“I came up with the genius idea of being a rockstar photographer. I could still feel important and literally hide behind a sexy camera. I dropped out of school. I was going to be the next David Bailey, Helmut Newton, or Irving Penn, or even better, a combination of all of them.”
– DB Burkeman
DB Burkeman was clearing out his old bedroom at his mother’s house in London when he discovered rolls of film he’d taken between 1976 and 1982. Back then he’d dropped out of school and was spending any cash on drugs and music.
These images from his rediscovered photos tells us the story of punk and new wave music in London, New York and LA . He’s compiled them in the book Crash Bang: Pictures from a Punk. Some notable appearances include Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen leaving court in London, the Sex Pistols final show in the UK at Brunel University, the Ramones in New York clubs, and Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart in their pre-Eurythmics days.
There were many surprises. “When I developed this roll of film over 30 years after I shot it, and saw what I had, I simply couldn’t believe it! This gig was when they recorded their iconic album It’s Alive,” he says of the lead photo (above) of The Ramones playing London’s The Rainbow in 1977.
Debbie Harry, London, 1978 – ‘I believe this was an album release event at Virgin Records in Marble Arch. Blondie were much bigger in the UK than the US at this time’
“During my year in New York, in 1979, I suspect that a lot of the incredible places I was given access to – parties, backstage areas, staying at the Chelsea Hotel, and the amazing people I met – Sid Vicious, Nico, Johnny Thunders, etc. all happened because of the drugs. It’s true to say there were brilliant moments, but within two years of that first blissed-out high, I became just another lying, cheating, stealing, dope-fiend.
“Without the dope, I was never going to have the self-confidence to be intimate enough with people to make it work.”
– DB Burkeman
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, London, 1976
“Before they became famous as The Eurythmics, Lennox and Stewart were in a band called The Tourists. They lived in a squat over Spanish Moon Records, a shop in Crouch End that was owned by mutual friend Paul Jacobs (RIP). I was like the band’s unofficial photographer.”
Split Rivitt and Janis, UK, 1976
“Split Rivitt were a north London band made up of ex-school mates from the King Alfred school. I’ve lost touch but I believe all but one are still alive.”
Crayola, New York, 1978
“Before the drugs took over, my then best friend Toby and I did a New York to Los Angeles road trip via Route 66. Crayola were the first band we saw at Max’s Kansas City on the night we landed in NY. As we were from London, two of the girls kidnapped Toby and me for the night. I ended up living with the singer for a few days and shooting photos for the band.”
Howie Pyro and Bryan Gregory, New York, 1978
“I might have this one dated wrong in the book. I’m thinking this was actually a Cramps after-party at the Mudd Club in 1979. Howie Pyro was the first person I ever saw wearing rosary beads as a style choice. Proto goth. He and his school friends had a New York Dolls-meets-the Banshees band called the Blessed. Bryan Gregory was the guitarist for the Cramps.”
Marianne Faithfull, L’Olympia, Paris 1982
“By 1982 I was a complete mess. I thought London was my problem, so I moved to a tiny village in south-west France and even found a fellow junkie girlfriend there. We made the trip to Paris to see a Stones gig and this rare Marianne Faithfull show. I actually got to meet Marianne a few months later, when we had both made it into grateful recovering lives.”
Danny and Nick, London, 1976
“The image we used on the book cover was shot at my first girlfriend Kate’s 16th birthday party. These two kids just showed up and gatecrashed. They were the first two kids we’d met with ‘the haircut’. I’m told that one of them is still alive. I hope he sees the book.”
Sid and Nancy, London, 1977
“One morning on my way to my studio assistant job, I noticed a bunch of reporters loitering outside Marylebone Magistrates Court. I wandered over to be nosy, and out came the hellraiser couple.”
Sex Pistols, Brunel University, London, 1977 Sex Pistols, Brunel University, London, 1977
Jools Holland from Squeeze, the Starwood, Los Angeles, 1978
“A very early show for Squeeze in the States. Toby and I just happened to be in LA on our Fear and Loathing-themed tour.”
Siouxsie and the Banshees, Music Machine, London, 1980
“Between 1976 and 1982 I think I saw the Banshees over 20 times. Even with my ticket stubs that I kept, we needed Google to help figure out which show this image was from based on clothing’
More punk memories in the archives.
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