The photos on this page show one of my earliest experiences shooting at a 'non-pub' show. I was invited by a great band who I knew quite well (called Passion Street) to shoot their set at The Underworld in Camden. They were supporting a band I was (and always will be!) a massive fan of, called Enuff Z'Nuff. Backstage, after Passion Street's, set I spoke to Chip Z'Nuff and asked if I could take some pics. To be honest I didn't even properly hear Chip's response but the security seemed happy to let me on stage a couple of times so I'm assuming I was given the thumbs up! Here are the pics... this was in 1996 so it's all on 35mm film. I used a fully manual camera, a second hand Nikon FM (camera info for gear nerds here) fitted with a standard Nikon 50mm lens and Ilford HP5 film which I developed myself, push processing it to ASA 1600.

Enuff Z'Nuff are still as good as ever, although they've sadly had to make changes along the way. They go out as a trio these days. Find out their full story at www.enuffznuff.com. If hard Rock is your thing, here's your new favourite band...



Unlike many of London's other legendary venues like The Marquee, The Mean Fiddler, The Astoria, etc... The Underworld is still putting great bands on, and has long been the heart of Camden's Rock scene. In fact I was there recently, in May, shooting bands at the Camden Rocks festival. If you know the venue you may be able to see in the pics that the stage layout has changed since 1996. Nowadays the stage doesn't stretch across the back wall anymore. It is at a diagonal angle to the main room meaning that the supporting column is no longer in the middle of the stage, but instead provides a handy photography leaning post at the side of the stage.

There's a great video that really captures the essence of this venue. Check out Your Demise's track "Life Of Luxury" with all the footage taken at their show at The Underworld. I'm happy to say that I was there shooting this show too. You may even see me taking photos, using that column for protection! It's such a good venue that deserves iconic status... long may it continue to host awesome music!