In Stephen's own words "I started shooting live bands in Manchester in the early 80’s and then moved back down south eight years later. It was catching musicians live that I loved most."
"I shot The Smiths ‘live’ several times and sent the shots down to Rough Trade. The first show was at the Free Trade Hall and was truly magnificent. A riotous moving audience meant taking photos was hard and I only had two lenses and one roll of film. However I did manage to capture an image of Morrissey’s rear with flowers hanging from his jeans which has since been voted a famous rock shot by the NME. So a year or so later I had a call asking me to do a session with The Smiths for a possible album sleeve. This led to me take my most iconic shot, the image of The Smiths outside Salford Lads' Club that graces the inner sleeve of their classic album 'The Queen is Dead'."
Stephen's iconic image is now housed in the National Portrait Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery & the Salford Art Gallery. Other artists Stephen has shot include Prince, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, U2, John Lydon, Public Image Ltd, James Brown, Madonna, Stevie Wonder plus many more.
Freddie Mercury onstage with Queen at the Brøndby Hallen, Copenhagen in 1977 on their A Day At The Races Tour
Early shot of The Fall at Central Station Car Park, Manchester in the summer of 1978
Critics have called The Smiths the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s.
Chrissie Hynde has one of the most distinctive voices in rock music and is best known as the founder of The Pretenders
Chic is an American band that was organized during 1976 by guitarist Nile Rodgers & bassist Bernard Edwards.
Pink Floyd are currently getting set for the 'Their Mortal Remains' exhibition at the V&A - Check out our range of images for sale.
The USA has given us many of the world's greatest music artists - we celebrate the best of the best
Here are the very latest prints we have added to our collection. We hope you love them as much as we do.
The Rolling Stones have been entertaining audiences for more than 50 years. Our collections share the best images spanning their career
Our contact sheet collection is a rare opportunity to look back at the hidden moments surrounding some of rocks most iconic images.
