In Pete Smith's own wprds, " It was mid sixties London. I was a young art student and part time roady with Alexis Korner when his friend John Mayall asked, “Pete, you’ve got a camera, come and shoot our record sleeve”. The Album was “Crusade”; my first job as a music photographer. A few months later I worked with John again. This time on “Bare Wires”.
My passion for music and photography lead to a string of album and touring assignments. Through the following decades I shot dozens of album covers many of which I also designed and art directed. Some of the earlier ones are still to be seen as reissues on CD and vinyl. I was born and educated in Norfolk. After a short spell at art school in Norwich I found a place studying painting and print making at The City and Guilds School of Art in Kennington, London. By the mid 60s camera and darkroom replaced pencil and paints, record sleeves become the canvas, music festivals my domain.
An overland journey to India in the early 1970s led to an exhibition at The Photographers Gallery London. Music and then theatre remained the core input to my photography and portraiture. Film was added through a long association with The NFT covering The Guardian Lectures, events and film festivals. The 90s saw a resurgence of my music photography; stage sets of The Stones during the Steele Wheels tour, and The Wall in Berlin.
The National Portrait Gallery have acquired a few of my pictures. My portrait of Angus McBean accompanied the recent retrospective of that photographer at The NPG. From the start of my photographic career I was encouraged and inspired by my friend and photographic mentor Lewis Morley, creator of the iconic Christine Keeler/Chair photograph.
I heard The Rolling Stones were doing a gig at the Roundhouse. I didn’t have ticket or pass. Waving my camera I blagged my way in
The Jimi Hendrix Experience performing at the Woburn Music Festival in July 1968
Cream onstage at the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival in the Summer, 1967
Florence Welch performing onstage at the Latitude Festival in July 2010
Frank Zappa captured in a hotel in Sussex in June 1970, holding the artwork for the latest Mothers of Invention album
I heard The Rolling Stones were doing a gig at the Roundhouse. I didn’t have ticket or pass. Waving my camera I blagged my way in
I heard The Rolling Stones were doing a gig at the Roundhouse. I didn’t have ticket or pass. Waving my camera I blagged my way in
This photo session was for No.1 Magazine (long since extinct) on a Eurythmics press day, they’d been doing interviews all day.
Early shot of The Fall at Central Station Car Park, Manchester in the summer of 1978
Angus Young, from AC/DC, captured in a small street outside a press meeting in Copenhagen in 1977
Shooting promotional films for the singles Rain & Paperback Writer at Chiswick Park Gardens in May 1966
The Ramones' loud, fast, straightforward musical style was influenced by music that the band members grew up listening to in the 50s & 60s.
The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964 & are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century.
Critics have called The Smiths the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s.
Madness are an English band from Camden Town, London & one of the most prominent bands of the late 70s & early 80s 2 Tone ska revival.
Our contact sheet collection is a rare opportunity to look back at the hidden moments surrounding some of rocks most iconic images.
We are all still reeling from the tragic loss of David Bowie. Here is a wonderful tribute from one of our photographers, Mark Mawston.
The USA has given us many of the world's greatest music artists - we celebrate the best of the best
Jill Furmanovsky is one of the greatest ever rock & roll photographers with a huge archive of iconic shots of the world's best music artists
