For over ten years Barrie Wentzell worked as the exclusive chief photographer for legendary music publication 'Melody Maker'. He photographed one of the most important decades in the history of popular music, shooting many unknown musicians who went on to be global superstars. Celebrated artists such as Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and rock and roll icons such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton all have their place in Barrie Wentzell's vast archive.
Barrie's career began at a photo studio in Belgravia in the the early 1960s. It was then, upon meeting his soon to become mentor, photojournalist Maurice Newcombe, that he became inspired to pursue a photographic career of his own and he started working in the area of music. In 1965 he had a chance encounter with the young Diana Ross and the image he captured of this yet-to-be global icon became a riveting front cover of Melody Maker and caught the attention of Bob Houston, the assistant editor at the time. And so the journey began ...
2017 saw the release of the film 'Melody Makers' in which Barrie Barrie tells the story of the rise and fall of the magazine, which marked the end to a style of rock n' roll journalism that no longer exit's today.
We are proud to offer a selection of Barrie's fantastic images for sale
