While the interviews are still on vacations i’ll pull back from the attick some stories behind certain tunes that i used to talkabout when i was at a local tv show in 2007.
OASIS - "Don't Look Back In Anger"
From the record (What’s the Story), Morning Glory?
One of the main tunes where the connection between Oasis and the Beatles /John Lennon is more notorious. You can ear the first piano chords from John Lennon’s Imagine but in a fast “tempo”. This song talks about keep a certain type of relationships while on tour. It also mentions some childhood moments (like the photos from Noel ).
“...going to start a revolution from my bed…” it’s taken from John Lennon’s sentence in his period of anti-Vietnam protest while he was in a bed somewhere in Amsterdam with Yoko Ono. In the video the driver is the well known Patrick Macnee, the star of the 60’s Tv series , “The Avangers”.
It was a relative long absence. It's usual after the festival seasons and the holidays. But, soon i'll be posting new articles and interviews that i think you'll like. I'll be publishing a "inside" work about the last Kasabian's record with comments from everybody from the mastering engineer to the design astist. Also, interviews with Esser, John from The Gift, Craig Gannon (former Smiths Guitar player), Dan Sartain and Sandro G.
I don’t know if there’s a perfect “shot” or a perfect moment in time. But, definitely there’s what we can call coincidence. I have this interview with Kevin to post for about three weeks and I’ve scheduled for this weekend. The same weekend that saw Oasis split.
So, now that the Manchester spirit is everywhere, it’s my pleasure to present bellow the words from Kevin Cummins, the legendary photographer that captured some great and unique moments for all of us, music fans. We’ve talked from legends to football from Morrissey to Bowie from art to drugs and above all, about work.
Hope you enjoy this work of ours. Don’t forget to take a look at the relevant links to Kevin’s work at the end of this post.
Cheers,
KL
KING_LEER (KL):
Kevin,
I’ve chosen this one (NME 40th birthday issue) with Morrissey since he’s one the most influent figures of our times – my opinion. If you had to choose or to make a top 5 of the people you think are ones that “best fit” your camera Who would they be?
KEVIN CUMMINS (KC):
Morrissey, Bowie, Courtney Love, Liam Gallagher, Ian Curtis.
KL:
Who was the artist that you liked the most to get his picture, and the worst?
KC:
The best people to photograph are the ones who are aware of the way they look. Having said that, It’s a challenge to get a photograph of someone who’s painfully shy. The worst people to photograph are the ones who’ve been shot thousands of times. They only give you their ‘photograph face’. They don’t let you into their world.
KL:
Since with this post i want the blog readers to better understand what is a chief photographer job when he is connected with the relevant media, can you tell us what was your typical day to day working for a magazine like the NME?
KC:
Weed for breakfast, JD and Coke for lunch and Champagne and Cocaine for dinner, er obviously …
KL:
I believe every record sleeve has history. Can you choose two of them and then explain to us what was behind that particular tiny moment in time?
KC:
This photograph is an urban landscape. The band is incidental – although crucial – to the composition. I
’m interested in the way photography can tell a story. This bleakness explained the essence of Joy Division’s music more eloquently than 1000 words would have done …
MORRISSEY: another urban landscape but the subject is more prominent. It has a reflective quality that I felt Morrissey’s lyrics had at that time …
KL:
Please share with us what Kevin Cummins - the “man behind the invisible mirror” for so many people - is doing besides the photography?
KC:
I still take photos. I have a book coming out on 3 Sept. Check Faber and Faber website for details. I have an exhibition in Manchester from 3 Sept too for a month. Check Richard Goodall Gallery website. I'm also appearing at Crossing Border festival in Den Hague and Antwerp. This is in Nov.
KL:
Is this world of ours a better world to take a picture? This is of course a social question. Feel free to answer in the way you want, regarding social problems, crisis, politics, etc (and in UK like here in Portugal you have many and actual political issues to discuss).
KC:
It becomes more and more difficult to take photos in the UK. We have surveillance cameras everywhere. We have a jack-booted Police force. We have a world population who think they are so media-aware that they assume photographers earn millions of Euros from their work – so consequently they will rarely allow us to photograph them – without asking us for money. I often take travel photographs and it’s becoming very difficult to get natural photos of people. What’s wrong with all you J …Let me take your picture J
KL:
Manchester City – You are a huge supporter, right? Are you anti- MU? What do you think about the 94M€ Ronaldo? Good photo or bad photo?
KC:
I have no interest in Ronaldo. He has no personality in his face.
I don’t like Man U . I’ve always supported Manchester City – the true Manchester club.
KL:
Diego Maradona and Juliette Lewis - a marriage made in er hell... – Can you explain that?
KC:
I was asked who I’d like to meet. They were two people I wanted to meet. Then I imagined them as a couple … I’ve recently met Juliette Lewis. She’s lovely.
KL:
Manchester is probably one of the cities in the world that has more great bands per square inch.
What are the major differences between 80’s Manchester and the actual one?
KC:
80s Manchester had a lot of council accommodation. And a lot of student accommodation. The low rents and the subsidized rents allowed young peopleto spend their time smoking weed and playing music – or dabbling in other creative arts, where it wasn’t necessary to earn a lot of money to survive. Now, all that has gone. If you are young and want to be a musician you need a private income these days. The sound of the working class in Britain is a very faint one.
KL/KC:
I’ll give you a “Manc” name you give me your thoughts on him:
a) Ian Brown: One Love
b) Morrissey: I Wanna be Adored
c) Oasis: Good Times
d) Ian Curtis: Where Angels Play
e) Kevin Cummins: Don’t Stop
f) Vini Reilly: Your Star Will Shine
Well, here’s one short but very interesting interview with Mike Gaspar, Moonspell’s drummer.
It took place right before the beginning of their US Tour – end of July.
Mike is an excellent partner to this kind of conversations since he is a natural born communicator. He’s a good example on the communication between musicians, fans, journalists, etc.
Moonspell continue to have their legion of fans – always growing – like I had the opportunity to check on their recent gig at the city of Maia at the north of Portugal - where I live at the moment.
I hope you enjoy it like i did.
P.s:Regarding the photo, it’s not usual for me to appear on them but, this one has a story and it’s one of the best shots i have. I was at Lisbon by Moonspell’s 2007 Halloween gig at the local Coliseum. I had left the bank after a meeting and headed right to the concert with my “unusual” Halloween costume!!!!
KING_LEER (KL):
Dear Mike,
If we Google the word “Moonspell” and see inside Wikipedia your band is tagged with the genre “black metal/gothic metal”. What’s the most correct definition, the one that among yourselves you use?
MIKE “MOONSPELL” (MM):
Well, that was one interesting question in the past with so many names that were applied to our music. Obviously, the black metal and the gothic were major influences on the beginning of out career but, we always had our very own style and sometimes far from the genres people would apply on us. That was mainly due to our origins and costumes taken from the south of Europe. So, that’s why i like call our music only….Moonspell. The possibilities and the nature of our music are infinitive so, with that, the barriers in our music understanding are few and the composition earned with that. I feel very proud for that!
KL:
For Moonspell this will be a “killer” Summer- mainly right after this couple of home-country gigs you’ll head for the US Tour. Tell us what is the importance of being connected to a foreign label with the bookings also being held by also a foreign booker? Is the difference so high? For the readers fully understanding please explain us the advantages of this connection.
MM:
This connection is mainly due to this movement we were involved at the time.
The bands we liked were all in foreign labels and touring worldwide. It’d be very difficult not to do so, because the coverage and attention to the kind of music we make was almost none here in Portugal and the depth of the market was also very tiny. Only American bands were aloud to have a career in their home country but always with the help of the European audiences and their support.
From that time, things have changed and happily we can have a market here in Portugal but our goal was always to take our message to a broader audience. For that reason we work with a foreign label. So, that is the main difference between us and the National artists. Our foreign knowledge helped us to be this great super band. That’s why we sometimes feel like we are beyond the reality until it’s necessary. Take this as an example: We are very relaxed before a gig, as nothing is happening. So, for us to be on a gig or travelling in our bus is like being in our own beds (he he!) – It’s our natural environment.
KL:
What’s the meaning of the figure on the sleeve of your last record (released both in Europe and US), Night Eternal?
MM:
That image represents the feminine strength. She is a Madonna of our Universe.
This work was done by Seth – Septic Flesh bass player. He is Greek so, understands perfectly the connection and the importance of the women in our lives. At the same time, the frustration on being a woman in the south of Europe with all our “Alpha-male” presence. There’s a huge difference between southern and the North within this subject. I believe this is one of our best sleeves. The beauty and mystery of that picture with its religious touch is perfect! This represents our fully commitment for the power of the Woman.
KL:
Usually, i study and talk about song lyrics. I know it’s Fernando’s task but the song “At Tragic Heights” quotes “The book of the revelations” on its chapter 16:2 that talks about the last seven plagues launched by the seven Angels. Who is “She” in “She hangs from the sky”?
MM:
I am really sorry but that one you must ask to Fernando himself.
KL:
Last question. What can we expect from the gig in Maia (North of Portugal)?
Any surprises at all? It’ll be one of your last gigs before the American tour right?
MM:
We still have the Caos Emergente (Emergent Chaos) gig in September.
The Maia one starts to be a yearly ritual for us due to our last presence there.
The amount of people that came to see us was amazing. It was gig to remember, very similar to the ones we gave at the south of Portugal in Cascais by the 80’s and the beginning of the 90’s with bands like Iron Maiden where the audience was in perfect sintony with the band. That was the spirit in last year’s gig at Maia and it’s not easy to feel so. For that reason we have the obligation to give that audience another great show with everything they deserve.
We’ll have projections on the show, rarely used in our homeland gigs until now!
The presence of the Crystal Mountain always brings a magical touch to our shows.
Without doubt, you can count with the band’s fully commitment to perform a massive show since we’ve been playing a lot but we feel a little homesick.
The last gig at Amadora (South of Portugal) was excellent and I barely can wait to the Maia one. We are going to blow out the audience!!! He he.
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