Soccer Six Charity Match

I went to Stamford Bridge, the home of London's Chelsea Football Club. Today is a charity six a side soccer tournament in aid of The Samaritans. I was there to shoot the band Blue. However, when I arrived with my son Sam & Gregg, we found that we were put into an area that was really awful from a photographic point of view. I did manage toget one shot of Antony and Lee before they wandered over to another pitch for a game.
Lee Ryan and Antony Costa of Blue
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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There were quite a few photographers there, all of which were very very unhappy. The organisers charged all photographers £25 each to have the privilege of standing at the front of a stand where you could only see one pitch in front of you. Although, when there was a game on the pitch in front of you, people were standing in front of us, so we couldn't shoot the match. Not to mention the very important fact that all of the other pitches where games were also played were not visible to us at all. Occasionally I got a few shots of people standing around in front of us.

Danny Dyer
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Actor, Danny Dyer and all round good guy was with his partner and one of his children. I recenetly saw Danny in a film called The Business, he was fabulous in it, a really good film.
Lee Mack
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Comedian, Lee Mack was playing as well today. He is one of my favourite comedians. Very quick, very very funny.
Carl Barat
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It was great to see Carl Barat wearing a vintage Arsenal shirt. I had a chat with him, he is as always, very nice. I didn't know he was a goooner. Altogether, it was terrible for all of us photographers. All in all pretty useless. Sam, Gregg and I decided after a few hours of standing around getting nothing picture wise, that we should leave. We said goodbye to those that we knew and got out of there.

Eric Clapton - Royal Albert Hall

I met up with Antony Costa and Andy for lunch in North London which was nice. We looked at some of the photos that I have taken over the past few days. Then I left and headed back to my house to pick up some other camera equipment for shooting Eric Clapton. So, once I got home after spending an hour and a half stuck on the M25, I grabbed my camera gear then headed straight towards the Royal Albert Hall in London. I arrived and headed into collect my pass. I then had to wait a while outside. Whilst I was there Katrina who is with Where's Eric came up to me to say hello. It was lovely to see her. Since I saw here last she has had two children. So, now the fun starts for her. It was lovely to see her. There were 2 other photographers there, one of which was Harry Heard, a very nice chap indeed. We were met at stage door by, head of security, my mate Brendan, who then took us down and got us into position.

Eric Clapton
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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A couple of mins later, Eric Clapton and his band came on stage. He was excellent as usual. The Royal Albert Hall was packed as it usually is for Mr Clapton.

Eric Clapton
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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I saw that Andy Faithweather Low and Steve Gadd are back with him, which is nice as they are both fantastic musicians and very nice chaps.

Chris Stainton
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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I finished and headed back out of town. Got home and edited up the photos and sent them out to papers as usual.

The Antony Costa Band

I met up with Antony Costa late afternoon at a hotel in Knightsbridge, London. We spent some time having a chat in the hotel room that Antony had been given to use by Terry Venables who was arranging this charity event. Andy Nicholas, Antony and I then went outside to have a cigarette, which is funny, as I don't smoke. Still, it was nice standing outside anyway. Antony's dad Michael arrived and joined us. After the cigarette break, we went back up to the room. Antony got changed and we then went down to a room where the band members were all waiting, a kind of green room, food, drinks etc. They were all due to go on and perform at about 10pm. But, things were running late as the auctioneer was taking his time. They finally went on about 11:30. But, when they did go on the place went mad. What a great band and what a great performer Antony is. I have to say, I have only seen Antony perform with Blue, but to see him perform like this was fantastic.

Antony Costa
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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He is one hell of a talented boy, I really mean it. He did a few Blue songs as well as some great old classics. All of them were bloody brilliant. So, if you get the chance to see him with The Antony Costa Band, then jump at it.

It all finally ended at about 1pm or just after. We, me, Andy, Antony and his band went back to the green room ans chilled for a while. Then Antony went out and spent some time with Terry Venables, Andy Townsend, Alan Curbishley etc. I said goodnight at about 1:30 and headed home.

Antony Costa photo shoot

I spent the afternoon at Antony Costa's house drinking tea, chatting and taking photos. Antony needed some shots himself for an acting project. So, whilst we were shooting we did some relaxed around the house, which was nice. Antony's band Blue are reformed and back in a few weeks . They are performing at a big Capital Radio event at the home of the mighty Arsenal at the Emirate's Stadium in London. I might go along and shoot that. Whilst I was shooting Antony today, there were moments when he reminded me of a young Elvis.
Antony Costa
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Antony does have a very strong and unique look and therefore he looks great in the shots. I was really pleased with the photos.

What a Sporty Day

Had a bit of local running around to do this morning, what with dropping kids here and there. Then back to get some more things done at home. Then it's the mighty Arsenal, or not so mighty in reality playing the unstoppable Manchester United. I just thought that Arsenal are gonna get a proper kicking. Well, lucky for us, it was a 0-0 draw. So, there was a relief. However, that one point gave Manchester United what they needed to take the Premiership title. Therefore, leveling the amount of championships with Liverpool. So, congratulations to Manchester United. No, I don't need any emails from any of my Man Utd supporting friends, rubbing it in. OK, enough that for now. I then made my way down into town (London) and met up with Gregg Sulkin and his family. When I arrived at there home, I was introduced to Gary Stretch, ex-boxer, model and now Hollywood actor. Well, what a nice guy and very entertaining. He was talking about some of his experiences in acting and the people he has worked with is incredible. I think he is one for Friday night with Jonathan Ross. My son Sam was with me and he was also fascinated with the stories about some of his acting scenarios. Gregg, Sam and I went over to Primrose Hill and kicked a football around. I took some shots whilst we were doing this. After all of that exhaustion, me taking photos that is, we went back to The Sulkin's house then we all went out for dinner, in St John's Wood, which was really nice. After Sam and I headed off back out of town. On the way back, Sam insisted on listening to the Eurovison Song Contest on the car radio. I just thought it was a load of rubbish, but, he loves that sort of thing, after all he is the X-Factor generation.

Proud Gallery - Trekstock

Tonight was a busy one. I went to the Proud Gallery in Camden to shoot a big night for the Charity Trekstock. I was shooting the arrivals outside and all inside exclusive stuff. Mark Ronson was DJing there.

Mark Ronson
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford.
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Other guests included, Beth Ditto, Will Young, Henry Holland, DJ Yoda, James Walsh, Mathew Horne, Holly Vallance & brilliant up and coming actor, Gregg Sulkin. He has been romantically linked with Miley Cyrus recently. According to almost every paper in the UK and in fact hundreds of the round the world, Miley wants to dump her current boyfriend for the young British actor after getting close with him at a Disney Party. Gregg is being referred to as 'The British Zac Efron'. It was interesting watching the other Celebs there. Lots of them wanted to chat to him. He is a really down to earth lovely boy. He will no doubt go far. He is one to watch.

Will Young & Gregg Sulkin
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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Whilst this event was moving on, my mate Jon Gardner was shooting a job at Madam Jo Jo's. After he finished there, he jumped in a taxi and came up to meet us. Jon seems to be addicted to Taxi's. He must spend a fortune on them. Jon was a great help, as he shot some of the arriving guests outside for me whilst I was inside shooting, The Cuban Brothers, who were absolutely fantastic. They must be seen if they are performing anywhere near you. Truly fantastic!

I had a really nice chat with Will Young about his brother who has set up a charity. I saw him on TV recently and his charity, Mood Foundation, is a brilliant idea. It is there to help people beat depression etc. So, well done to Rupert for starting that charity. I really hope it goes well for him as it is a fantastic thing to have done.

Mark Ronson was great on the decks, he knows exactly what to play and how to mix it about. I must say, in my humble opinion, he is a genius. I love everything he has done. His musical taste is fantastic and I love his production. Daniel Merryweather was there as well, another very talented chap. He is playing at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in June and he invited me down. So, I hope I am free that night as I would love to go down there.

Beth Ditto & Mathew Horne
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
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Beth Ditto is lovely, she was chatting to Gregg Sulkin and Sam, my son. She was educating them on the ways of Country music. She was telling them about Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. I mentioned that I worked with Johnny Cash and she was really knocked out. So much so, that she said I want a photo with you. Me that is! So, Sam took my camera and Beth and I posed for him. I think we were trying to see who had the biggest muscles. I must Say, Beth looks positively skinny next to me. Anyway, what a lovely girl she is.

Danny Clifford & Beth Ditto
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The place started to thin out so we started to leave. Beth Ditto was leaving at the same time and despite covering her head with a coat, the paps who were waiting did seem to get shots of her. Al in all a very eventful night and for Trekstock a very successful one. I got home at about 2AM and then edited the shots until about 5:30 am. It was light and the birds were singing when I went to bed. I wont be a sleep for long as I will be up just after 9am.. That is horrible as I really need 8 hours a night to operate kind of normally. Sad, but true.

Mark Ronson - Beth Ditto

I have loads of photo editing to do during the day and a photo shoot as well. However, tomorrow night I am off to Camden to shoot Mark Ronson and many others. Should be a busy night at Proud Camden.

Gary Barlow & Take That

What a lovely day, sunshine all over the UK. It makes me much happier when the sun shines. Had billions of things to do today and started with it all quite early. Then collected a framed print that I had produced for Gary Barlow of Take That. I then took it to deepest darkest Hertfordshire to the rehearsal studio where Take That were rehearsing. I gave it Becky who works with them and she will no doubt pass it on to Gary. It a shot I took of him recently in a rather special situation. I do hope he likes it.

Razorlight at the O2

Off to the O2 Arena in North Greenwich to shoot Razorlight. We were led inside and into the pit where I got my cameras ready. Then I noticed amongst the 20,000 people a bit of a commotion. Then I looked up into the gods and could see two guys running around with their shirts off. The crowd were responding with cheers. Then suddenly one of them decided to drop his trousers and give us all a 'Moon'. So, that was nice...NOT!! At least it kept the crowd happy for a few mins.

I don't know how many times I have shot Razorlight, loads of times really. Almost every time I have shot them, Johnny Borrell has worn a white shirt and white trousers. Add a bright white light on him and that starts to create a few problems with exposures. Anyway, tonight he was in a white, but the lighting wasn't too bad. This was the first time however that I have shot their new drummer. He is a New Yorker called David 'Skully' Sullivan-Kaplan. He was a pretty good drummer, I liked his style. So, all in all it was okay. The band came on at 9:20 and we all shot the first three songs, then left. I made a swift exit as it is a long old drive back to my part of town, nearly two hours to be precise. When I got home I edited up the photos and sent them out. Finally went to bed just before 3 am deep joy!!

Santa Barbara on Fire

The beautiful city of Santa Barbara is on fire and the residents are all being told to evacuate. The air is so thick with smoke that breathing is now a big problem. My little brother Simon was one of those told to get out of town. So, on his way out he shot the fire's from his truck. He has sent this to me and it is a brilliant photo. Just the fact that it is in his rear view mirror with a car speeding on the other side of the road. It just shows the urgency of the situation. I would have been very proud to have shot this myself. In fact I wish I had.
Copyright 2009
Simon Clifford- All Rights reserved

Bank Holiday Monday in Recording Studio

I spent the best part of the day in a recording studio shooting a legend or two. When it hits the press in about a week I can mention it on my diary. But for now, cant say a word. However, it is a very exciting project and my day was a very good one.

Trafalgar Square and Pink nearly!

Firstly, I love this weather. I love sunshine and it seems to be getting sunnier now.. I have loads of editing to do, so the day started with serious editing of images. Then I had a call from my friend Mick Flinn. He told me to get myself down to the village for a nice milky coffee. So, my wife and I stopped what we were doing and met up with Mick. When we arrived some other friends of ours were there, Jill & Bob Visser. It was really nice to actually stop working for a while and whiz out and meet with them.

Then back to the grindstone and more editing.. I have so much to do. Amongst other things, I just heard that boy band Blue are now reforming and performing this summer. So, I had better get my shots of Blue up and out syndicated that is.

I then got a call informing me that there was an event taking place in Trafalgar Square in London. This was to be the filming of a new TV commercial for telephone operator, T Mobile. I had a whisper that Pink was turning up to do it as well. The call I got was about 5:20 and Pink was going to be there between 6 and 7. So, I grabbed my cameras, assistant and drove as fast as I could into central London to shoot this. Well, it was rush hour and madness on the streets and we arrived in Trafalgar Square and rushed over through the crowd to see what was what. I couldn't see Pink anywhere, so, we asked someone in the crowd if there have been any celebs here and we were told "yeah, it was brilliant, Pink was here". She had just left, so, that was a bummer. Oh well, you cant win them all.. We headed out of town and when I got back, I just carried on with my editing.