Online Diary

James McCartney London

2011-12-15T19:07:00.000Z

I was asked to do a shoot with James McCartney, son of yes, one of the greatest musicians ever! James needed some new live photos and some studio type location shots. I arrived late afternoon in Camden to meet up with James and his manager Adrian. James was sound checking when I got there. I was introduced as soon as he had finished. What a lovely guy he is. We went up to the dressing room and had a chat for a while. I set up some studio lights and we did some set up shots. James was very easy to work with. We were also discussing his musical influences amongst other things. After we had taken quiet a few photos I said we had enough at that point. James said he wanted to Meditate for a while. He asked if I wanted to stay whilst he did. Whilst I appreciated the offer, I thought it would be better if me and my mate Paul Carey went next door and had a bite to eat. When we got back we did a shoot with James and his whole band. Then it was show time..

The Barfly venue is very intimate, however it was rammed... It was also being filmed as well. So, on came James and his brilliant band.. The crowd loved him, many people obviously knew his music already as many people were singing along word for word. He is a brilliant songwriter, singer and guitarist! After about the 2nd song I turned around to have little look into the crowd and yes, Sir Paul was there with Stella and Mary. They were shouting and dancing along and supporting James throughout. It was a wonderful gig and at one point, James introduced a song from his EP called 'Wings of a Lightest Weight' and said "I wrote this about my Dad & my Mum".. When he was singing the song, I was watching him looking straight at his dad, Paul and there eyes were meeting and it was really a moment between father and son. Everyone could see it was quite an emotional moment.. The gig was fantastic, music, band, everything, brilliant.. There were serious security milling about in the crowd during the whole set. Then as the show ended, James and his band went straight off stage and upstairs to the dressing room. The band were followed by Paul, Stella & Mary. I was escorted by his management and security straight upstairs as well. So, James, Paul, Stella, Mary, Paul Carey and I were in the dressing room. It was so nice to see, James and his dad being so lovely together.. Mind you, I didn't expect anything else, but as a father myself, it was really nice to see the love between them and Stella and Mary as well. They are a lovely family and true Rock n Roll Royalty.

We took some nice photos of James and Paul together and then we did a family shot with Stella & Mary. I was very happy with the photos as they all looked so happy together. After taking the photos, Paul and I had a brief chat about the past. Although we both agreed it was hard to remember lots of it. We were chatting about the late 70's when I was often at his and Linda's house in London. One of my best friends and great photographer, the late Matthew Taylor had a brother called Barny. He was going out with Linda's daughter from her first marriage, her name was Heather. So, due to the fact that Barny & Heather were an item, Mathew and I would be round there at the McCartney residence frequently. I have very happy memories of those days and evenings. Paul also used to come into The Who's management office in Wardour St, London. This is where I had an office myself. So, we used to see each other in there. Then of course was the time I spent with him and Wings, which must have been around 1976.. Blimey, where does the time go!! Anyway, Paul asked for my details and said he wants to get in touch and we can go through my photos from those days.

Paul was saing that he was in Moscow the night before and what an amazing gig it was there.. I bet it was. He joked about a particular song that they like in Russia that he wrote, Back in the USSR.. I asked him how it went. He lent back and gave me a slightly old fashioned look! I thought for a second I was going to get hims to sing it to me.Now that would have been special!

All in all it was a lovely evening with his talented son James and lovely daughters. James McCartney EP I believe is out and its called The Complete EP Collection Double CD- Close at Hand and the other CD is called Available Light. Well worth getting!

I think the family photos of them all and the shots of James and his dad will appear in most newspapers around the world in the next 24 hours..

Films of Colour

2011-12-11T22:26:00.001Z

Now, here are one of those up and coming bands that are well worth checking out, Films of Colour. I met up with them in the East End, near Brick Lane. We did a reasonably swift photo shoot for about an hour or two. They are really nice proper chaps. They all met at the ACM in Guildford. Anyway, finished the shoot and they headed off home to different parts of the East End. I headed to my car only to find it had gone. Either stolen or Towed by the government. Yes, it was towed! So, after a long tiring walk and a bus ride as there were no taxis anywhere, I arrived at the car pound. After proving it was my car, I was then relieved of £300. That was so kind of them! This is despite the fact that I actually asked a policeman when I parked and right next to my car, was it okay to park on a single yellow line where I was, on a Sunday, he said yes its fine.. He must have had a real laugh as he drove off.. So, thank you officer. Next time I see you, if ever, I will give you a swift kick in your testimonials... you tosser!

The Vaccines

2011-12-07T22:17:00.000Z

I photographed the Vaccines tonight at Brixton Academy in, yes, Brixton. Oh it took me back, just as the band came on a pint of beer was thrown from the crowd and soaked about 6 of us photographers before bouncing across the stage. What a lot of fun that was. Anyway, the band were mighty impressive. I bumped into one of their managers, James whilst I was heading backstage to exit. I also bumped into Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand. Both of them are such a nice chaps. They always seems happy and quite normal.

I got some reasonable shots of the Vaccines. I have to say that there was only one photographer I knew in the photo pit and there were about 15 of them there. Where have all the usual suspects gone these days....

Barbara Orbison RIP

2011-12-06T22:03:00.000Z

I had a call from my friend, Joyce Moore who told me that another good friend of ours Barbara Orbison has died in Los Angeles. I was shocked, as I didn't even know that Barbara was ill. She has kept this rather quiet. She was only 60 and Cancer had go the better of her. She died on the same day as (23 years after) her husband Roy Orbison died. She was a wonderful, lovely lady and she will be missed. I was just thinking about a time that we all had dinner together in LA. Sam Moore, Joyce Moore, Barbara & I. We did have a laugh that night as Sam was trying on some very strange glasses at the table. I did take photos and will dig those out when I get a min. My heart goes out to Roy Jnr and his brothers. This really is very sad news.

Paul Carey & Julia Burness Engagement

2011-12-06T09:39:00.000Z

Had a busy day in London, meeting after meeting. All pretty good ones. Then raced out of town to collect my wife and one of my kids. We then drove back into West London, Chelsea to be precise, to the engagement of Paul Carey & Julia Burness. What a lovely gathering it was too. Lots of familiar faces and lovely evening. Amongst the guests were some of Paul's Artists, Films of Colour, Peter Grant, Tina Barrett, Skinny Lister. It was a really nice night.

Hubert Sumlin RIP

2011-12-05T09:44:00.001Z

I don't know if its the cold weather, but I have just found out that the legendary guitarist, Hubert Sumlin has died, he was 80. I think I the last time I photographed him was in Dallas 2004. I need to dig out the photos. He originally played with Howlin Wolf and many said it was a life changing experience when they heard him play on the classic 'Going Down Slow' Shame he has now gone..

Tina Barrett S Club 7

2011-12-02T09:31:00.000Z

I spent most of the afternoon and early evening with Tina Barrett and Hannah Spearritt from S Club 7. Tina is doing her new video "Coco Chanel" Hannah had a cameo role in the video. Also in the Cameo role was Peter Grant. We shot it in the nightclub Pacha in Victoria, London. Tina, Hannah & Peter were all a delight to work with. Yes, we did chat about S Club 7 and I cant say anything here yet. I am not sure when the single Coco Chanel will be released, but think it will be soon. I left the shoot mid evening and my friend and artist manager Paul Carey drove across town to Camden. We met up with one of Paul's bands, Films of Colour. We arrived at KOKO, Camden just in time to shoot the sound check. Its the first time I had met the band. They all seemed very nice chaps. When I was shooting the sound check, I was thinking there is something very special about this band..I think there is a very big future for them. They have a unique sound and considering it was the very first time I had heard them. The sound check left me wanting to hear more. Now, that is a very good sign! So, check out Films of Colour.

David Atlas RIP

2011-11-25T23:17:00.003Z

I have just found out that another friend of mine and fellow music photographer has also died in New York. David Atlas, a great guy and superb photographer died suddenly on his way to work in NY. This is awful news and really sad for his family. I don't know how he died, so, if anyone knows, please email me.

I just heard from a friend of mine at Rolling Stone Magazine in NY, that David had a heart attack on his way to work and the paramedics couldn't do anything for him , or got there too late. Such a tragedy.

It was David and I that climbed to the top of the lighting rig at Reading festival (in the UK) one year, just to get some spectacular shots of the stage with crowd going wild. He was great fun & great photographer.

RIP George Bodnar

2011-11-23T19:20:00.003Z

I cant actually believe it. Today I went to the funeral of my old friend and fellow photographer, George Bodnar. By all accounts he had fought a hard old battle against Cancer and very sadly lost. When I arrived at Ealing Abbey there were quite a few familiar faces there. Plenty of music photographers along with music industry managers etc. Simon Porter Status Quo amongst them. We all left Ealing and trundled over to Hendon, where George and his family live and is now laid to rest.

I first met George with his then sidekick, Denis O'Regan in the late 70's. From what I remember George and Denis were ushers at either Wembley or Hammersmith Odeon, I cant remember. Anyway, I was taking photos at the front as we do, along with my then sidekick and good friend, Matthew Taylor (who died tooo young), when George and Denis were asking us both how we do what we do etc etc. We told them how we blagged our passes and before we knew much more they had both promoted themselves from ushers to Music photographers and I must say, GREAT photographers they both became as well as wonderful top draw geezers. George spent a lot of his later life working with Prince Charles as I believe he was Official Photographer for The Princes Trust. Quite an achievement! I have some wonderful memories of George and he will be sadly missed by a lot of people.

Peter Grant CD Cover shoot

2011-11-06T22:48:00.002Z

I did another shoot with the brilliant Peter Grant. We were doing the cover shot today. The shoot went very well, he is nice and easy to work with. He knows what he wants, but, is a lovely guy. His music is brilliant and sounds like some serious people are now getting behind him. Last weekend Gary Barlow stated in all of the UK papers and online that he thinks Peter is fantastic and he also thinks that Peter could easily be the next Brit to crack USA in the same way Adele did. He is rather brilliant and well worth checking him out.

Tinie Tempah 02 London

2011-11-04T23:00:00.000Z

Long drive through the London rush hour. It took me about 3 hours to get to North Greenwich and the 02. When I arrived my pass wasn't waiting for me. I waited around for a while by the guest list box whilst they tried (not very hard) to sort it. I then left that area and went for a walk to door A. Then out of the door came Tinie's manager who I vaguely new. He said hi and I explained what had happened. He then took me through backstage and sorted me my pass immediately. It was a full on gig. Very bright and fast pace. The place was mobbed, full up.. He is pretty big now. He seemed quite excited when he came on stage and saw the massive crowd.. Great gig and got some pretty nice photos.

Professor Green

2011-11-03T08:20:00.000Z

Roundhouse London tonight to shoot Professor Green. He is supported by Rizzle Kicks.

Peter Grant shoot

2011-10-31T22:59:00.002Z

Today we are shooting the Single cover and some photos for the inner sleeve of Peter's forthcoming CD. I think its out in January. He is rather brilliant.. Anyway, we did the shoot in deepest darkest Battersea or South Chelsea if you prefer! Anyway, all went well.

Bert Jansch RIP

2011-10-05T13:47:00.003Z

Well, it appears that my most recent posts are about people moving on the the great gig in the sky. So, here is another one. The great Bert Jansch guitarist and founder member of Folk group, Pentangle has died. He died early this morning in a Hospice in Hampstead, North London. I did a shoot with him a year or two ago and he was as always a gentleman and all round proper chap. As well as great guitarist. So, another great one goes.. Very sad!

Amy Winehouse The Final Farewell

2011-07-26T09:21:00.004Z

I am still in shock regarding the sad passing of the brilliant Amy Winehouse. I saw her parents, Mitch and Janis on the news yesterday when they went to Camden to Amy's house. They met the fans outside and spoke to the journalists and photographers who were gathered. Mitch and Janis called them all over to them and said how seeing them all there is making them feel slightly better, although Mitch also said, he was stunned and speechless. He and Janis are such lovely normal people. I am a parent myself and I cannot imagine how they feel. I feel so, so, sorry for them and of course her brother and the rest of the family. Today is Amy's funeral and that is going to be hard for all of them.

I have just been looking through some of my photos of Amy over the years and thinking about the conversations and times that she and I had. I may do a special gallery on my website of her photos.

She was a lovely (mouthy) girl with an unbelievable talent. From the start, I was and still am a big fan of hers and will miss her very, very much.

Amy Winehouse Dead at 27

2011-07-23T19:03:00.002Z

I was so upset to hear that Amy Winehouse has died this afternoon in Camden Town, North London. I know that she has been a troubled soul and had her problems, but, this was actually a shock to me. I knew her reasonably well and have worked with her many times. What a great loss this is to all of us. I am so sorry for her and her family.

Firehouse Red

2011-06-30T08:56:00.002Z

Last night I witnessed the live birth of the phenomenal, 'Firehouse Red'. I have been listening to their music for a while now. But this was their first real live gig. They are warming up for a big performance at the Montreux Festival in about a week. Every few years a band or musician break through with something wonderful. Well, Firehouse Red have done it. The lead singer is a guy called Roachie, along with genius record producer and song writer, Andy Wright. The music is stunning. Sadly, I don't think anyone can actually get hold of the music anywhere as it hasn't been released yet. But, as soon as it is available I will post it here on my site.

Happy Birthday Bob

2011-05-24T09:25:00.000Z

So, today is a big day in the Dylan household. Bob Dylan, 70 today! That is quite a milestone. I have such happy memories of touring my first tour with Bob in 1978. That was the Street Legal tour. Anyway, I hope he has a wonderful birthday.

Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T20:18:00.002Z

I was up pretty early today, I didn't feel well as not been to great lately. Anyway, set off at crack of dawn for central London and found a parking space. Sadly about 2 miles from the impending action. Anyway, I got all of my gear together and started the walk. I had a lot of gear including steps etc. It was heavy!! I arrived on Whitehall and settled on a spot that I hoped would do the trick. Sadly as the morning progressed I found more and more people had decided, as they do, to hold up cameras, video cameras, flags and yes, children. So, my view was rather narrow to say the least. Still, being the true pro, I soldiered on and did my best. It was a rather wonderful day all in all and I am very glad I made the effort. I did get some reasonable shots of William and Kate which was nice. I suppose it was kind of the point as to why I was there. Saying that, with millions of flags and arms, children and anything else that could be held up, I was fortunate. I have set up a section on my website called Royal Wedding 2011 and put some of the shots on there. Hope you like!

Squeeze Royal Albert Hall

2011-03-22T21:15:00.000Z

Squeeze Rehearsals

2011-03-21T21:14:00.000Z

Abbey Road Studios

2011-03-14T09:14:00.005Z

I arrived at Abbey Road studios to meet up with Andreas Vollenwieder who is over from Switzerland. He is recording the final parts of his new album with top producer and friend Andy Wright. This session is going on for a few days and is all happening in studio 2. This is the studio that the Beatles used so often for those brilliant albums. What I was hearing from Andreas and friends, sounds absolutely fantastic. As most of Andreas musicians and crew are from Switzerland, they were not too familiar with British Fish & Chips. So, Andy Wright bought Fish & Chips and Mushy Peas for everyone. Andy and I went together to collect it from the nearby Sea Shell in Lisson Grove. Wonderful food, but, bang goes the diet.. I am very much looking forward to hearing the finished album. I am working with him for the next 3 days, which I am very much looking forward to.

Pixie Lott - Brighton

2010-12-04T15:39:00.001Z

I am working a bit with Pixie Lott. In fact I am shooting this for her and her mum personally. So, we arranged that I would meet up with them in Brighton. So, headed down there to meet up around 4. Pixie and the team were travelling up from Devon and expected to get there at 4. So, when I got there I was met by here security man who took me straight out to shoot the sound check. Then after that we all went up to the dressing room. I shot some nice candid documentary shots. We then went and had a bite to eat in Catering and then Pixie was getting ready for the show. I shot Pixie going down to the stage and then the show. I must say, she is a very talented girl and the show was fantastic. She really can sing. In fact, more than that, she is a born entertainer and whilst I don't wan to state the obvious, she is going to be enormous. I should have known this already, as I was told by my friend Graham Sulkin and his son Gregg how good she was, a long time ago and as usual, he was right. Watch out USA and rest of the world, because she will be coming and she is fantastic. Pixie's mum and dad were with her all of the time and are also, lovely people. All in all a very pleasant day with Pixie and great photos of her.

Cambridge with Squeeze

2010-12-02T15:29:00.000Z

Well, again, foggy, snowy and wintry, but, here we are in Cambridge with Squeeze. Today is the Corn Exchange. Lovely old venue in a wonderful city. You can feel the intellect here in Cambridge, other than the dumb idiot who stepped off the kerb in front of us without looking at all as we were driving into the city centre.. Other than that stupid cow, I imagine they are all pretty bright here.. Again the lightning Seeds supporting and the mighty Squeeze on as headliners. I shot the sound check and then we went off to catering and had a wonderful meal with the chaps. Then a bit later took some nice shots of the boys before they went on stage. This was just in corridor as they were being led to the stage. After the show I met up with Glenn in his dressing room where we had a look at some shots from the a Nottingham gig. Then it was time to go. The boys headed North as they were off to Norwich, I was back to Londinium.. Another great night with Squeeze.

Squeeze in Foggy Nottingham

2010-11-19T10:31:00.068Z

As with all of my photos on my website and diary, they are Copyright protected. So steal at your own peril. I will prosecute any illegal use of my images.

Jon and I set off to Nottingham at about 1pm. Our aim was to get there at about 4pm. This was a Friday though and the roads were foggy! So, we took a slow careful drive and arrived about 4

pm. We made our way backstage and said hi to the band and crew.

Then we made our way out to get some lunch, dinner of whatever. After this we headed back and arranged to shoot Glenn and Chris with some rather nice Fender guitars that have been designed by artist Damien Hirst. Chris and Glenn were in fine spirits.

We then did a very quick shoot with the talented keyboard Steve Nieve. Steve started off with Elvis Costello and The Attractions and has played with many others. I believe he has been a friend in around the Squeeze camp since the early days. he is a very nice chap.

After this photo shoot I decided to leave the chaps backstage and head down to have a look at the auditorium . I wanted to find out how I could get from the front of house back to the stage during the gig. I wanted to shoot from the front of house then get some shots from 0n the stage etc.

This was proving to be a challenge as there were bloody loads of ways of getting from here to there etc. But all of the doors seemed to lock once you have gone through them. Kind of usual scenario at venues. I haven't been to this venue for about 7 years and I couldn't remember the routes through at all.

Anyway, the Lightning Seeds (who are supporting Squeeze on the this tour) had now finished. This was a shame as I wanted to shoot them. They are also a great band. It was only a few mins later when I had positioned myself in the crowd, when Squeeze came on. The crowd went mad and were up on their feet. This really does confirm to me that Squeeze are back big time. They really are loved by so many fans and also being discovered for the first time by a younger generation, who were there in droves. As expected, they played hit after hit and they were truly phenomenal. I found myself a position at the front of the stage and stayed there for most of the show. That way I could catch the band with the wonderful backdrops being projected behind them through out the show.

There was one very funny art when the band just break into a brilliant and very funny dance routine. I was surprised, I knew nothing about it before. After the show, we headed up to the backstage area where the band prepared to meet local friends and some lucky fans. David Bailey had made it backstage and told me his drive from Devon to Nottingham had taken him about 6 hours, what with the fog and the fact that it was Friday. He arrived a few mins before the gig. Now, that's dedication for you!

Jon and I didn't hang around too long as we had to head back to London and it was getting more foggy by the minute. So, off we went and headed south. Another brilliant show with Squeeze..

Squeeze - Southend

2010-11-13T21:36:00.004Z

This is the start of Squeeze 2010 UK tour and it started at a small club as a warm up in Southend on Sea. The club called Chinnerys' is right on the front. I guess it only holds about 400 which I suppose is ideal as a warm up. I travelled down there with my trusted assistant Jon and once we arrived we were standing at the stage door entrance and out came the band. They had just completed their sound check and were off for dinner. Jon and I headed (with band member, John Bentley) inside to have a look around. That is when I first saw the crash barrier in front of the stage. This was going to be exciting whilst shooting. The funny thing is I was only talking the other night to an old friend and photographer, Denis O'Regan about crash barriers. We were laughing about the time he and I went to Holland to shoot Thin Lizzy and we were presented with a metal barrier in front of us all and it was in our way when we were shooting. So, here I am about 100 years on, in Southend, with Squeeze and a crash barrier.. We wandered over to the Merchandise stand and had a look at the tour programme. I was very impressed, it looked fantastic. The designers have done a brilliant job. I have quite a few photos in it. Including the front cover, centre page spread and others. I must say, it is superb and a must for all Squeeze fans. So, and hour or so passed and it was time for the main act. On they came and they hit it. They are sooo good. The lucky few who got tickets for this gig knew every word and sung their hearts out all night to every song, hit after hit. I must say, photographically it wasn't the best lit show I have been to of late, but I suppose I did get a couple of shots that were OK. After the show, Jon and I had a chat and I think he propped himself up in a much better position than me generally, the clever boy. I think that the tour is pretty much sold out, but, where ever you are in the UK, have a look at http://www.squeezeofficial.com/ check out the dates and buy your self some tickets if they are available. This band are Rock Royalty and are without doubt, one of the greatest bands of all time.. If you don't know much about them, get their new album, "Spot The Difference".

Matt Goss

2010-10-19T12:39:00.000Z

Albert Hall tonight to shoot Matt Goss, formerly of Goss. I got there early and wandered into collect my photo pass . There is a bit of new construction going on by the box office, so, we all had to go in through other doors which was rather odd. Anyway, we were taken in by security and led to the front of the stage. Then after a few mins of confusion, we were re positioned by the mixing desk. This didn't please a lot of the photographers who had short lenses. You cant get much from the back of the Royal Albert Hall with a 200mm, which seemed to be lens of choice of many of the experienced photographers!! Anyway, there were about two or three of us with longer lenses. I must say, the lighting was fabulous. Matt Goss was surprisingly fabulous. I say surprisingly, I have never seen or photographed him before. I kind of missed Bros back in their day. But, tonight, he was rather good. Very entertaining and talented. I now know why Las Vegas have taken him under their wing. he is now becoming a very big star in that part of the world and judging by the reaction of the packed crowd at the Albert Hall, I think he is about to explode of here as well. So, well done Matt and good luck with the future. Great show! Even though, I was there for only three songs..

Squeeze Photo Shoot

2010-10-16T21:07:00.006Z

I left home early and aimed at South East London. I was going to the meet up with the band Squeeze. One of my all time favourite bands.. Today we are doing some studio type setups and some candid shots rehearsing etc. So, I allowed myself plenty of time to get there, but, I didn't know that the Blackwall Tunnel that goes under London's River Thames was closed.. So, when we, I say we because, my oldest son, Jonathan came along to help me. So, we got to the tunnel entrance we were greeted by signs saying Tunnel closed. This caused us and about a 100,000 other people major problems. So, I finally arrived at Glen Tilbrook's recording studio about an hour and a half late. Fortunately, Chris Difford was also stuck in the traffic and he arrived about an hour after us.

Once Chris was there, we got straight on with the first shot. Then steadily worked our way through all of the different shots that we had to do. It is always a pleasure working with Squeeze. They are all such nice guys. Everyone in the Squeeze camp are lovely. They have a very nice family feel about things within the camp.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All Rights Reserved

We spent about 4 hours shooting various setups and then we did some shots in the rehearsal room. That in itself was fabulous as they were just running over some tunes, Like 'Hour Glass' & 'Is That Love' They sounded absolutely fantastic. Sitting in there with them was like having my own private Squeeze show, amazing.. Anyway, We stopped as the lunch (late lunch) arrived. So, we all stopped and sat in the nice open plan reception area. We had now also finished shooting for the day. I was aware that I wanted to get going before the local football team (soccer) finished their home game and unleashed their masses on the local roads. So, we made a swift exit and headed off into the sunset and back to the North West London. Before we left, Matt and Suzanne, the management, gave Jonathan and I a copy of the new album each, 'Spot The Difference' We listened to it on the way home. It is virtually their greatest hits and brilliant.. Go and buy it! They are fantastic..

Fun Night at Kitsch Lounge Riot

2010-10-15T21:47:00.002Z

I went down to the Proud Cabaret near Fenchurch Street Station in London last night. Just me and my mate Little Jon. Met up with Richard Evans and his dad Lord Evans. Then in she came like a whirlwind, Tara Palmer Tomkinson.. I think she is such a laugh, so much energy and always up for a laugh.. She insisted in having a photo taken of her and I together, but she wanted to wear my £5 jacket from GAP.. What a nutter!! She is a really nice girl. I did a portrait shoot with the one and only Loyd Grossman backstage as well. He also is very nice and extremely interesting. Loyd was performing later on stage with his compatriot, Valentine Guinness. They recently performed at Glastonbury.. Quite amazing. Loyd plays guitar and Valentine sings.. All rather good I must say.. Before and after the performances we were entertained by Burlesque dancers. One of the girls joined the table where Richard and Lord Evans were based. Her name is Banbury Cross.. Very funny. Anyway, Jon and I left at a reasonable time and headed off into the cold London night..

Ollie Kristian - A Man On A Mission!

2010-08-26T20:18:00.006Z

So, here is a man on a mission. Ollie Kristian has decided to write a song a day and put it out there on Twitter..

Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

Some of his songs are fantastic. What a challenge.. A song a day!! Amazing...
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

Ollie has a rather good musical pedigree and has music in his blood. As well as being a thoroughly charming chap.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

I was asked to shoot him at home, in his bedroom studio and do some portraits as well.

He is a very clever chap and going by what I heard today, should do very well.. One to watch..

Skinny Lister Live in Camden

2010-08-25T20:02:00.005Z

I shot down to Camden Town, in London to photograph Skinny Lister.

Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

I did a shoot with them before on the canal and now was their sold out gig at the Lock Tavern. They were brilliant. There were lots of music biz people there. A&R people looking to sign them and PR people, booking agents etc.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

They went on stage just before 9pm and played a short set until about 9:45.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

The room was being used for a private party after them for The Libertines, who have recently reformed.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

Anyway, Skinny Lister were brilliant. If you get a chance to see them, then do it.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved.

Skinny Lister

2010-08-25T16:53:00.006Z

I have just done a photo shoot with a new Folk band called Skinny Lister. They have travelled down from the midlands in the UK to Camden in London. So, I met up with them whilst they were on their way to Camden and did some shots. Luckily, as it is England, the clouds parted for long enough for the sun to shine through.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. Allrights Reserved

Other than that it was raining and horrible.. But the band certainly brought out the sunshine. They played a couple of songs for me whilst we were on board their Narrow boat (Barge). I was really impressed, they are fantastic.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. Allrights Reserved

Obviously, they are going to be big news any second. They are playing tonight in Camden at the Lock Tavern.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. Allrights Reserved

I hear that loads of press and music industry A&R boys and girls are coming down to see them. So, if you are in Camden get down to the Lock Tavern and see if you can get in. You wont be disappointed, honestly, they are brilliant.

Armed Siege

2010-08-14T21:38:00.005Z

So, there I was driving along minding my own business driving around nice and picturesque part of Hertfordshire, about 15 miles outside London. When a police car flew past me with lights and sirens. Anyway, I got out of the way and then there was another one, followed by anther two or three police cars.. So, at that point I thought I had better follow them and see what is going on. I finally got to to the place where all of the action was. I quickly parked up and got inside the police ring that was appearing. I quickly saw the armed police at the front of a house.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All Rights Reserved

They were trying to negotiate with a young guy who was inside the house.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All Rights Reserved

The young guy was rather angry and swinging a big knife out of the window.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights Reserved

After hours of negotiations with Police officers and family outside, he eventually came out and gave himself up. I found it all rather sad. To see a young guy (apparently 17) in such a state and angry and now in trouble..
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights Reserved

Once he was outside, he was arrested, handcuffed and searched and then places rather gently into one of the police vehicles and taken away.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights Reserved

I then gathered my thoughts and got to my car and cleared off.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights Reserved

Leaving Los Angeles Today

2010-07-06T16:19:00.000Z

I had a run around Ventura County today and later, my mum and dad drove me to LAX. I was catching the late Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles to London. We left at 9:10pm which was kind of nice really. It arrived in London Heathrow at 3:30pm

Central Valley Drive

2010-07-03T16:19:00.001Z

My brother and I left Thousand Oaks early today about 7am and drove to Fresno, California for a meeting. We spent about 3 hours there and then drove back to Thousand Oaks. All in all it was over 500 miles round trip. I took photos all along the way. There was some really interesting scenery along the way. When we were almost back at Thousand Oaks when a Hells Angels biker crept up along side us. I took a few shots of him as well. I am pretty sure he didn't see me taking them. As I think he may have objected had he seen. But, I will never know.

Los Angeles

2010-06-28T16:09:00.000Z

Left London today for Los Angeles. I am flying for the first time in years on Virgin. The last time I did go on Virgin was when I flew on them to Tokyo, I think in 2005. I did have a load of things to do on my one day back in the UK

The world Cup

2010-06-27T20:11:00.004Z

I am back in the UK for one day only and it happens to coincide with a big world cup game. Germany v England. The game was bloody awful. England were useless. I don't care what anyone says. It was horrible to watch. The final result was, Germany 4 England 1. I am not going to even mention the fact that we had a perfectly good goal disallowed. I am not interested in football anymore. Well until the premier league starts again later in August. It is bloody hot here in the UK, I think around 30 degrees or around 90 in old money.

Back to London

2010-06-26T20:09:00.001Z

Caught an evening flight from Munich to London Heathrow. Nice flight and had a chat with a very nice man who was next to me. Although the flight was delayed by about 40 mins, it was pleasant.

Hitler's Eagles Nest

2010-06-24T21:16:00.008Z

I drove back down to Berchtesgarden on the Austrian border. I bought a ticket at the documentation office and then caught one of the special coaches up the mountain. That is the only way to get there.
The Eagles Nest Entrance
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Once you get most of the way up, you have to walk through some giant metal gates and walk a few hundred yards (Meters) through a tunnel to a small room where Adolf Hitler's elevator is.

I then entered the lift with a lot of other people and then the doors shut and then the lift operator took us and the lift up to The Eagles Nest or Kehlstien as it is also known.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

There was a very strange smell once I entered the house at after leaving the elevator. The view was stunning, but the fact that Hitler and other nasty Nazi's had used this place as a kind of playground was really odd.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Inside The Eagles Nest were many areas where Hitler had spent time relaxing etc. One room called the Octagon room had a fireplace against the wall. This was given to Hitler as a gift by the Italian dictator, Mussolini.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

One of the rooms that ran off the side of the Octagon room, was Eva Braun's room. This had very old lights on the wall. The lights were there in the photos in the guide books. Here is a shot of them today. Again it is weird to think that they had all occupied this building and I was wandering around and standing on the same actual spot that one of the most evil people in the history of the world had stood.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford.

After leaving the Eagles Nest I headed down the elevator, then caught one of the special coaches down the rest of the mountain to the car park. Then I got my car and headed off back to Munich. Just as I got on the road out of Berchesgarden, I saw this church. The sky looked rather nice and blue so I stopped and took a quick shot.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Munich and Football

2010-06-23T21:52:00.004Z

I sat with my brother and Randy in a very nice German bar and had a bite to eat and watched the Germany v Ghana world cup match. The food was great and we left at half tim. We thought it was best that this Englishman and one mixed (US/English) and one fully American should get out while the going was good. So, we got bck to our hotel and the game was on there in the main bar. It was crowded with German supporters. We kept our voices down and sat and watched it with them. They were blowing their Voovoozelas or whatever they are called and all seemed rather happy when Germany scored a goal which sent them through to the knock out rounds, against, yes, England. That will be next Sunday. Hopefully I will be back in London for that. I leave for LA the following morning. So, I hope we deal with that game and win it.

I had a nice shot of Michael Ballack in Sport Bild Magazine in Germany today. Its a big shot and one that I took at Munich airport when we arrived a few days ago.

Dachau Concentration Camp

2010-06-20T06:10:00.010Z

We had a few hours off this afternoon, so we had a chance to visit the first original Nazi Death camp, Dachau. It is about 4km from our hotel. It was all rather sureal for me. I obviously took loads of photos. We were lucky enough to actually hear a guide giving a tour so, we just joined into that group. We first saw the remains of the the railway line and platform where thousands of people would have fallen out of the trains and then been moved about 100 meters (yards) to the main entrance gate.

The remains of the platform and Track
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

On the gate were the words (another famous Nazi lie )' Arbeit Macht Frei' meaning work makes you free. Yeah right!!
Main Gate Dachau
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Once inside, we were guided around and we saw one of the remaining horrible barracks where the inmates were kept. It was horrible. Whilst we were walking around it was raining and horrible. I cant imagine how horrific it must have been for all of the poor people who were there in the freezing winters, with no heating and then in the hot summers in cramped horrible conditions, what a nightmare.
The Gas Chamber & Crematorium
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Inside this building was a gas chamber and the ovens.. I heard that the Nazi's often didn't wait to actually murder people in their normal ways, but, put them alive straight into the ovens.
The Gas Chamber Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

After the gas chamber was the room where dead bodies were staked up prior to being burnt in the ovens.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford.

The thousands of bodies were then transported from this room into the room next door where the ovens burnt on a 24 hour basis. By the way, good old IBM, yes, IBM helped the Nazi's work on all parts of their administration in relation to the death camps. The had a hole punch system that counted inmates in to the camps and then counted the dead ones as well. So, anyone thinking of buying anything IBM, think again and perhaps buy and Apple instead.
The Ovens
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Outside all around the grounds were the watch towers. We were told that if anyone stepped on the grass near the edge of the camp at all, even one foot. The would be shot dead at once. Nice people those Nazi's.
One of the Watchtower's Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

This was and is a very stark reminder of what happened only a few years ago. What the Nazi's did here and at many other death camps was truly revolting.. This is a very gloomy place that everyone should see.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Michael Ballack - Munich

2010-06-19T17:19:00.004Z

I caught the early flight from London to Munich today. On the flight was the Germany International footballer Michael Ballack ( Mr Happy) anyway, he was injured and didnt make it to the world cup. When we got of the plane, I asked him if I could take a photograph. He reluctantly said yes, so, when I took a photo he didnt want to be photographed on his own.

Michael Ballack
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

My brother Simon was with me and stood next to him, holding one of the UK's daily papers, The Daily Mail. Ballack noticed the big headline on the back page of the paper. It read:- The Headline that you thought you'd never read" GERMANY MISS A PENALTY.. Mr Ballack was not pleased with that headline and stormed off (on his crutches) without saying anything at all, he just gave me a really angry stare.. I was terrified, not!! Anyway, he was very rude and clearly annoyed by the paper's headline. Such a shame he missed the world cup through injury!!

Simon Lynge Photo Shoot

2010-06-09T11:21:00.007Z

I met up with Simon Lynge today at the station near my home. He is the first Eskimo (Inuit) to have an album released in the UK. It came out on Monday on LoMax records. It's called " The Future" After fantastic reviews in the Times and many other papers in the UK the BBC got hold of him. They had him in as a guest on their flagship BBC1 Breakfast show on Monday morning. Then he was approached by Sky News and others radio stations for interviews. Anyway, we set off and started taking some shots as soon as he arrived.

Then after a while we headed off for a spot of lunch at the Peppermill a favourite of a of us locals. At lunch where we were joined by my wife and friends, Jill Visser and then by the one and only Mick Flinn (New Seekers etc). We then got back to taking photos.
Simon Lynge Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

I had a few locations in mind and then we headed to a more studio based domestic shoot, which is where we shot Simon with the Hofner Guitar. He had no idea that Hofner were now back in the game and making such great guitars. I think he was rather impressed with it.
Simon Lynge Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Simon's album is fantastic. His music is somewhere between Jack Johnson and Paul Simon, yet he is stunningly original. He grew up in Greenland and now lives in a quite coastal town just above Seattle, USA. I must say that he is one of the nicest people I have photographed as well as one of the most talented.

Pre New

2010-05-29T18:46:00.000Z

This was a different one. I was asked to shoot a band I had never seen before. They are called Pre New. They will be playing this year at Glastonbury. I got to Croydon, Surrey at about 9:15 on Saturday night. Got straight into it and on they came. Well, guess what, they were bloody fantastic. I know the lead singer, Jamie. His brother is Martin Fry of the big 80's band ABC. If you are going to Glastonbury, go and see them, they are fantastic.

Twilight of the Gods

2010-04-04T13:39:00.004Z

My friend and fellow photographer, Matt Kent, bought me a book and gave it to me at The Who's gig at the Royal Albert Hall a few days ago. It's a book by Tony Klinger who I knew back in 1977-78. He has written the book about the making of the film "The Kids are Alright" which he was the producer/director. It is an amazing book, once I started reading I couldn't put it down. Go and buy a copy it's brilliant.

The Who play Quadrophenia

2010-03-30T13:33:00.001Z

This is the last gig this year at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and it's a big one. The Who are playing their album Quadrophenia for the first time in years. Special guests are Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam and Tom Meighan from Kasabian.

The Specials for Teenage Cancer Trust

2010-03-29T18:23:00.000Z

Well, I was really looking forward to this... The Specials... I love them. What a moment for me when I was shooting the sound check when they just went straight into Rudy, it was stunning.. After the sound check the lads got changed and then came into my studio for a shoot. Again like most of the artists, they were wonderful. Very helpful and willing. They did some Voxpops on video or the charity and then came the big show. They were brilliant, what a band. I got some pretty nice shots of them leaving the stage with the crowd behind them.

JLS perform for Teenage Cancer Trust

2010-03-28T18:18:00.000Z

Well, its Sunday and it is an earlier start. Due to the fact that JLS has a younger audience, the show will be over tonight at around 9pm. I did a studio shoot with the lads who were soooo nice. We then did some shots with some of the patients as usual. I then photographed their sound check and then the live show. That was possibly the loudest I have ever heard fans scream in the Albert Hall. They seemed louder than the music. Anyway, what a lovely bunch. They deserve all the success they get. They were a real pleasure to work with.

The Arctic Monkeys Teenage Cancer Trust Gig

2010-03-27T18:00:00.000Z

Yet another massive band, The Arctic Monkeys. We did a studio shoot earlier in the day and then a little later the boys did a quick meet and greet with some of the patients. What nice guys they are (Arctic Monkeys that is) although they were rushed and under pressure as they had a gig to do, they seemed to have all the time in the world for the patients who came in to meet them. The live performance was something else. I have photographed them many times now and each time I am really impressed. What a brilliant band. They ended the set with one of my favourite songs "when the sun goes down" The Albert Hall was hot steamy and heaving. The floor was going up and down which is a rarity in that building. Overall, a stunning show from a stunning band. I love them!

Noel Gallagher Day Two

2010-03-26T11:54:00.001Z

Another brilliant gig from Noel. This time supported by Plan B. The main man is Ben and he and the band are fantastic. Very different. I did a really nice studio shoot with him, I also shot the sound check and live show. I was very impressed.

Noel Gallagher Teenage Cancer Trust

2010-03-25T11:45:00.000Z

This was Noel's first of two gigs for Teenage Cancer Trust. The next one is tomorrow night. It is also the first gig since he and Oasis spilt up. I arrived at The Royal Albert Hall at around lunch time and we set up the studio again. It wasn't long before we were shooting the support act, The Courteeners. So, I shot the sound check and then did some shots for the charity downstairs with some of the patients that have come for the day. Al little later, the Courteeners were ready to go on stage and we got them in for the studio shoot. They are a really nice bunch of lads and so is Glyn their tour manager. I have photographed them before, however, they are a brilliant band and now seem to be firmly on the way up and on to stardom. So, we finished the studio shoot and I rushed out with them and shot the live show, partly from the front in the pit and partly from the stage. I wanted to get some shots of them with the Albert Hall behind them with the crowd. I rushed back to my studio just in time as Noel was ready for his shoot. In he came, really nice to see him. I hadn't seem him since I was in Japan with Oasis in 2005. We had a brief chat about that and he said "fucking hell, that was five years ago, I cant remember 5 weeks" He was in very good spirits. We did the shoot and it was followed by a quick video interview by the charity. Then once that was finished, Noel headed off to his dressing room and got ready for his show. A few mins later, Yui Mok, Matt Kent, Jill Furmanovsky and I were led down to the photo pit to shoot Noel on stage. That was all good, lighting was pretty good the only strange thing this year is that us photographers are having share the photo pit with a video camera on tracks. That is normal, but this year it is remote. Which is mental. I have to keep on eye on Noel and the other on the remote camera swinging along the track towards me. So far no collisions.. But 5 more nights, so we will see...

Suede at Teenage Cancer Trust

2010-03-24T12:13:00.003Z

As I understand it, they reformed just for Teenage Cancer Trust. I arrived mid afternoon at Royal Albert Hall and then Austin Flowers and myself set up the studio in the Green room. Just before Suede were due to go on, Brett Anderson came in and we did a quick shoot. He then flew out got the rest of the band and off they went on stage. When we did the shoot in the studio, Brett was very nice and quiet and posed for me in a very calm way. Then I got myself out front into the photo pit and as he hit the stage with the band, he was a different person. He was all over the stage and animated, but most of all brilliant. I didn't have time to watch the rest of the show as I needed to get backstage and shoot some other people. I would have loved to have seen more of them. I hope they get back together and tour soon. Mind you, I am so not up to date, they have probably announced that and I would know...

Comedy Night at Teenage Cancer Trust

2010-03-23T13:14:00.000Z

I set my studio up backstage in the Green room at the Royal Albert Hall. We shared it with all of the comedians who were performing on the night. A great room to be based in. Whilst I was shooting Rhod Gilbert, he said to me can you tell me something funny so I at least look happy when your taking the photos. I am useless at remembering jokes and before I could even tell him, he asked Jimmy Carr who was standing next to me. Then Rhod said hold on, make me laugh, I have asked the wrong man there haven't I. Then from behind a magazine a voice came loud and clear, it was Rich Hall. He said "my wife has had a horse riding accident, she is in a stable condition" well, that did it everyone just burst out laughing. He then just carried on reading his magazine as if nothing had happened. They are all very funny guys. I did have a nice chat with Rich Hall who spends a lot of time here, but, pretty much lives in Montana in the US. I don't think I have ever been there, but would love to.

On my way out of the Royal Albert Hall, I was stopped by Zak Starkey. I t was so nice to see him. Cant remember when we saw each other last. We reminisced about Keith Moon. Zak was chatting about flying along Sunset Boulevard in LA in Keith's Excalibur car on their way to go surfing. That must have been around 1977-78. We also chatted about a shot that I took of Zak and Keith together in London. Oh, happy days eh!! I will be seeing Zak next week when the MIGHTY WHO play on the last night of Teenage Cancer Trust for this year.

Them Crooked Vultures

2010-03-22T09:38:00.002Z

Royal Albert Hall today to shoot the second Teenage Cancer Trust concert of the year. Depeche Mode were firslast month. Today is Them Crooked Vultures, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones, Josh Homme. I am setting up a studio backstage and shooting the bands before the live shows this week. The line up is amazing during the next ten days.

Downing Street Tomorrow

2010-03-16T23:48:00.002Z

Got a busy day tomorrow. I have an exclusive photoshoot inside Downing Street. Should be interesting.

Daisy Lowe

2010-03-15T23:51:00.001Z

I met up with top model, Daisy Lowe and did a quick photo shoot. This took place in Camden Town, North London. She is such a pleasure to work with. It was a quick one, I was home by midnight, which makes a change.

Celeb Auction on April 6th 2010

2010-03-02T20:24:00.004Z

I have been invited to participate in an auction for Teens Unite charity. The Embassy Restaurant, Bar and Members Club in London are to host the high profile celebrity art auction organized and sponsored by Legende Celebrity Art 6th April 2010. DJ, TV Presenter and ‘household name for 30 years’ Mike Read will perform the ‘live’ auction and there shall also be a ’silent’ auction operating throughout the evening. Dr David Bull the well known TV Presenter and Media Entrepeneur will be introducing the event which kicks off at 7pm. 50% of the monies raised over the reserve price will be donated to TEENS UNITE the teenage Cancer Charity founded by fashion designer Karen Millen.

Some of the items being auctioned are photographs by the legendary photographer, Terry O'Neill. There will be some other photographs there by John Wright and myself. Should be a great night at the Embassy in London. If anyone wants to attend email richardevans@legendecelebrityart.com spaces are limited so hurry up if you want to go. I understand that Terry O'Neill will also be attending. This should be a great night....

Haiti Charity Single - Video Release

2010-02-26T22:59:00.002Z

'I put a spell on you', the charity single's video recorded to aid the Haiti victims has now on you tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf69vIQL_u8

Depeche Mode at The Royal Albert Hall - London

2010-02-17T16:54:00.004Z

This was the first of this year's Teenage Cancer Trust concerts. Well, what a band to kick the series of concerts off with, Depeche Mode.
Atmosphere at the Royal Albert Hall
copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved

The Albert Hall is more often than not all seating, but not for this band. The whole of the middle of the downstairs main arena was standing. They are a brilliant band and very easy to photograph. The lighting was great and they had some interesting graphics behind them on a big screen. There were only a few photographers allowed in for this show, but we had to share the pit with a camera crew. Mind you, the main camera man was a really nice chap who didn't seem to stop laughing. I think he worked for Depeche Mode as the crowd at the front all seemed to know him. Roger Daltrey of The Who introduced them. Roger is one of the people who is behind the charity. It was started by Dr Adrian Whiteson OBE, I think and Roger seems to be the main driving force behind the music events and getting bands to play each year. I am amazed that he hasn't been Knighted yet!!
Dave Gahan - Depeche Mode
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford All rights reserved

So, we shot the first four songs and then left the front of the stage.
Depeche Mode
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford All rights reserved

Depeche Mode
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford All rights reserved

I packed up my gear and headed out outside. When I was walking out to my car, I walked straight into Roger Daltrey. We stopped and had a chat. I asked him about the Super Bowl gig in Florida a few weeks ago, which he said he loved. Mind you they only had about 6 minutes of playing. How can The Who show the world in 6 mins what its all about. Funnily enough, they did. They are absolutely brilliant live. Definitely the best Rock n Roll band in the world. So, we chatted for a few mins and then we both headed off our different ways home. I got in my car only to find that the M4 motorway which heads out of London was shut and I was now in a traffic jam. It was just gone 10pm and there I was sitting stationary in a traffic jam, mental.. I finally got home late and edited the photos and got them out to all papers magazines around the world.

Sphere Sudios

2010-02-01T23:11:00.003Z

This afternoon I went to Sphere Recording studios in West London. I met up with my friend and top record producer, Andy Wright. We had a chat about a few projects, then I went downstairs to see the brilliant Engineer, Gavin Goldberg. So, Gavin and singer, Peter Grant who was with him and I had a cup of tea and a very interesting chat about a few artists that we both knew. I am going to be doing a bit with some mutual artists in the next week or two.

Location Location Location

2010-01-31T16:12:00.003Z

I need to find a great location for an album cover shoot I'm doing with my friend and Sex Pistol legend, Glen Matlock. Glen and I had a chat about it a day or so ago and I think he now knows what he wants. So, this week I will start to figure out where we are going to shoot the cover of his new album. I have a few ideas though. Mind you, so does Glen, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Haiti Single

2010-01-30T13:57:00.002Z

All went very well yesterday in the studio. Nothing more is going to be said until we get the go ahead from the wonderful PR people who are taking control of this event. So, I am not saying anything here on my blog for the time being. As soon as I can talk about it I will, but not right now.

Haiti Single

2010-01-28T14:26:00.009Z

Well it's all systems go. Small rehearsals this afternoon. But tomorrow is the big day. I have been speaking to more artists who have agreed to come on board. I would imagine it will be a hectic day tomorrow. But, I hope it's fun with no aggravation. We are getting all of the release forms sent out to management and sorting out the legals etc. There will be a few logistical problems to solve as some of the artists are in different parts of the world. Mind you we do have one of the worlds best producers doing this, so, he will know how to deal with this.

The feedback that I am getting from everyone is that this song recorded by this lot of unlikely suspects is going to be one of the coolest things ever. I suppose they are right, as it will be real musicians who are all major stars in their own right. I am just going to check all of my camera equipment now ready for tomorrow, then going to get some sleep. Don't suppose I will get much sleep tomorrow night.

Haiti Charity Single

2010-01-26T23:50:00.002Z

My mate is organising a charity single to help raise loads of money for Haiti and the people who need it most. It's all top secret at the moment. But, I will be photographing it all and telling you all more as soon as I can. There are some very big names involved and one of them is my mate Shane McGowan, bless him. He is a good sport. So, later this week all will be revealed.

Bikini's in the Snow

2010-01-11T23:37:00.002Z

So, after yesterday's photo shoot in the snow. The photos have made there way into two UK National papers so far. The Daily Star and the Daily Mirror. So, that shoot yesterday was successful. We will see if the photos have made it into any of the UK magazines later this week.

Madness in the Snow

2010-01-10T23:22:00.001Z

Late Saturday night I was thinking about the weather and wondering what sort of shots would get unto the UK newspapers. So, I came up with the idea of getting some teenagers to ride a sledge down the snow covered slopes in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire UK. But, the girls just wearing Bikini's and boys in swimming trunks. So, we met up quite early in the morning and my niece and her friend were there with other members of the family. So, we walked across the snow covered fields and found the right hill. Then off we went, girls in Bikinis etc.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved

We only spent about 10 mins taking the shots as I didn't want them to get frost bite.
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford. All rights reserved

We then got them all dressed up and warm and headed off to the Peppermill in Chorleywood for a nice breakfast. I then headed back to my place, edited the photos and syndicated them out to the papers and magazines.

FUN IN THE SNOW

2010-01-07T14:55:00.007Z

It's pretty cold over here in the UK at the moment.
M25 Motorway
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Plenty of snow and ice. Luckily I have an old 4x4 Land Rover discovery which I kind of refer to as Thunderbird II. Just because the old girl seems to get me almost anywhere I need to go.
Chorleywood
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

I must admit, I do find myself delivering friends to remote places that they cant actually get to. So, at least I am doing something for someone else for once, which is nice.
The Road to Chalfont St Peter
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

I took some shots of the M25 motorway (Freeway) that circles London. That looked hazardous. Also, some of the little roads around the village where I live. All very pretty, but awkward driving.

Sam Clifford
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

I did happen to have my assistant riding shotgun with me on this trip. Mind you he didnt help me much, the lazy little bugger.

Frosty, Sam and Lyn
Copyright 2010 Danny Clifford

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T10:38:00.004Z

I had a nice quiet New Year's Eve. I was at home and did very little, which was nice. This morning got loads of emails wishing me a happy New Year. One of them was from friend of mine Sam Moore & his lovely wife Joyce. They sent me a You Tube link to a great little performance of Aretha Franklin and Billy Preston singing 'Auld Lang Syne'. Both of them are and were close people to Sam & Joyce. Aretha actually played keyboards on one of Sam's solo albums after he left the massive soul duo of Sam & Dave. Billy was one of Sam's best and closest friends and Joyce was his manager. Sadly, Billy died in 2006. This You Tube performance is great, have a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U9zXXRiTVA

It has reminded me that a few days ago I found some shots of Billy Preston playing with the Rolling Stones around 1976. I must get them onto my website when I get a min.

Funny Those Doctors

2009-12-30T18:17:00.002Z

So, after a bad night and no sleep, I made an emergency appointment to see my doctor. I got to the surgery and waited in the reception until called into his private room. So, after a few minutes of discussions as to how I felt etc I asked him what he thought! He said, could you make sure you leave me one of your Nikon camera's. So, after we laughed and I left the room, I thought, blimey, is that it, is it time to decide who is to have my camera's, the cheeky monkey. Anyway, I will obviously be taking no notice of him and steam onwards regardless.. I have loads of photo editing to do tonight, so, I am going to be busy. I found some more old Thin Lizzy and Pink Floyd shots from the late 70's, so, I will try and scan them tonight as well. Mind you, I am tired so, may have an early night and get on them tomorrow. Bloody doctors !!

Rock and Roll Photos for sale www.dannyclifford.com

2009-12-11T21:11:00.001Z

I have just put a new section on my website called Pront Sales. I have put photos of Jimmy Page , Shane MacGowan, Queen, Amy Winehouse, The Who, Eric Clapton, Oasis, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Status Quo, Beyonce and others. I am going to put some more on soon. But that's enough for now.

Tollins on Chorleywood Common

2009-12-09T23:17:00.003Z

I had no idea what a Tollin was until late last week. My friend and journalist Jill Visser emailed me and told me all about them. I was reading the email and it explained that Tollins are little people who live under the wooded Common in Chorleywood Hertfordshire, England. I carried on reading the email and it explained that they were all real and quite magical. I then stopped and looked at my phone again, where the email was and re read it. I thought for a moment I was going mental. Little people who live under the common!!! Obviously they cannot be real, I am such an idiot. For a split second I thought they could be and I didn't understand how I had never heard about them before. So, a few days later, I went with Jill and photographed Tollins on the common.
Tollins on Chorleywood Common
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford

They were as described, little people who do in fact live under the common. There is a book out now telling us all about them. It is published by Harper Collins.

Cliff Richard & The Shadows

2009-11-30T20:24:00.000Z

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

2009-11-22T22:02:00.004Z

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

2009-11-19T08:56:00.004Z

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

2009-11-13T19:27:00.002Z

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'

2009-11-10T18:44:00.007Z

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.

I Love Film

2009-10-23T17:03:00.006Z

I was sorting though some old negatives that I have never looked at before today. Amongst them were some of the many great artists that I worked with. I just found this shot of the one and only Thin Lizzy. It is of Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham. I can't remember where or when I took this, I suppose its around between 1977-79. I will be able to check it soon and see where and when. The filing system needs a little attention at my gaff.
Thin Lizzy Copyright 1977-2009 All Rights Reserved

Shooting on film was a little more tricky than digital. You did need to pay attention and have a little knowledge of physics if you know what I mean. I just love the grit and grain in this shot above and it has made me feel really nostalgic. I think I might shoot a bit more film again soon. I also found some great old Status Quo, Rory Gallagher, Frankie Miller, John Miles, Lou reed and loads of others. I will get some more up on the site as soon as I get a chance.

Busy day again

2009-07-09T20:51:00.005Z

Lately all has been a bit mad. I am as I write packing my bags as I am leaving on an early flight tomorrow to deepest darkest Ireland. I fly to Dublin the off to a studio in the middle of Ireland. That is where I should be shooting the one and only Dame Shirley Bassey for her new album. Meantime, Antont Costa is down in Brighton tonight as we have arranged for him to co-host the Breakfast show on Heart FM tomorrow morning. That should be nice. So, he and Andy are now snuggled up in the exotic hotel in Brighton and no doubt, in the morning Antony will be ready and sparkling on the radio. Or more likely back on planet earth, they wont be snuggled up in the hotel but out chatting to all single young ladies in the Brighton area. There is no stopping them. Right, I am off to bed as gotta get up before dawn.. Lets hope dawn makes me a cup of tea.. Haha the old ones are the best.

Sphere Studios

2009-06-03T20:24:00.001Z

I went down to Sphere Recording Studios in Battersea to meet up with Andy Wright, top top producer. I haven't been to Sphere for a year or two. In fact, I had not been down there to see my photos that are all over the walls there. There is quite a selection, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, Pete Doherty Shane, Shane MacGowan, Madonna and others. I had hoped to see Franco the owner of the studio. He is a really nice guy. Anyway, I had a nice meeting with Andy Wright and then headed out of town and home to the countryside.

Soccer Six Charity Match

2009-05-24T10:47:00.005Z

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
All Rights Reserved

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
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford. All Rights Reserved

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
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
All Rights Reserved

Comedian, Lee Mack was playing as well today. He is one of my favourite comedians. Very quick, very very funny.
Carl Barat
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
all Rights Reserved

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

2009-05-22T21:19:00.008Z

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.

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.

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.

The Antony Costa Band

2009-05-21T20:57:00.006Z

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.

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

2009-05-20T08:40:00.002Z

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
Copyright 2009 Danny Clifford
All Rights Reserved

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

2009-05-16T09:59:00.005Z

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

2009-05-13T19:26:00.007Z

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.

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.

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 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.

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

2009-05-12T19:44:00.002Z

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

2009-05-11T15:26:00.002Z

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

2009-05-07T09:22:00.003Z

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

2009-05-06T09:12:00.003Z

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

2009-05-04T08:16:00.000Z

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!

2009-05-01T18:45:00.001Z

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.

and they are off..

2009-04-28T13:17:00.003Z

Today my second container left Southampton, UK for sunny California, USA. This has been a bit of a distraction over the past couple of months, but at least they are going. I will have to be there at Long Beach to receive it in about 6 weeks. No doubt with the help of my brother who is driving around Arizona and the Grand Canyon in his bloody enormous motor home, at the moment having a nice and well deserved break.

AC/DC London

2009-04-14T09:54:00.003Z

I can’t remember the last time I shot AC/DC, but I think it was around 1980. It was possibly at Hammersmith Odeon. In fact, I have a funny feeling that I also photographed them with Status Quo. Does anyone remember if they actually supported Quo? If so, please let me know and I will then get someone to dig deep into the archive and try and find them. So, back to now then. I arrived at the O2 arena in North Greenwich, London. It is a really long drive for me. I always say this or at least think it, but, it's easier for me to drive to Birmingham than across London to the O2. There were only about 6 photographers there allowed to shoot the show. We were all given a briefing as to where we are to stand and how the show will run for us. It was kind of reminiscent of shooting the Rolling Stones, the same kind of setup, which is pretty good. They know why were are there and want us to get the shots. So, in this case, the guy who was briefing us actually at the end of his list of does and don’ts he said one last thing "thank you for coming and we at AC/DC hope you get some great shots" This was quite refreshing and nice. So, in we went and we were split into two groups. There O2 was packed out, the crowd were really excited. Then without much delay at all, on the massive screen behind the stage came an intro cartoon film of AC/DC on a train with cartoon characters including scantily dressed saucy women. Then as this train finally crashed into a station, pyrotechnics went off on stage and the band appeared on stage. The lighting was very bright. We were all positioned along a runway in front of the stage. Brian Johnson and Angus Young both took turns and came down along the runway. After the show I headed out of the O2 and jumped in my car and attempted to get to a restaurant for dinner with my sister in law Jane who was having a dinner to celebrate her birthday. But, by the time I got anywhere near the restaurant, they had all left and gone home, which was a shame. Maybe they thought, hurry up eat up and get out of here before Danny gets here. When I got home I edited up the photos of AC/DC and sent them out.

Starsailor - Shepherds Bush London

2009-04-09T00:06:00.002Z

Tonight was the full band. I have been shooting James Walsh quite a bit recently on his own whilst he was doing a few acoustic sets. So, here we were at Shepherds Bush Empire and it is sold out. I am not surprised as they are bloody great. I was shooting the whole show so, I managed to get some good shots. I started in the photo pit and did the first 5 songs. Then I ventured upstairs and shot from left right and centre. It was a great show, brilliant band. There was an after show party, but, I didn't go, I went with my wife Lyn and our friend Jill to Fulham to VQ and had a quick bite to eat. We then headed out of town and home. I then edited the photos and sent them out to usual places.

Ted Nugent Exclusive in Texas

2009-04-08T19:44:00.000Z

I was running through some of my old negatives and scanned a whole set of photos that I shot when I was on tour with Ted Nugent back in 1980. This was a shoot backstage somewhere in El Paso, Texas. Ted posed for me with all of his guns blazing.. Kind of weird as they were all loaded.. He was a very nice man and I did have great fun on the road with him. One of these shots ended up as a cover of the music magazine of the day in the UK, Melody Maker..

Pictures Published

2009-04-06T16:46:00.000Z

Had some photos from Friday night's Remi Nicole party in today's London Paper. Think they were in some other papers as well. But, I didn't really get much time to check them all..

Lacoste Party for Remi Nicole

2009-04-03T15:56:00.001Z

Party tonight at the Boogaloo in Highgate, North London. It's Remi Nicole's birthday party sponsored by Lacoste and in aid of Multiple Sclerosis. I got there at about 7:30, I was told it would start at about 8pm. Well, it was about 9:30 and nobody had arrived yet. There was a steady procession of guests from about 10pm. So, finally we got some photos. Pixie Geldof was on good form. She was having great fun, dancing and having a laugh. Her sister Peaches turned up about an hour after her. So, we did a couple of shots of them together.. Alexa Chung, Nick Grimshaw turned up and got on the decks for a bit of DJing. The party was in full swing by now. Got some nice shots of Alexa, Nick, Remi, Pixie & Peaches.. I headed off home just after midnight. Then edited up the photos and sent them out to all of the papers.

The Boat Race 2009

2009-03-29T21:41:00.005Z

Today is the annual Boat race between Universities of Oxford & Cambridge. I am shooting this from on the water, just behind them.

So, after a mad rush to Putney and a frantic parking of my car, I ran through the relaxed slow walking crowd (who didn't have a care in the bloody world). I was carrying loads of gear, cameras, laptop, long lenses in metal cases, I am sure you can picture it. Anyway, I had a few mins to spare and got to the media check in. I was checked in and almost immediately led out to the bank to board a boat. A minute of so later in came the boat I was allocated a place on. So, on I got and got ready for the start.
Boat Race 2009
Copyright Danny Clifford

After Oxford were presented with their cup etc, they through their Cox (little fella at the back of the boat) into the freezing River Thames.
Boat Race 2009
Copyright Danny Clifford

Teenag Cancer Trust - Bullet for My Valentine

2009-03-28T21:19:00.001Z

Royal Albert Hall again tonight, this time there are three bands, In Case of Fire, ex Busted boy, Charlie Simpson's newish band Fightstar.. Then the main act tonight is Bullet For My Valentine.

Mutton at The Shaw Theatre London

2009-03-27T21:26:00.001Z

Tonight is a slightly different one for me. I am shooting a show at the Shaw Theatre in Euston Rd, London. Its a production called Mutton, as in Mutton dressed up as lamb. The show is all about women of a certain age.. I was there to get some good live shots of them for Donna Flinn who is one of the three women in the show. The audience loved it, there were lots of laughs all round, a very funny and entertaining show.