Chalkie Davies the NME years

OH and I went to see our friends in Cardiff and the added bonus was I got to see the amazing exhibition by Chalkie Davies. Now I must admit I'd never even heard of Chalkie Davies until I saw a documentary about him on BBC4 a couple of weeks ago but I was soon hooked. He was a photographer for NME in the 70s and took the most incredible shots of pretty much anyone and everyone I would have liked to have met (if I was a little bit older). I was born in '73 so was too young to enjoy punk in it's prime but some of my earliest memories are of singing Ian Dury and the Blockheads Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick when I was about 6.

 It was such a stunning collection of work. The exhibition was free AND you could take photos - double bonus!

 I hadn't realised I'd seen Chalkie's work before as he took photos for a lot of the Specials' album covers

 Just look at the range of these portraits including Terry Hall, Suggs, Sir George Martin, Kevin Rowland and Morrisey. Although a lot of the pictures were from the 70s there was a lot of early 80s stuff. as well so we were both in our element (OH has a couple of years on me so does remember punk!)

Last shot is a personal one. OH and I met at a music pub quiz and Dave Ball (on the left) was on an opposing team. We got to know him during the half time break so it made us both smile to see this image of him back in the day! In case you don't recognize them it's Soft Cell!

So if you're in Cardiff I can highly recommend this incredible exhibition.