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I don’t do selfies very often and less often still would I ever share them anywhere – but on the rare occasion I do (as above) its because I want to remember something amazing. And this really was amazing. Im soaking wet with sweat having just spent four hours bouncing around either dancing to a band or being bounced around in a mosh pit to a band.  The band (s) in question were The Specials and Toots and The Maytals and the event was SlamDunk and I was there, on my own, completely by accident. Only I could manage such a feat. But what a night it was.

Here is a selection of some of the shots I managed from high in the air of a random strangers shoulders…. more on the awesome musicians another time…… for now here are a few of my fellow festival goers….and how I saw the night, shot because people still are the greatest subject to take pictures of and even better if they are having fun and to be honest are skinheads…….

 

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And finally – as it got a bit over bouncy even for me – I shall forever be grateful to the amazing people who were around me who literally had my back at one point – I never caught their names but one of them looked the double of Max Branning from Eastenders (which I constantly told him!!)…tell me Im wrong!!!… Read the rest

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One the very best things I do, and have done for a couple of years is go searching for original old skool graffiti. Im privileged that I get the opportunity to do that with some of the original people who either did it or were there at the time. This makes the adventure a damn sight more interesting and special because its like they are showing me one of their oldest friends.

I recently went on a such a trek with a writer, who gave up his time to take me to several spots in the Midlands and this is a selection of just a few of them.

Whats really interesting to me particularly on the one above is the full date. May 22nd 1991. Thats the first time I have seen an actual full date on any piece anywhere.

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What might seem like some nice red bricks to a general passerby holds treasures for my eyes.

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And this is where the old and the new collide. Thanks to the internet I am not only able to have these connections with people but then I can share the finds back with the original writers. And thats a bit mind blowing. The debate about what the internet has done – be it a good or a bad thing – to the graffiti culture – is one which takes place pretty much every day.… Read the rest

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I spend a great deal of my time researching these days. Im always reading something, talking to someone about something, travelling to look and photography something or writing about something. Its part and parcel of doing a PhD on a part time basis and its very very often a lonely road because I have to do all of this away from my main full time job. But I believe that if you are passionate about something then you should behave passionately about it. This was my bedroom in 1983. This wall was completed by me and my best pal at the time Suzanne – she was an amazing portrait artist and unlike me also did art at school (which by this time I wasn’t attending all that much). I was a nightmare at this time in my life. I was rebelling against everything and everyone and I was also suffering/hiding the beginnings of what was possibly early signs of an eating disorder. But apart from the eating disorder bit – an explanation of which I fully intend to return back to at some point on this blog – I was – quite honestly – having the greatest days of my life.… Read the rest

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