We like to try something different now and again. It’s the challenge. Allan, as we probably know likes a challenge, which gig photography always provides. This year, as new connections have been made with artists and managers, opportunities have come up to try a few other things away from stage performance. And why not? Over to Allan.

Eleni (Echo Wants her Voice Back) Camden Chapel soundcheck

I’ve photographed Eleni a few times over the last few years and she’s a joy to shoot. Her face is always animated and her wardrobe is always striking. And the music – it’s a mixture of pop, r’n’b and Hellenic Noir and it’s very dramatic. Add to that Eleni’s striking and powerful voice and some unusual arrangements and you have a potent mix. When she played the intimate Talentbanq venue The Camden Chapel in January this year, I turned up for the soundcheck to grab a few shots in a fairly relaxed environment. Even at a soundcheck, Eleni’s still a performer.

Nicky (Morganway) 229 Soundcheck

Another Talentbanq gig at a slightly bigger venue than The Chapel. This one was a celebration of Talentbanq’s fifth birthday and Morganway, one of my favourite bands, was playing so it was an opportunity for a catch-up and another chance to shoot an incredibly dynamic band in action. Soundchecks, apart from the full band run-through, can be a bit tedious for band and onlookers alike but there can be some gold there if you keep looking for it. Nicky (Nicole J Terry) is Morganway’s violinist (or fiddle player, however you call it). On stage she’s a bundle of pure energy, playing, singing and dancing as if her life depended on it. After doing a quick line check for her violin and vocals, Nicky took an opportunity to relax as the stage light were being set up. She was completely relaxed, which would have made a nice photo, but I was able to line the shot up with a light shining from directly behind, which really made it ping.

The Slacksons, Hanwell Hootie post-gig

I’ve shot The Slacksons a few times now as well. Their crowd-pleasing blend of samples and live instruments with Mikey and Andy out front pinballing around the stage make them a great live attraction. I first met the band through one of those weird music business coincidences – their manager has the same name as my sister, so obviously when we connected on social media, I thought my sister’s account had been hacked. So I ended up shooting a few of the band’s gigs including their appearance at he Hanwell Hootie this summer. We decided to do some post-gig pictures which involved about two minutes shooting and forty-five minutes rounding up the band. I liked this shot with their manager making an appearance as well.

Kat ‘Liar, Liar’ video shoot

Kat, like Eleni, is a singer-songwriter and actor (also a radio presenter). I’ve shot a few of her gigs and got an invite to do some behind-the-scenes photos at the shoot for the video of her single ‘Liar, Liar’ in April. Not something I’d done before but I’m always ready to take on something new. If I’m honest, it’s a bit like a soundcheck, you just keep your eyes open for anything interesting, keep out of shot and don’t cast any shadows on the shot. Kat’s another person I love to photograph, mainly because the results are always good. You can probably see what I mean.

Lyndon Morgans & Phil Burdett, St Pancras Old Church

Bit of a change of style here. I’ve known Phil for a few years now and he introduced me to Lyndon (Songdog) just before the plague. When I heard about this gig I was really pleased because I haven’t shot Lyndon before. Only one problem, I already had gig that night, shooting Stone Foundation and Graham Parker at Koko. Fortunately the two venues are only a few minutes apart and the Stone Foundation gig had an early curfew so I had a swift walk over to SPOC to catch the end of Lyndon’s set. We went back to The Green Room to speak to Lyndon and the obvious photo opportunity came up. Here’s one of the results.

A couple of bonuses

Here’s a couple that are almost gig photos. After Kat’s launch party for the ‘Liar,Liar’ gig at Piano, the band was so up that I had to try to capture the moment. The Morganway shot, from the same gig as the earlier shot of Nicky was planned in advance because I’d always wanted to take one of those shots at the end of a gig from the drum riser. The lighting wasn’t ideal and there was too much smoke bit I still like the moment the photo captures.

We set Allan a special challenge this year – shoot five great drummer pics. As a photographer who likes a challenge, he actually produced more than five. What’s even better is that he managed to get cool photographs of four female drummers over the year, which is pretty impressive really. Anyway, let’s hand over to Allan to tell you about those kit-batterers.

It’s always a challenge photographing drummers. They’re generally hidden at the back of the stage and badly lit which is s shame because (might be controversial here), they’re generally the engine room of the band. I’ve never met a drummer who wasn’t a brilliant musician, with an understanding of how all the musical parts fit together. It’s very strange that four of my five favourite drummer shots are of female drummers. They’re all great players and all the images work in different ways, so here are my five favourite batteurs (or maybe four of those should be batteuses, who knows?)

Ritu Arya (Kin) @Brixton Blues Kitchen

I was photographing a day-long event upstairs at Blues Kitchen (where you sometimes have the strange experience of the stage lighting getting worse as the gig progresses) in support of the people of Ukraine when the band Kin appeared on stage. The band’s female drummer was incredibly photogenic and I got some nice shots. Turns out later that her day job is as an actor and she’s actually quite famous. She’s a pretty good drummer as well.

The Paisley Daze @93 Feet East

I was invited to this gig by singer and actress Kat. I’d worked with Kat before on live and behind the scenes shoots and had no hesitation at all; she’s one of the nicest people I know. Let’s be polite and say there were a few problems organisationally with the gig and it was in a room that looked like a work in progress. After struggling with what was effectively club lighting through Kat’s set, there was an improvement for The Paisley Daze. They were great fun with funky, dancey rhythms and some great melodies. The drummer was the secret weapon, hyperactive and providing some vocals as well. I got a few good shots before he did the classic drummer thing and took his top off, which made all the difference even with the slightly odd lighting.

Amanda Dal (About Bunny) @Bread and Roses

I first met Amanda when she was playing in a band with my friends Graeme Wheatley and Iago Banet. We met for the first time in a pub in New Cross over a few lunchtime beers. Ever since then our paths have crossed at many gigs where she wasn’t playing and a few where she was. One of the bands she plays with live is About Bunny, who are melodic, punky and mainly female. I went along to see them at Bread and Roses in Clapham  and my efforts were rewarded by this shot of Amanda giving it loads and grinning for the camera at the same time. Bit of trivia for you; Amanda’s Swedish and she’s a huge Abba fan. Like everyone else here, she’s also a great drummer.

Emma Holbrook @Folk in the Park, Sutton

Emma was one of several musicians on the day, including Holly Carter, Michele Stodart, Keiron Marshall and Hannah White, who appeared in more than one band on the main stage at the very first Folk in the Park this year. As a new event, there were a few lessons to be learned – one of those lessons was that a backdrop for the main stage would have helped the look of the event. I liked the contrasting colours in this shot of Emma and, even though the background’s a bit distracting, I still think the shot works.

Migdalia van der Hoven @Crypt Lates

This shot was taken less than a week ago in The Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields. The event was a birthday celebration for one of the Talentbanq directors, Pablo Ettinger. Pablo likes to celebrate his birthday by playing a jazz gig with his group and Migdalia’s his drummer of choice. Migdalia also played a second set with her own band which demonstrated why she’s in such demand – she’s a phenomenal drummer. Besides her own gigs, she’s also touring with the musical ‘Six’ at the moment. The lighting in The Crypt is a challenge, particularly for anyone who isn’t front and centre stage and the best place to photograph a drummer is usually from behind the stage, so that’s what I did. Just as I got the viewfinder to my eye, and before I could check the focus, Migdalia pulled a wonderful smile – I got lucky and the shot was pretty much in focus.

Did I ever mention that I like a drummer photo?

It’s always good to review a debut single by a genuine talent. Even in this world of social media overload, Kat as a singer-songwriter is still a fairly well-kept secret (although we did feature her as an up-and-coming talent last year). She’s been doing a few gigs around north London (including a sold-out headline gig at The Camden Chapel nearly a year ago) as she’s been developing songs and preparing for her big launch. The good news is that the big launch is imminent. Here’s a bit of background for you.

Kat’s built a career as a journalist, actor and presenter on London Greek Radio and she’s now exploring the world of songwriting. The great news is that the songs are strong melodically and lyrically and Kat’s voice is striking and powerful. The songs come mainly from a difficult period in Kat’s life, as so many great songs do, although there’s no self-pity on display; Kat’s made of much stronger stuff and she’s coming out fighting. The upcoming EP, featuring this debut single ‘Liar Liar’, is ‘Warrior Heart’, which should give you a clue.

‘Liar Liar’ is uncompromising; it’s a woman taking control of a bad relationship and pressing the delete key; no regrets, no backward looks. Musically, Kat’s been compared to Avril Lavigne, but you could go back further to Pat Benatar and maybe Heart for the raunchy rock arrangement, empowering lyrics and powerhouse vocal.

We’ll share a link to the video when it’s released on Friday; until then, here’s a still from the video shoot:

And, if you’re in London you can still get tickets for the ‘Liar Liar’ single launch at Piano Smithfield on Wednesday September 28^th. Here’s a link to presave the single.

Here’s Allan talking about some of the artists he encountered in the important half of 2021; that’s the half when we had live music again.

I may have said this before, particularly if I’ve met you at a gig, but I love gig photography. Apart from the obvious aspect of actually taking pictures, there’s a whole social scene around gigs. I’ve met some wonderful people on the gig scene, artists, managers, promoters, venue managers, security staff; you name it. It’s taken me to all sorts of venues, from the larger venues with photo pits to the small rooms where one of the major concerns is not obstructing the view of paying customers. These are the sort of venues where you see artists for the first time and where, sometimes, you discover artists that make an instant impact. I’ve seen a few of those over the last few years and, even in a truncated 2021, I’ve seen a few more. Here are a few of them. I thoroughly recommend seeing all four of these performers live. Spoiler alert – one of my five isn’t a performer.

Kat Neocleous

Kat’s a very gifted and versatile performer. She sings, acts, does journalism and works as a presenter on London Greek Radio. She’s now learning to play drums. I met Kat on social media a while ago, then bumped into her unexpectedly at a gig I was shooting at Pizza Express. Soon after that I shot her supporting The Lapels in Finsbury Park, and then at her sold-out headline gig at The Camden Chapel. Kat’s music is soulful; r’n’b with a splash of pop and hugely influenced by the confessional singer-songwriter tradition. Her voice is strong and I’m positive she has perfect pitch – her live performances are something special, even when backed by just one guitar. Her songs are powerful

and she knows how to deliver them to maximum effect. One of the highlights of her Camden Chapel show was her relatively new song “Warrior Heart” which is the headline track for her upcoming “Warrior Heart” EP.

Si Connelly

I’d heard a lot about Si Connelly over the last couple of years but somehow always seemed to miss his gigs because of clashes. 2021 was the year when I finally managed to put that right. Everything I’d ever heard about Si was really positive; I wasn’t disappointed when I finally got to see him at the Hope & Anchor in November (amazingly, my first shoot at the iconic venue) at a Success Express event. I’d thought of Si as mainly an acoustic guitar player (don’t ask me why), but he came on stage with a band and a Strat and proved that he’s a gifted electric guitar player. I saw him a few weeks later doing an (almost) solo acoustic set where he played acoustic guitar and piano. His songs are strong, but what really stands out with Si is his performance. He gives everything onstage, personifying the Andy Murray quote “Leave nothing out there.” From a photographer’s point of view, he’s one of those artists that you instantly know is going to do interesting things. I’ve shot Si at two gigs and I haven’t put the cameras down for a second during his sets. He’s visually and sonically stunning.

Brooke Law I first saw Brooke as a solo acoustic performer at the Talentbanq Eccleston Yards sessions over the summer (which are still continuing even in the deep midwinter). She did a solo acoustic set which convinced me of a couple of things. First that she’s a hugely gifted writer and performer and second that I wanted to photograph her under stage lighting. She’s lively on stage, very watchable and just looks like a rock star. Since then, I’ve had a couple of opportunities to shoot live photos, firstly at Folklore in Hackney and secondly at the Girl on Fire all-dayer at Blues Kitchen in Brixton. Both of these gigs featured her full band and demonstrated that she can perform like a rock star as well as looking like one. I’m not sure that she’s settled yet on her musical direction (I think she’s leaning towards indie/rock, but she’s already had a country hit, so who knows); whichever path she chooses, I suspect she’ll do very well.

Vincent Bugozi Vincent’s from Tanzania and he’s a force of nature. He’s an enthusiastic and energetic performer who knows exactly how to play a room. I saw him first at a charity gig at Leyton Orient Football Club (where I’d only ever been as a visiting supporter) where he and his band were dressed in suits from Tanzania that were as lively as his performance and were perfectly suited to the bouncing African rhythms of his songs. He loves to get off stage and mingle with his audience, using his extrovert radar to pick out willing participants for his performance. It certainly worked at The Orient because he picked out Nuala, one of the earlier performers on the bill. It definitely worked at The Bedford at the end of November, as you can see above. If you want to see an artist that throws everything into his performance and creates a party whenever he plays, go and see Vincent.

Laura McKay, Band Manager

Not an artist this time, but a manager and an interesting story. I had a message on Facebook from a Laura McKay. My first thought was that my sister’s FB account had been hacked (she’s also called Laura) but when I checked the mutual friends I realised that this was a genuine person involved in the music business. You can’t leave a coincidence like that hanging, so I got back to Laura and told her about the coincidence. Here’s the best bit of the story – Laura told me that people in the business had been asking her if she had a brother who was a photographer. I’ve now photographed both of the bands that Laura manages, Sins and The Slacksons (see, I managed to get new bands in there) and I’m looking forward to working with her again in the future. Got to love the independent music scene. The photo is with Sins outside The Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden.

If you live in the UK, go and see any of the bands or artists I’ve mentioned; they’re all great and passionate about what they do. You might even be able to buy me a beer to thank me for the recommendation.