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.
Early shot of The Fall at Central Station Car Park, Manchester in the summer of 1978
This was taken on the first Oasis American tour. Twin benches on the boardwalk were ideal for this back-to-back portrait of the brothers
The Clash back stage before their most famous gig at the Rainbow Theatre in May 1977.
Lou Reed was one of music's most influential icons. His music defied all definitions of genre & left a legacy that has inspired generations
Fleetwood Mac are one of the world's greatest rock bands having sold over more than 100 million records over the last 50 years
The Stranglers are one of the most enduring bands to have come out of the punk scene with an uncompromising attitude and idiosyncratic style
The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964 & are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century.
Curated collection of authentic, signed limited edition fine art prints by legendary rock music photographer, Mck Rock
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
For eight years photographer Brian Duffy worked with David Bowie and shot his most iconic and enduring images. View his fantastic collection
