'PHOTOGRAPHY? THERE'S NO MONEY IN THAT, SON ..'

I was delighted to see that Martin O' Neill has brought out a book of his photographs, I would call them "street art" as they capture unguarded moments showing children playing in the street, intimate moments in Nightclubs, people shopping, the mundanity of life all beautifully captured in black and white, dare I say on par with Martin Parr?

Martin is one of my favourite photographers and is possibly best know for his iconic photographs taken at Bowdon Vale Youth Club in March 1979 of Joy Division just before their massive rise in popularity and the rest is history.

He has exhibited at The People's History Museum in Manchester, Eccles Community Art Gallery, numerous galleries throughout the North West and soon to exhibit in a gallery in France where he now lives.

I spoke to him today and he explained to me how and why the book came about.

"The book is called 'Photography? There's no money in that, son ..' and is the first of a small series of books I've produced, the title is a nod to my Mum, who still lives in Eccles. 

Let's just say she wasn't too impressed when, at just thirteen years old, I told her I wanted to be a photographer!

The images are from my archive and were taken from the mid 1970s onwards, the majority of the pictures are from Eccles, Salford and Manchester. 

Very few of the pictures have been published before, and the books are partly a response to the many people who have said "You really should make a book".

They also tie in with an exhibition I'm having in France from the end of April. Along with my photographs of Joy Division, the work will be on show for three months in an Abbey in a small French village near Bordeaux.

I grew up on Brookhouse estate, and have been a professional photographer since 1978. After joining a camera club at St.Patrick's RC High School in 1973 I began to take photographs for the Eccles Journal, and got my first job as a photographer on Messenger Group Newspapers in Sale, I went freelance in 1982, and worked for the Manchester Evening News for eighteen years"

People may recognise many of the places in his photographs, including Morrison's, Eccles Bus Station, Barton Air Show, Ordsall, Manchester and a host more.

Favourite photos of Martin's include Doddington Lane, and a shot of a group of kids on a doorstep on Foxhill Road, Brookhouse.

So if you have a love of not only photography but photos which have captured a lost era then I can highly recommend this book to you, my only regret is that he never captured me on Church Street, Eccles in the 1970s, on reflection it's possibly just as well he didn't!

The book is available for just ten pounds at .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVTFSV7C

The second book in the series 'Snaps? I'm an artist!' is coming out at the beginning of April.