Rude Boys! The Specials show us how it should be done

Last night I was back at the Birmingham O2 Academy, feeling very privileged to be photographing Coventry's best ever band The Specials as part of their 30th anniversary reunion tour. I was the only photographer, which was quite surprising really. The only downside was, due to the Academy's new policy on photographers, I had to leave the building after my three songs so I couldn't stay to enjoy the show. What I did get to see was great, and here's my favourite shots from the night. A review for Birmingham Live should hit the net soon!

There you have it. It's always great to add some genuine legends to your portfolio, and having the chance to shoot a band as important to music as The Specials was awesome. Hope you've liked my pics, if so then leave me a comment below. Hope to see you check back here soon!

80s Fest - Simple Minds + Deacon Blue

Last Friday I was sent to the LG Arena (the NEC to me and you) to photograph Scottish band Simple Minds, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary. I was shooting the gig for Birmingham Live and hopefully the review will go up asap. Support came from fellow Scots Deacon Blue.

Now, if you've read any of my other posts on this blog, you'll probably know that Friday's lineup wasn't exactly my musical cup of tea, and I'd be lying if I said that I enjoyed Deacon Blue's set. It didn't help that their singer kept chucking water over all of us photographers - very annoying. The crowd seemed to like it though.

Then it was down to the headliners to send the room crazy. Again, not my style of music, but they were much more enjoyable to watch than the support act, and the quality of their lvie sound was impressive.

Another plus point for Simple Minds - no water being launched in the direction of the photographer's pit!

30 years together is a mighty achievement, and unsurprisingly the band got a great reception from their fans. Singer Jim Kerr hardly stopped waving to the crowd for the whole three songs that I shot them for.

Of course, their big hit was "Don't You Forget About Me", but I didn't stay long enough to hear it - partly because I was only given a photo pass and not a ticket, but mainly because I had a train home to catch.

Here's a few more for you, don't forget to leave me some comments!

That's it for Simple Minds, and indeed for November. I have no gigs no until 10th December, which is an absolute age compared to the last couple of months! However, there is due to be an article about Bimringham Live appearing in Practical Photography next week, which I actually arranged, so I'll probably post on here when that comes out. Here's a final shot from Simple Minds for you, catch you all again soon!