I was interviewed by the BBC today at the Manchester Central Library about my exhibition, the programme; ‘Northwest Tonight ‘aired today, it was a good feature.
The visitors book at the exhibition contains some very nice comments, obviously people like my efforts and are enjoying the photographs. Plenty to see, plenty to read and when it’s cold outside it’s a place to go to get warm and use the toilets (but don’t tell them I sent you).
It’s looking good, the BBC are coming down to cover it, it’s not to be missed. Plenty to see, plenty to read as well as a collection of other photographs from Penetration magazine and plenty of stuff about Motorhead. Also, there is going to be another music exhibition in the same venue, at the same time, so come on down!
As far as I was concerned ‘Keeping it Together’ was live, for sale on Amazon, however I was wrong, it wasn’t. Anyway, I have now sorted it out and you can finally purchase it either in hardback (too expensive) or paperback (just right) from all good Amazons, so what are you waiting for?
Only £14.46 to read about Motorhead, Hawkwind, Steve Peregrin Took, AC/DC, Sex Pistols, Gong, Buzzcocks, Kiss, sex, drugs, bad behavior and rock ‘n ‘ roll madness, plus lots more. Just what your granny would like to find under the tree on Christmas morning!
Three years ago I decided to approach galleries to stage an exhibition featuring my Sex Pistols images from the band’s first visit to Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall. Local galleries weren’t interested and I decided to take a punt and try Manchester’s Central Referance Library, a prestigious venue just a two minute walk from where the Lesser Free Trade Hall was housed. I was warned by a library employee that it wasn’t easy to exhibit there, they gave me the email address of the guy in charge of the exhibition spaces with the proviso that I don’t mention where I obtained it.
Upon contacting the guy in question I was invited down to the library to discuss my proposal, that is when I discovered there was a three year wait for an exhibition space, slightly crest fallen I agreed to wait and he put me on the list. Of course, when Covid flew into the country a handful of exhibitors had their exhibitions cancelled, luckily it didn’t affect mine.
Johnny Rotten
I began to think about how I was going to exhibit my images, my plans changed on a daily basis, I purchased things that will not be used and purchased other things I will use. I had all my black and white enlargements printed at the end of last year and I stored them away so they wouldn’t get damaged and after last Christmas I had a quick look at them only to discover they had a brownish/purplish tinge, they’d printed them on color photo paper instead of paper specifically for B & W prints, and so the whole lot had to be re-done. Then, just one month ago I decided to change the whole thing 100% and now I’m Sure I’ve got it right.
Altrincham Today, Uncut Magazine and Cheshire Life have all got behind promoting the exhibition with newspapers, TV and radio to follow, flyers and posters are ready for a final promotion campaign. It has been a long mentally draining exercise and a lot of hard work.
I’m very happy with my final design for the exhibition, there will be a visitors’ book available for people to write their opinions which will hopefully contain more than just one word comprising of four letters. As with the two books written about that night at the Lesser Free Trade Hall entitled, I Swear I Was There by David Nolan, all I can say is don’t swear, be there!
As the day draws close, I begin to realize that organizing my Sex Pistols exhibition is not as easy as I first thought. Anarchy at the Manchester Central Library is just one month away and there is still so much to do to get it ready for October 10th.
Having said that, it is going to be a good exhibition with lots of information and photographs, a must for anybody interested in the Manchester music scene. There is also going to be an additional section on other bands and artistes that were featured in my magazine Penetration. It is going to be entertaining, interesting and at times humorous not at all stuffy causing you to run to the gift shop as quickly as possible.
Then again, if I don’t get my arse into gear soon who knows what will happen, it will be worth visiting to witness the carnage! No really it is going to be something special.
See you there!
ANARCHY IN THE MANCHESTER CENTRAL LIBRARY!
With the camera that I used on the night.
On Friday June 4th 1976 the Sex Pistols visited Manchester for the first time. They appeared at the Lesser Free Trade Hall which was a small venue housed above the Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, about 200 yards from the library. Around forty-six people attended that gig, many more claim to have been there.
I was there with my camera to cover the gig for my publication, Penetration Rock Magazine. That gig is now seen as the catalyst which inspired the Manchester music scene that followed. It was a moment in popular history that can never be repeated and now you can finally see, thanks to those photographs, what that iconic gig really looked like.
My photographs have been selling around the world for the last 14 years, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the USA and across Europe etc. curtesy of Getty Images. However it has been the same half a dozen photographs that have been selling, the majority of my photos haven’t been seen by the general public. This will be the very first time that all the photographs will be seen by the public and possibly this will be the only time. There will be a written commentary explaining lots of interesting facts about that night as well as additional information.
It’s free, why not call in and see it for yourself?
On Friday June 4th 1976 the Sex Pistols visited Manchester for the first time. They appeared at the Lesser Free Trade Hall which was a small venue housed above the Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, about 200 yards from this venue. Around forty-six people attended that gig, many more claim to have been there.
I was there with my camera to cover the gig for my publication, Penetration Rock Magazine. That gig is now seen as the catalyst which inspired the Manchester music scene that followed. It was a moment in popular history that can never be repeated and now you can finally see, thanks to my photographs, what that iconic gig really looked like, make a note in your diary now!
The story of how I fell in love with music in the psychedelic 60s in Manchester, England, a time when popular music was still in its infancy and people were experimenting with new sounds and ideas on a daily basis. It was all so exciting that by the 1970s I wanted to get involved. Due to the fact that I didn’t possess any musical ability to fall back on I decided to publish a magazine. My command of the English language was quite poor and I had no idea how to go about publishing anything and so I did it my way. No rules to follow, nobody to help and with grammar and spelling mistakes galore chaos ensued and this is the story of how a magazine emerged from that chaos.
A story of how fifty years later Penetration Rock Magazine is still creating interest amongst people around the planet, a humorous story of weird craziness, bad behaviour, sex and music! Something for all the family
An exhibition not to be missed, make a note in your diary now, or else….
Don’t swear, be there!
Paul Welsh Writer 