From Beatles to Bowie, the Velvet Underground and beyond
A busy autumn: it’s been a great pleasure to work with curator Terence Pepper on the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of 1960’s Pop Photography, From Beatles to Bowie
Of the 150 or so images in the show, two-thirds have not been printed since the 1960s: Terence Pepper’s deep-level research has also uncovered a whole stratum of pop media that has been but ignored for the last forty years. Namely the young women’s magazines of the period, ranging from Marty to Boyfriend to Fabulous and then to the more mixed gender Rave. All of these commissioned photographers for unique shots – notably Fiona Adams
who took the iconic shot of the Beatles ‘leaping’ above the ruins of the Euston area – then being redeveloped – in April 1963. This photo (below, upper right) has become one of the decade’s defining images.
Also included are several photos from Salut Les Copains, the excellent French monthly that sent photographers like Tony Frank to the UK for location shots – like this one of Who snapped by the Bakerloo line (note the red 1938 stock – another pinnacle of design). The show is on until the 24th January: it will lift your spirits.
I’ve also contributed an essay to Johan Kugelberg’s illustrated book on the Velvet Underground, New York Art. Again, it contains dozens of photos and images that have not been seen for years, if ever.
One of my favourite images is the Billy Name mechanical try-out for the White Light White Heat cover (above, left), and the original EPI slides (above, right) are pretty good, too.
To promote the book, Johan did a very well-received event with Lou Reed in Paris, while he and I did a couple of events in London and hosted a show at the Utrecht Record Fair. At the Bill’s shop in Blenheim Crescent (Stand Out/ Minus Zero) I found myself talking to former Subway Sect guitarist Rob Symmons after 31 years: the last time we met was when I was interviewing the band in 1978 – for their-soon-to-be-released Gooseberry album that never appeared. (And where is it now?)
Rob stopped playing guitar for nigh on three decades but has a great new band, Fallen Leaves, who have two albums out: It’s Too Late Now and That’s Right which bring that tough 1966 sound into the 21st century. He had this to say about New York Art: ‘it’s not too coffee table glossy, but for real fans, while at same time being a pleasure to hold and examine, though also for non fans there is a quality in the material that captures that mid to late sixties New York art scene, you want to take part in it, to have the tickets, see the posters and go to the shows. Certainly a book you would wish to be left alone with, undisturbed, of a winter evening with a packet of turkish cigarettes’.
(see also Billy Name interview for the Guardian, from 1997)
Regular events include a monthly/ bi-monthly blog on Guardian Online – Jon Savage on Song (recent sample) – and also a weekly themed show on the German internet Radio Station, BYTE FM, thanks to Klaus Walter and Gerhard Klaus. Recent shows have included a series on 1969 songs, on Backwards and phased records, and weird John Lennon. Right now, we’re moving from Phasing into Winter. Keep warm, and keep sane.