999 (Part Two)

To follow my previous article about UK punk pioneers 999, here are portraits of the 3 original members still playing in the band. These form part of my Middle Aged Punks photography project and feature in descending order Nick Cash, Guy Days and Pablo LaBritain.

Bradistan City Park

It seems amazing but until yesterday I hadn't been into the real centre of Bradistan for I think three months at least. And I think it has probably been that long since I even walked with my camera in the city. Anyway, the new City Park is up and running although there are a few tweaks to be made before its official launch in around three weeks time. The park has cost almost thirty million pounds so I hope that it proves to be worth its investment as the two years or so that the building works have gone on, more and more local businesses nearby have failed. Bradistan city centre is in very poor shape and despite lots of talk from the local council, no real improvement in this situation can be seen.

Myself, I like this City Park. Apparently it starts off as mist and as the day goes on more and more water appears, In the evening it is lit up and I have heard it looks really impressive. Yesterday was a typical grey Bradistani day and I was just there for a quarter of an hour or so but I will definitely return and at different times too.

Cats Of Safi Medina (Part Two)

If you take a walk in the old town (or medina) in Safi in Morocco you will encounter numerous cats. I did a blog entry about them back in April 2010 and here are some of the furry little felines that I saw on my last trip.

Another Safi Sunset

When I am visiting my in-laws in the Moroccan town of Safi, a really pleasant way to end the afternoon is to wander down to the corniche and watch the sun go down over the Atlantic. Here are some pictures taken one day during my last trip in September 2011.

Sayed Ammar Nakshawani

Sayed Ammar Nakshawani is arguably the most well-known English-speaking Shia muslim lecturer in the world today. He has engagements all over the globe so it is a rare occasion to see him speak live. Luckily, he was in Bradistan this weekend just for a couple of short hours but long enough to give a brilliant lecture. I was also fortunate that he posed for this portrait for me.

More Safi

Here are a selection of random images taken in the Moroccan coastal town of Safi from September 2011.

999

999 were formed in late 1976 and were one of the first UK punk bands to exist in the UK, playing their debut gig in January 1977 (although it was to be May when they finally settled on the name 999). Founder member (singer and guitarist) Nick Cash had previously been a member of Kilburn And The High Roads, the pub-rock band that featured the legendary Ian Dury before he had his successful solo career. Nick joined up with Guy Days (guitar), Jon Watson (bass) and Pablo LaBritain (drums) to form the classic line-up of the band. Amazingly, three quarters of the group are still playing together today, now joined by Arturo Bassick on bass, who used to be in The Lurkers.

The band soon established themselves at the forefront of the new punk movement and released two successful singles in 1977, their debut "I’m Alive" which enabled them to sign a major label deal with United Artists who then put out the follow-up "Nasty Nasty". All their singles were popular hits on the punk scene with "Emergency" from 1978 being their greatest achievement in my eyes, alongside "Homicide" from the same year which scraped the national charts. "Homicide" was maybe destined to be a bigger hit but due to a strike which cancelled that week’s Top Of The Pops show which the band were due to appear on, the single then began its downward slide from the charts. Such was the power of that programme to make or break a song.

999’s first two albums, both released in 1978, were reasonable successes but somehow the group never made the breakthrough into the punk elite and real stardom. Regular touring in the USA brought their a large fanbase across the water although their UK popularity was never completely sustained. However, even in 1981 they were achieving hits in the lower reaches of the British singles charts. A series of spaghetti western-inspired 45s like "Little Red Riding Hood" (a cover of the Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs song)and "Obsessed" particularly stand out although the band disappointingly don’t play these songs live anymore.

Still a popular live act, 999 continue to tour and I caught up with them in Wakefield earlier this month when they were doing a string of northern dates. They attracted a decent-sized crowd who were enthusiastic to hear all their best moments from their early punk days, plus a new song or two. Thirty-five years on, it is always noteworthy to see a group play with a lot of passion and still enjoy themselves on stage. Here are some live shots and I will publish some individual portraits in a future blog.

Drongos For Europe

Here are four portraits of the members of the Birmingham punk group Drongos For Europe. Formed in 1979, singer and leader Tommy is the only original member from those days but the band has had a stable line-up for some years now. Their debut release, the "Adverse Chorus" EP was a modest seller but later releases brought the band increased recognition at home and abroad. The line-up (in order the order of the photos below) is Tommy (vocals), Ohmsy (guitar), Dek (bass) and Danny (drums).

Although Drongos For Europe will never be regarded as being in the top division of punk bands, they have a solid following and when I saw them in Sheffield in December they received a big reaction from the hundreds of punks present. Unlike all the other portraits in this Middle Aged Punks series, these shots were taken indoors and I prefer to use the natural outdoor light. Therefore, I would like to photograph the band again the next time our paths cross.

Classic Soul Side (Part Thirteen)

I haven't made any music posts for some time as my mind and focus has been on other things. However, this old favourite of mine came into my head the other day and fortunately, there is this great clip on the web of the song. This song "Giving Up" from Gladys Knight & The Pips is one of the greatest break-up tunes ever. Coming from 1964, it wasn't a big success and is possibly more well-known from the cover version by Donny Hathaway. I much prefer the original though with the tighter arrangement and stronger melody. Deep soul music doesn't get much better than this.

Omar Souleyman

In December the cult Syrian singer Omar Souleyman came to Bradistan for a concert which was part of his European tour. It had been a bit of a dream of mine to get him to play in Bradistan ever since I first saw him back in May 2009. As expected, it was a brilliant night and good to see so many smiles on the faces of those who attended.

Luckily, I was able to spend a little bit of time with Omar in the daytime so I didn't waste the opportunity to shoot a portrait of him.

Jaloos In Manchester

Back in December, it was the sacred Islamic month of Muharram which has enormous significance for Shia Muslims in particular. This is because the Prophet Muhammad's grandson and the third Shia Imam Hussain was martyred on the 10th of this month at the Battle of Karbala. Millions of Shia Muslims mark this tragic event every year and in the UK many towns will hold a jaloos (procession).

This Muharram I only managed to attend two of these occasions and the first one of the season was held in Manchester. Unfortunately, it was raining too heavily to risk using my DSLR so I took these shots on a Panasonic Lumix GF3, which is a really useful little piece of kit for street photography. As always, the attendance was high despite the inclement weather and two hour event was as intense as ever.

English Dogs (Part Three)

Following on from a previous blog entry about the street punk group English Dogs, today's article concerns the second incarnation of the band. When vocalist Wakey departed, the other original members Jon, Wattie and Pinch brought in Graham "Gizz" Butt as second guitarist and Adie Bailey as replacement vocalist. Adie was based in Halifax, just down the road from Bradistan and had been singer with the band Ultra-Violent. Ultra-Violent had released just one EP, the searing "Crime For Revenge" which was released on the Riot City label.

This new line-up took the music in a new direction and introduced heavy metal riffs to create a new, aggressive fusion of punk and metal. First up came the "To The Ends Of The Earth" EP in late 1984, then an album "Forward Into Battle" the following year. This set has now gained legendary status and influenced a lot of American thrash bands, especially Metallica. A sold-out tour of the USA followed in early 1986.

Two more releases were to come before the band imploded. First was the brutal "Metalmorphosis" EP and then the "Where Legend Began" set. This album was as far away from the band's beginnings as you could imagine, with lyrics more akin to "The Lord Of The Rings" than what was happening on the streets of grim mid-1980s Britain. However, it is acknowledged as a classic hardcore set.

There are now two different versions of English Dogs currently touring. Original singer Wakey is playing with a well-rehearsed unit of three other musicians, playing the punk material alongside new songs. The second version is about to tour the States and play this more metal material. This band features Adie on vocals, Gizz on guitar and Pinch on drums.

I caught up with Adie a little while to take his portrait for my Middle Aged Punks project. He is still living in Halifax and really excited to be working again with his former bandmates. It will be interesting to see what response the band get on their American tour next month.