ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD

“Working as a picture editor on a music magazine by day and as a musician by night has had the strongest influence on my selection of lesser known rock images chosen here. Looking out from the stage at the audience – or being behind the curtain… and trying to capture the excitement of the fans and the live experience. Every picture tells a story – even if I have to create my own story in some cases…”

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD PHIL KING THE ROLLING STONES. PHOTO © BERNARD WATERS I had to do some picture researching a few years ago for a pitch by a film production company to a very well known film director on a proposed television series based on the British music industry from the early ’60s onwards. The pitch was for about 15 minutes so the images had to have a lot of potency. This was one of the photos I chose and summed up for me the machinations of the industry perfectly, especially in its infancy. Who is that sinister suited and booted older gentleman in shades (touch of the Joe Meek’s?) lurking in the wings as the young singer laps up the adoration stage front?

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD PHIL KING DAVID BOWIE FANS AT VICTORIA STATION, LONDON, 1976. PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN Another project I worked on was for artist Jeremy Deller for the Venice Bienalle 2013 sourcing photos of Bowie fans from around the Ziggy Stardust tour period of 1972-73. This one fell outside that time frame as it is from May 1976 on Bowie’s return from his travels – and also when he made the infamous wave/salute. I try to imagine the stories behind the fans there. The truant? The future pop star (Gary Numan was definitely in the crowd that day)? The boy who hasn’t come out to his parents? Maybe a runaway from a care home? Definitely a subject for a ’70s ‘Play For Today.’

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD PHIL KING THE DAMNED AT THE ROXY, LONDON, 1977. PHOTO © DEREK RIDGERS Taken from Derek’s excellent recently published book Punk London 1977. Derek is famous for his street and club portraiture – and as a NME photographer during the ’80s and ’90s. At this time Derek was working in advertising and took photos in his spare time as a hobby. I love the snarl on David Vanian’s face, baring his canines. I like to think that the guy on the left, like the other older man on the opposite side of the stage also in a leather jacket, is the stage security, but photographer Derek told me that they were just friends of the band who stepped in to help.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD PHIL KING TEDDY BOY AT THE ROCK N’ ROLL FESTIVAL AT WEMBLEY STADIUM 1972. PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN Imagine it, Wembley Stadium full to the brim with Teddy Boys. And so it happened one summer’s day in 1972 as the recently deceased Chuck Berry headlined, ably supported by Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Haley – and further down the bill Wizzard, “cough” Gary Glitter and MC5. Malcolm Mclaren was there that day selling clothes from his Let It Rock store in the King’s Road. From the look on these teddy boys faces they must be watching Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, guitarist with the MC5, painted in silver and thinking, “that guy deserves a good pasting.”

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD PHIL KING THE WALKER BROTHERS ONSTAGE. PHOTO © BARRY DUNCAN This photo is worth the price alone for the sight of seeing ’60s miserablist Scott Walker actually being unwittingly forced to smile onstage. And where did the girl who fell to earth come from? If not the heavens, at least the balcony surely. The venue also looks like it was used previously for some sort of farming event, with what looks like straw at the bottom of that microphone lead.

Brian David Stevens is a photographer based in London. In the summer of 2004 he capture the towering speaker rigs and sound systems of the Notting Hill Carnival before the crowds arrived. The sound systems, these towering monuments to volume that stay in place for three days, are portrayed starkly and simply in Stevens’ photos, a far cry from the colourful, loud and crowded images that normally depict the carnival. (Notting Hill Sound Systems) A limited photo book / zine of the series is available from Cafe Royal books.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD BRIAN DAVID STEVENS AUDIENCE AT THE DAVID BOWIE’S LAST ZIGGY STARDUST SHOW, 1973. PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN It was taken at Bowie’s last Ziggy show on July 3, 1973. The shot is by a defunct picture agency and the photographer unknown. It’s like a painting of religious ecstasy, this is the best photograph I’ve seen of what music can actually do, this picture is EVERYTHING.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD BRIAN DAVID STEVENS TOM WAITS, RAIN DOGS COVER, HAMBURG, 1967-1970. PHOTO © ANDERS PETERSEN This is from Anders Petersen’s Café Lehmitz book, an incredible series of photographs taken in a late night cafe in Hamburg’s red light Reeperbahn area. The cover dipicts Rose and Lily although the male is often mistaken for Waits himself. The regulars at the cafe adopted the young Petersen and he became part of their disfuctional family, staying on to make one of the world’s most important photobooks there. The back cover is by Robert Frank too.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD BRIAN DAVID STEVENS ADAM AND THE ANTS, KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER, 1980 The front and back cover of the album are photographs taken from the monitor during the filming of the Kings of the Wild Frontier video in early August 1980. It looks other worldly, as good pop should, iconic and proud.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD BRIAN DAVID STEVENS JOHN LENNON EYES CLOSED, LONDON, 1965. PHOTO © DAVID BAILEY I love Bailey, I prefer his quiet portraits over the brash later ones this is just beautiful.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD BRIAN DAVID STEVENS KVIRAFN OF WARDRUNA AND GORGOROTH, BERGEN, 2002. PHOTO © PETER BESTE Pete’s shots of the black metal scene in Norway are utterly wonderful this being my favourite.

Tristane Mesquita aka TIM is a young independent French photographer and Savages’ official photographer. If you want to see her work, please visit TIM’s website (tristanemesquita.com) or Savages’ official photo diary (savagesband.tumblr.com).

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD TIM PAUL SIMONON (THE CLASH), THE PALLADIUM, NEW YORK, 1979. PICTURE USED FOR THE ‘LONDON CALLING’ ALBUM COVER. PHOTO © PENNIE SMITH I remember being completely fascinated by this picture when I was a teenager. The Clash is one of the bands that got me into rock music, and at the time this photo seemed to represent the essence of rock’n’roll attitude (at least for me). Also, I have to admit that I was really obsessed with Paul Simon, and I even started to learn playing bass guitar on my own (the very first song that I learnt was ‘Guns of Brixton’). Today, this photo remains one of my favorites because it captures a very decisive moment, which is what I’m trying to do myself during concerts. Last thing I will say about it: it is a bit blurry, it’s not a technically perfect photo, and I think I like it even more for that. It’s about an action and an emotion – who cares if it’s perfect or not?

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD TIM DAVID BOWIE, IGGY POP & LOU REED, DORCHESTER HOTEL, LONDON 1972. PHOTO © MICK ROCK I chose this picture because it moves me a lot, now that both David Bowie and Lou Reed are gone. In a way, Iggy is a survivor, one of the last ‘kings’ of this ‘golden age’. It is very sad, I cried when David Bowie died… I was so sure that I would see him performing eventually, and he died before I could. But I did see Iggy Pop in Paris afterwards, during his Post Pop Depression Tour. I was very lucky: thanks to Troy Van Leeuwen from QOTSA (who I met in L.A when I was hanging out with Jehnny Beth from The Savages) I was authorized to take pictures during the whole show, and I was in the front row. It was really intense, it’s one of my best memories. This picture is great, they all look so amazing – and you can feel that the photographer is someone they trust, it’s not just like any random backstage photo. They’re giving something to the one who’s watching.

ALLACCESS-MOODBOARD TIM IGGY POP BACKBEND, 1972. PHOTO © MICK ROCK This is an example I try to keep in mind when I’m taking pictures at a concert. Like the photo of Paul Simonon crashing his bass, it captures a special moment, and is a very representative of Iggy Pop’s exceptional stage presence, with his own special features.