reminiscing about all the musicians I’ve captured through the years.

Who Are Oasis?

For those who don’t know, before Georgina and I launched Blitz Photography in 2012, I was a newspaper photographer for 26 years. In that period I photographed many artists. Famously a turned down opportunities to photograph both Oasis and The Stone Roses as they began their careers because I thought their names sounded a bit disco. The next big thing from Manchester they said. Surely they can’t be bigger than the Inspiral Carpets? Can they?

I made some amends a few years later when I was about to photograph Pompey at Manchester City’s Maine Road stadium. Some photographers were hanging around the players tunnel so I asked what they were waiting for. “Oasis!” came the cheerful reply. The famous City fans had never been photographed there before. I quickly swapped lenses and popped on my flash unit as the ever prepared pressman I was.

Me And Noel Gallagher

It occurred to me that no one was guarding the tunnel entrance as everyone was running around in a bit of a tiz. So…I just wondered in. I trotted down the tunnel until I came to a door. What next I thought? Suddenly the door swung open and Noel Gallagher walk through holding a football in his hands. 

There we were. Two men in a small room with a football. What are you going to do? I gestured with my head that I wanted the ball and he lobbed it over to me. With all the skill of a Sunday league footballer I nodded it firmly back to him. We both smiled. It was at about this time the security officers found me and marched me back to the entrance. The band came out to rapturous applause and I got some pictures of Liam trying to take on all the away supporters.

The Sixth Member of Take That!

Some of my meetings with musicians were purely serendipitous. Like, one night in the early nineties I was the duty photographer at The News. My assignment was to photograph an up and coming band at Bay House School in Gosport called Take That! I had no idea who they were and that they had the current UK chart number 1.

The band turned up for the show very late. I was waiting outside when an AA relay towing truck arrived trailing a transit van. Five young men then jumped out of the yellow cab and ran into the school assemble hall. Within minutes the place was in pandemonium. As the group played a 25 minute set, 300 screaming teenage girls went bananas! What on earth is this I thought. I had a chance to find out because a was to take a picture of the boy band back stage.

After the gig I had to fight my why pass hundreds of fans in the lobby. The changing room was upstairs in the head masters office. When I found it I swung the door open to see the five exhausted singers laying on chairs and a sofa drenched in sweat. The door slammed dramatically against the wall and I said “You lucky, lucky bastards!” The room erupted in laughter and the ice was broken. 

Is That Robbie Willians By The Window?

I had a nice chat with all of them. They were very humble and really enjoying that moment in their careers. I took a few shoots of them with some of their fans for the paper and they started to relax. Suddenly I heard some muffled screaming. “What’s that?” I said to Robbie Williams who was standing near the window. “Watch this!” he replied, opening the window. The sound of hundreds of screaming fans drifted up from the night time darkness. He closed the window quickly. “Everywhere we go it’s like this now…do you want a go?” Absolutely! 

I slowly opened the window and a deafening noise erupted. I held up my hand to waved into the darkness and the decibel level got even louder. Robbie shut the window. “Brilliant isn’t it?” he said. That’s why I’ve been telling people for over thirty years that I was once briefly the sixth member of Take That!

New Sensation:INXS

Another moment I’m particularly proud of is my evening photographing INXS at the Portsmouth Guildhall. Even though they had been playing stadium by then, they’d chosen to tour smaller venues for the Get out of the House Tour. It’s not commonly known that when photographing music performances you usually only get three songs to shoot at the beginning of the show. One if it’s an Elton John gig (which I found out while being ejected from his show at the Broadlands estate). However, it was ‘Your Song’, so Elton, you’re forgiven.

In the photographers pit at the INXS concert in 1993 was just me and one other snapper. I was blasting away trying to get as much covered in my allotted time, when towards the end of the third song, iconic singer Michael Hutchence reached out over me to touch some hands in the audience. Scrambling to get a better angle and frame Hutchence grabbing as many hands as he could, looking through the viewfinder I saw the Aussie frontman look down at me and shout, “Did you get it?”

A Unique Angle on The Manic Street Preachers

Another time at The Guildhall I was assigned to photograph The Manic Street Preachers. Thinking I should try and get a different angle than the usual shot from the pit, I arranged to stand in the wings of the stage so I could capture the crowd as well. As the lights dimmed to prepare the audience for the bands arrival, I felt a presence behind my left shoulder. I looked behind and saw James Dean Bradfield, Richie Edwards and Nicky Wire (he was in a dress) anxiously waiting to go onstage. They needn’t have worried. Once in front of the crowd they rocked the building to it’s foundations.

Cult Figure

You know they say you should never meet your hero’s? Well I’m a big fan of The Cult. They are still playing today (in fact I’m going to see them in November). But in the mid-nineties they had split up. Artistic differences I think. The vocalist Ian Astbury had started a new band called the Holy Barbarians with which he was touring. Eventually they pitched up at The Wedgwood Rooms in Southsea. 

Georgina and I (this was before she was Mrs Reid) along with my friend Vince and his wife, dutifully rocked up to the show, me with camera in hand. Vince a I had followed The Cult all over the country for many years. We were usually skint when they toured but always seemed to scrape together enough cash to go. This night was no exception. As we sat at the bar trying to make our pints last, we started chatting to a guy sitting next to us. 

Love Removal Machine

He didn’t say a lot. But as we told tales of penniless adventures up and down the country, our bar buddy laughed at our jokes or offered a grunt or two as we described chaotic train journeys. Eventually the lights dimmed. I shook his hand a said a had to go and photograph the band. He smiled as we said our goodbyes. 

Picking up my cameras I climbed over the small crush barrier in front of the Wedge’s low stage and settled in to shoot some pictures. As I lifted my lens, our erstwhile drinking partner clambered over me onto the stage, grabbed a microphone and as the band struck up, started to sing the opening number. Half way through the song he pointed at me a gave a sly wink. I looked at Vince amazed as Astbury roared out his songs.

Bucket List

So shooting Glen Matlock last week felt like slipping into an old pair of comfortable slippers. Something very familiar. Making pictures of musicians is something I love to do and a Sex Pistol has been on my bucket list for years. On the same list is photographing a Beatle, which I still hope to do. I did photograph Yoko Ono at Portsmouth cathedral once, but that’s as close as it’s got. All I can do is hope that serendipity intervenes again and my path will cross with either Paul or Ringo.