Einsturzende Neubauten - London, 1983

Einsturzende Neubauten's first gig in London was one of the most amazing spectacles of performance art , visual thuggery & ear splitting cacophany ever seen in London. It was held on a muggy summer's evening, in a strange little community hall in South London - the setting was as weird as the gig.

Once inside the punters were locked in and the heaters turned on to full power. This factor, combined with the fires onstage, made it the most uncomfortable gig I've ever been to. Added to this were angle grinders covering the audience in sparks, and Blixa Bargeld (lead singer) smashing bottles into huge iron plates, with the shards of glass showering the audience. The other problem was that there was so much humidity, thanks to the heaters and lots of sweating bodies, that the camera lenses continually fogged up and that made it really difficult to get a clear pic.

I don't know if anyone lost an eye that night, but I can't imagine anything like that gig being allowed today. Public liability and OH&S rules would prohibit a band like Einsturzende Neubauten ever playing anywhere.

The Virgin Prunes - London 1983

The Virgin Prunes were one of a spate of goth bands emerging at the time, but they were characterised by elaborate props.

They were very theatrical, but unfortunately were very much style over substance. I've got a few of their early releases, but I cannot remember any of their songs.

They had a great stage presence though.

The Hoodoo Gurus (and Suzi Quatro)

In 1985 Matt Snow and I spent a day with the Hoodoo Gurus, in Fitzroy & St. Kilda, to do an article for "Sounds Magazine". They were the biggest band in Australia at the time, and their pix were taken at the ABC Studios in Ripponlea, on the top of the Countdown studio roof.

After their photo shoot, Brad Shepherd and Dave Faulkner came running to find me in the corridors, desperately wanting me to take a photo of them with the even more famous Suzi Quatro, who was also appearing on Countdown that day.

It goes to show that famous musicians can also get star struck. I also love the very bemused look on Suzie's face.

Fad Gadget.

These shots were taken in London in 1982. He was an early client if Mute Records, and was criminally under-rated as a performer - he was a brilliant musician. He had Alison Moyet as his backing singer, was a great performer and he used all sorts of props on stage, including shaving cream and horse hair (as fake pubic hair).

It was easy to understand why he was also an early favourite subject of Anton Corbijn, another NME photographer.

The Human League

The Human League played at The Palais, in Melbourne, in 1981 and were at the height of their world wide fame.

They were just awful. It was just one of those rare moments were you know a band really just does not have "it".

This was the only image out of about nine rolls of film that I was happy to publish.