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
Frank Sinatra walking over a London bridge in 1967 during a break from his filming of 'The Naked Runner'
Inner sleeve artwork for Pink Floyd's album Wish You Were Here by Storm Thorgerson
Bob Dylan taken in Italy during a press conference for the launch of his 1984 European Tour
Paul Weller onstage with The Jam at the Rainbow Theatre, London in 1979
Queen are a British rock band credited with making significant contributions to such genres as hard rock & heavy metal, among others.
Noel Gallagher is regarded as one of the UK’s most respected musicians and the mastermind behind Britpop super group Oasis.
Paul Weller is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/new wave/mod revival band The Jam.
A unique collection of images of Pink Floyd, one of the worlds most successful and influential rock bands.
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
This print collection by Jill Furmanovsky contains images of Oasis on-the-road, onstage and recording in the studio during their zenith.
For eight years photographer Brian Duffy worked with David Bowie and shot his most iconic and enduring images. View his fantastic collection
Here are the very latest prints we have added to our collection. We hope you love them as much as we do.
