Pilgrimage 1984
1984 was the pivotal year when we stop listening to English bands and turned our ears to the American alternative scene. At first it was indie rock groups like R.E.M. and The Replacements, but soon myself and my friends were keenly attuned to the best of the post-hardcore groups (Hüsker Dü, The Meat Puppets, The Minutemen, Volcano Suns, Butthole Surfers, Sonic Youth).
This is also the year that I made my first celebrity portraits.
R.E.M. were at the center of everything indie in the mid-eighties. Even in my interview with Black Flag’s Greg Ginn later that year I mentioned to him, “I heard that you guys got a letter from R.E.M. about doing a show [together].” He replied, “I know that they like our music. They’re really good supporters of music in the US that has not totally surfaced yet, with radio and stuff; Hüsker Dü opened for them in Boston, for example.”
I ended up shooting with R.E.M. a half a dozen times in later years but it was this period that struck with me most powerfully. Maybe because I was new to taking photography seriously, or perhaps because the band was at it’s most mysterious and enigmatic. I got to shoot a record store autograph signing, a live performance, and then a bit backstage after the show.
At one point I approached lead singer Michael Stipe in one of the back rooms of the venue as he casually talked with fans. I had decided to do a portrait series for a college photo class but was too anxious to show faces yet, so did a shot of Stipe's shoes, and the “Rock Star’s Footwear” series was born.
When the band came back to town the following year I started my next series with Stipe, Things People Carry, and you can see more about that here.
Top Image: R.E.M. at the Concert Hall in Toronto, July 13, 1984.
Second Image: Michael Stipe, from “Rock Star’s Footwear.”
Third Image: A page from my scrapbook showing a posed picture with Peter Buck and a photocopied copy of Seven Chinese Brothers children’s book signed by the band members.
Fourth Image: Vintage Michael Stipe print, from the Cheapies Records & Tapes in-store signing, July 1984.
Fifth Image: Reportage photo, Cheapies Records & Tapes in-store signing, July 1984.
Bottom Image: Album cover for Jumpin’ With Joe, shown in background of autograph signing photo.