Punk and new wave in pictures

Peterborough Sycamore MINI showroom on Papyrus Road will be transformed into a stunning art gallery to welcome The Fine Art Of Punk & New Wave for one night only on March 2.

Organised by music exhibition specialists Off Beat Lounge, it will feature the work of New Musical Express photographers Chalkie Davies and Denis O’Regan, and marks this tour as the definitive visual record of the period.

1977 saw the full punk explosion, with debut albums from The Damned, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Jam and Elvis Costello to name but a few.

Blondie, The Ramones and Iggy Pop arrived from America, and the 1970s ended with a bang!

Chalkie Davies joined the NME as Staff Photographer in 1975 and worked there until 1979, where he shot numerous covers and features, as well as touring with Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello and Thin Lizzy. 
Always wanting to be a studio photographer, he gave up touring in 1980 and moved permanently into the studio, specialising in black and white portraiture. He shot dozens of record covers for many artists including The Specials, The Pretenders, The Who, Pete Townshend, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, David Gilmour and Robert Plant.

Denis O’Regan has flown Concorde Paris-New York and back in 24 hours, enjoyed dinner for two in Japan with Joni Mitchell, survived a 140mph car crash in Sweden in Phil Lynott’s Mercedes, was jailed in Costa Rica, picnicked with David Bowie in Australia and jammed with Bob Geldof in Italy.

Oh, and he was the official photographer at Live Aid!

This one-night-only event also features either Denis or Chalkie in attendance for VIP ticket-holder- only Q& A sessions, and will take visitors back to arguably the most rebellious period ever seen in the pop music business.

Tickets available at: www.offbeatlounge.co.uk/artofpunk.