Cliff Richard & The Shadows

I went to HMV Oxford Street, London and photographed Cliff Richard and the Shadows. I was reliably informed that this may well be the last time these guys will ever be together.

Dame Shirley Bassey - Imagine

On Tuesday 24th November at 10:35pm on BBC1 there is a program called Imagine. This is a show by Alan Yentob and this week it is about Dame Shirley Bassey and the making of her new album, The Performance. The BBC came over filmed this when Dame Shirley had just finished the recording of the album. I was there and apparently I am around in the background with Paul Carey and co. I bet I look tired as it was a rather long day, but very enjoyable. So, if you happen to live in the UK or Europe and you have Sky TV make sure you get to see it. It was a fascinating interview by Alan Yentob.

Monaco and Monte Carlo

I am off to Monaco this morning. Flying down and I will be driving back later tonight or tomorrow. I am kind of looking forward to the drive back. I will be on my own and it just seems to give me time to think. Also, if I do manage to drive back in daylight, I will no doubt be stopping all along the way to shoot pretty little French things along the way. Mind you, unless I swerve off the the right and slip through the Western side of Switzerland and have a little shoot around there.. It is sooo pretty there as well.

Evening in Monaco
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford













When I was about an house away from the French coast and Calais, the weather changed for the worse. It started raining and was quite horrible. It was just a reminder as to what I am used to back in the UK. When I got to the port we were informed that the ferries were running late as there was storms at sea. I photographed a Seafrance ship loading with a moody stormy sky behind it.
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford












Then a short while later we were off ourselves and off on a very rough crossing. Lots of people being sick on the ship. I managed to have a meal though, what a true professional. eh!!

Squeeze Photo Shoot

I was really looking forward to this shoot. Squeeze are one of my favourite bands of all time. Genius lyrics with fantastic melodies, what more could you want. I made my way to South East London and met up with the band at Glenn Tilbrook's recording studio. Glenn arrived about the same time as me. Chris Difford arrived about 10 mins later. There were some other people arriving to help out with hair makeup etc. The rest of the band also arrived. Then we were ready to get going. Sadly, today being Friday 13th was raining heavily. So, we had to be very careful where we were going to shoot. Whilst the band were getting dressed and having hair and makeup, I went out for a drive with one of Squeeze's managers, Matt. We were looking for suitable locations that were dry or at least under some kind of shelter. We found a few suitable locations and drove back to the studio to collect everyone. The first stop was a cafe, how funny, we were all hungry by now. But more importantly there was a pool table at the end of the cafe. So, we all had lunch when I shot some candid photos, then after lunch we did some portraits around the Poole table. We then left and went to another location which was a strange old tunnel somewhere around Greenwich or Charlton. I am not sure where it was, I am way out of my comfort zone in South East London. We shot all of the outside stuff as quickly as possible and headed back to the studio. We did a load more shots back at the studio which took quite a while. I must say, that it was lovely working with all of them. They were all a pleasure to work with. It was now late in the day and dark and raining. we finished and I started to put all of my studio lighting and cameras away in the car. Then we said our goodbye's and I headed off in to the traffic and headed back across London. When I was driving back I was thinking about the shots that we had done and I knew we should all be happy with them. Well, I would be at least..

Dame Shirley Bassey 'The Performance'

I have just managed to get a copy of the new Album The performance by the living Legend Dame Shirley Bassey. I went to four or five places but it was sold out, which is mad as it only came out yesterday. I have just payed it and it really is fantastic. I had heard the tracks before as I have been around during the making of this album. The whole project is the brainchild of my mate Paul Carey. He came up with concept about two years ago and here it is. The songs are written by some of the worlds greatest songwriters ad songwriter and producer of this album, David Arnold and of course, Dame Shirley Bassey and you honestly do have a 5 Star Winner.

Dame Shirley Bassy & David Arnold
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford. All Rights Reserved













The photo above is one of my photos used on the new album and I took it at Air Lyndhurst Recording Studios earlier this year. I have to say and didn't think I would be saying this in 2009, but Dame Shirley should have a massive hit on her hands with this.
Dame Shirley Bassey, David Arnold & Gary Barlow
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford. All rights Reserved













On the day at Air Lyndhurst Studios, Gary Barlow turned up to play a track he had written for Dame Shirley called This Time. he sat at the above Grand Piano and played her the song and put the same effort in as he would if he was in an arena concert venue like Wembley, Madison Square Garden. It was truly amazing. He is a brilliant songwriter, performer and all round geezer. My association with Dame Shirley really started a few years ago in the thick mud of Glastonbury where she got the party started with a massive mud covered 150,000 odd music fans going mad for her. Then earlier in 2009 I was the photographer who has kind of documented the making of this album. So, all of your Christmas present problems are over. Just get out to the record store or big old supermarkets and buy a copy or two as Christmas presents for the family.