Old Stars, Gallery One

This collection includes many of the "famous" peoples' images in my collection.

There are more to be seen though most only exist as prints.

I'll make another gallery, if this one pays its way!

All rights reserved, Design and Artists' Copyright Society.

Contact: catherine@dacs.org.uk

John Peel and Sheila Gilhooly.

It's probably 1968 or 9, in one of the BBC Radio One Continuity Studios. Without this man's encouragement and support I probably would have dumped the camera long ago. Without his death I wouldn't have bothered to make this website. (Though it's taken a year and Sheila's kind choice of my image for the cover of "Margrave of the Marshes" to get my backside off the ground!)

Jimmy Carl-Black, "The Indian of the Group"- drummer for Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. "Uncle Meat" tour.

Below the stage at Newcastle City Hall, late 1960s and a lesson to be learned. Never try to combine focussing a cheap camera, Brown Ale and a Cherokee. Zappa wrote music throughout the break.

 

Keith Emerson. The Nice.

 

Newcastle City Hall, late 1960s. The Hammond would soon receive a sound pulling over.

Hank Wangford. Alston Town Hall, 2000.

A hand gesture representing the fateful "Last Letter Before Y", that well-visited Old Country question. Hang on, this man's still vibrantly at it. Shouldn't he be on another page?

 

 

Marc Bolan. T.Rex. Mayfair, Newcastle. 1969/70

 

Played with Mickey Finn and wore an electric blue Mr. Freedom jumper. Ride A White Swan had yet to be released and the band sat between the cross-legged world of the slack-stringed acoustic and the Stratocaster teen dream.

The Incredible String Band,

Newcastle City Hall,1971.

A wholly reverential atmosphere with silences during instrument changes- and the Hall smelled different: somewhere beyond patchouli. But the band wandered apart soon after....

Robin Williamson. The Incredible String Band

 

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Having a fag and being young and thin and poetic.

Paul Brady,

 

with the end of The Johnsons, in Chelsea's Sound Techniques Studio.

Manfred Mann, having a poor time at The Mayfair, Newcastle in the early 70s. Much of the audience had walked out as they realised that the band were definitely not going to play Doowah Diddy Diddy. This had been dark, glowering jazz.

Captain Beefheart at Newcastle City Hall.

 

 

Some time after " The Spotlight Kid" but still wild.

Stan Webb of Chicken Shack. I have only a contact print of this image though it's been widely used- and almost never paid for! Stan strung out all the extension guitar leads in the world and wandered down the central aisle- like a nodding bird, with snapping licks. Nothing, though, could beat Christine Perfect singing "I'd Rather Go Blind" under a pale blue spotlight: nothing.

London's Albert Hall "Pop Proms" - 1969/70. A bit of trouble during Chuck Berry's show led the hall management to drop the event, prefering a different set of revellers.
Roy Estrada's ample back and Frank Zappa. Sound check at Newcastle City Hall, late 60's. Zappa spent the interval writing his music: manager Herb Cohen really did wear a pale trench coat: the other Mothers? Well, they were just silly. (See J. Carl-Black.)
Ritchie Havens at the BBC. Video footage of this appearance surfaces from time to time. I can only remember that it coincided with Thunderclap Newman's creation.

Polly Brown(e), once of Pickettywitch.

In Pip Warwick's studio, Fine Art Department,

Newcastle University, 1970.

I had to retake an entire session with Polly because I'd already exposed the roll of black & white film at Elswick Park playscheme. These negatives still exist- to warn, and disturb. They'll form a future web page....

 

Mick Abrahams of Blodwyn Pig

In a club around Darlington, early 70s

.

There's no missing the really decent people in rock music.

I'll eat my hat if this isn't one of them.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page

Led Zeppelin at Newcastle City Hall, 1969/70

As fine a piece of lemon squeezing as you'll ever find.

Who's got my 'Plant/Medussa hair' image?

Pete Townsend- The Who

Bay Hotel, Sunderland, 1969

 

A photographer friend offered me a lift to this gig. I didn't own a camera but borrowed a Rollei and two rolls of 120 film. I bent over the roadie's shoulders behind the speakers and the black walls ran with sweat. Townsend announced that their next release would be "a double album" and the crowd groaned in anticipation of another self-indulgent "earner". For some reason the hotel would only sell Keith Moon a crate of half pint bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale.

The lab ripped and scratched the emulsion but agreed to print, retouch & rephotograph the images. These negs still exist but were poorly fixed and washed.

Arriving at a friend's flat in London to try to sell the images we found him suffering from concussion. He'd been playing on the floor of a studio with his brand new girlfriend when the soundproof door was opened onto his head. We'd travelled down the A1 in a car driven erratically by a shy man who, when we took a break at a roadside pub, (now the Little Bistro), disappeared off to play the pinball machine. He was slightly deaf and had poor vision. In his bedroom at home? Three pinball machines!

Our concussed friend fell asleep soon after putting a pre-release album on for us to hear. That was "Tommy" and the friend, John Peel- and the playful girlfriend, Sheila.

 

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