Paul Weller : That's Entertainment
Paul Weller of The Jam at the Michael Sobell Sports Centre 12.12.1981.
On the bitterly cold winter’s afternoon of December 12th 1981 I found myself at the dull and characterless Michael Sobell Sports Centre in Finsbury Park. Inside, The Jam were going through a soundcheck prior to their show that night with Department S and Bananrama. Outside, there were pitched battles in the snow and ice between The Jam-loving Mods and the hard-core punks assembling for the show round the corner at the famous and much more photogenic Rainbow Theatre
I scurried inside, away from the Game of Thrones vista, to take live photos of The Jam for The Guardian.
The centre’s overbright overhead lights were on full blast while Paul, Rick and Bruce ran through their material, and I was worried that the photos would be as lifeless as the surroundings. Then Paul Weller picked up his acoustic guitar (the Ovation guitar on which he wrote most of The Jam’s songs) and the garish lights finally and thankfully dimmed. A lone spotlight caressed his hair, summoning the ghost of Brian Jones, and he began to strum the opening chords and sing the opening lines of an all-time favorite song: "A police car and a screaming siren"... a memorable and magical moment immortalized in black and white, a moment and a photograph recently chosen by Paul as the cover image of his massive lyric tome, entitled… Magic.
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[image sizes are approximate]
SMALL : Print Size: 8½x11” : Image Size: 6"×9"
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★ Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm premium glossy paper.
★ Sizes up to 16x20 printed to order by Steve on a Canon ImagePrograf Pro-1000
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exiled Londoner Steve Rapport is a passionate music-loving photographer & campaigner for social & racial justice, who has often been fortunate enough to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right camera! Steve moved to the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans in 2022, and his house on Clouet Street also hosts his gallery, containing both his vintage and recent photography. The gallery is open by appointment.