Description
Paper Size A2: 100 Limited Edition Prints. Signed and Numbered. Unframed.
The Kinks are one of the most important British groups of our time, with millions of record sales and countless awards. Formed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. Landed a contract with Pye Records in 1964.
Photographing The Kinks at Hammersmith Odeon
I’m a big fan of The Kinks, so when the opportunity came to photograph them, I didn’t hesitate.
There was always a slight conflict when you were photographing a band you genuinely loved. You wanted to forget the camera for a moment and simply stand there and listen. But you were there to do a job, so you had to concentrate on getting the pictures. Eventually, you got used to it — although I never completely lost the thrill of being that close to the music.
These photographs were taken at Hammersmith Odeon, and getting to the front of the venue with a camera was almost an adventure in itself.
You would arrive backstage, pick up your pass and then make your way down into the basement. From there, you had to wind your way underneath the stage towards the photographers’ pit. It was dark, cramped and cluttered with scaffolding and all the other paraphernalia that comes with putting on a big show.
You quickly learned to keep your head down.
Banging your head on the scaffolding was a fairly common occurrence — especially when you were carrying a camera bag or a heavy camera case and trying to find your way through the gloom. There wasn’t much light down there, just enough ambient light to guide you beneath the stage until you eventually emerged at the other side of the audience barrier.
And then you reached the photographers’ pit.
It was a narrow space between the stage and the audience, perhaps five feet deep, designed to keep photographers out of the way while giving us just enough room to work. You were very aware that the people behind you hadn’t paid to watch a load of photographers taking pictures — they had come to see The Kinks.
So you had to be quick and just to remind you there was no auto focus!
Three songs was often the rule. Three songs to get the shots you needed before you were moved on and the audience could get back to enjoying the show. Not this one though. I was lucky enough to photograph the full show.
And what a show.
The Kinks played the songs everyone had come to hear — Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me, Lola, Come Dancing, Apeman and plenty more.
For a fan, it was pretty special. For a photographer, it was an opportunity to capture a band whose music had been part of British life for years.
One of the things about photographing live music is that you never quite know what you’re going to get. The lighting changes, the performers move, the audience reacts and, sometimes, everything comes together for a fraction of a second.
That’s what you’re looking for.
One frame, maybe few more!
And then it’s gone.
Looking back at these photographs now, I’m reminded not only of The Kinks themselves, but of what it was like to photograph live music in those days — camera bag over your shoulder, head down under the stage, trying not to knock yourself unconscious on the scaffolding, and then suddenly finding yourself five feet from the band as the lights came up.
It was hard work.
But I wouldn’t have swapped it for anything.
Please note that the paper size is always larger than the printed image.Info here.
