Posts Tagged ‘concerts’

Digging again through my archives I found these photographs I’d taken of living legend Rolf Harris when he played a gig at the Eastleigh Summer Festival back in 2003.   Concert photography is hard enough at the best of times, and its not made any easier when you’re shooting from the back row of the audience, from the wrong angle, and still trying to get some good shots off.

It was the second time I’d seen Rolf in concert, the first being on the main Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury festival a couple of years earlier.  He was there with his didgeridoo and wobbleboard, singing all his old classics, “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport”, “Sun Arise”, “Jake the Peg”, “Fine Day”, and “Two Little Boys”.

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a wish to photograph a big name concert and also to photograph Peter Gabriel in concert. On the 25th July 2009 at the Charlton Park WOMAD festival both of those ambitions merged into one and became a reality. Normally getting a decent camera into a concert and using it is all but impossible without a media pass. I’d tried in vain to get myself media accreditation in the days prior to the concert but in the end I was happy to have been turned down. The press were only allowed to shoot the first 3 songs and then they were gone.

With the help from Alan and Ian, two friends I have met at other Peter Gabriel concerts over the years, and a trick of bringing back two glasses of beer for them enabled me to get within 3 rows of the stage without actually having to wait there for 5 hours.

Peter and his band came on stage around 21:30 and played for around 90 minutes. The set list went something like this;

Boy In The Bubble
The Book Of Love
Darkness
Come Talk To Me
Steam
Downside Up
Games Without Frontiers
No Self-Control
Big Time
Washing Of The Water
The Tower That Ate People
San Jacinto
Red Rain
Solsbury Hill
Biko

A couple of links of interest. Firstly to WOMAD, and secondly to an organisation that Peter strongly supports Witness.org.

I’m really happy with the results but you be the judge – take a look for yourself.

As a final note I would like to add that these images are not for sale. They are only intended for my portfolio use.