In the presence of a legend

Two weeks before lockdown, I was at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, clutching my press pass like an excited child with a brand new toy!

After experiencing my first gig (as an official photographer) in December, I had made a conscious decision to approach event organisers to request credentials to be in the photographers' area.  I worked on the basis that I would hear a lot of "No" and that I had nothing to lose anyway.

So Bryan Ferry was my first and last of 2020!  Oh my goodness, he was amazing and hearing the music live that I grew up hearing at home was just beyond my imagination.  Added to this that the support band - One Eleven - were sublime too.  It was a fabulous night.

I was hoping at that point that lockdown wouldn't happen - I had Rick Astley lined up for April, Shed Seven (again), Apollo Junction, a weekend festival in June and a number of other irons in the fire.  Sadly it was not to be.

I genuinely worry for the state of the live music sector, and the Arts more generally, right now.  Music, art, literature, films and so many other creative work has been the thing that we have reached for during these strange times AND YET it seems that the industry / sector is not valued to the same extent as other sectors.  I worry for bands, performers, painters, sculptors and all the other supremely talented people who add richness to our lives as we move out of the other side of all of this.

Support artists - buy the book, the album, the artwork...appreciate their work and demonstrate the value in it.