Pennie Smith (born in London) is an English photographer, known for her photography of the rock music industry. She specialises in black-and-white photography.
Early life
Smith attended
art school
An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art ā especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-seco ...
in
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
in the late 1960s, studying
graphics
Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...
and fine art. With others, she collaborated with
graphic designer
Barney Bubbles and music journalist
Nick Kent
Nick Kent (born 24 December 1951) is a British rock critic best known for his writing for the '' NME'' in the 1970s, and his books ''The Dark Stuff'' (1994) and ''Apathy for the Devil'' (2010).
Early life
Kent, the son of a former Abbey Road S ...
in producing ''
Friends'' magazine from 1969 to 1972. In 1970 she designed
the sleeve for the
Pink Fairies
Pink Fairies are an English rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, ...
debut release ''
Never Never Land
Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live.
Altho ...
''.
Career
Smith's first major photographic commission was to cover a 1970s
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
tour. She went on to work at the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' as staff photographer until the early 1980s.
In her career Smith has photographed some well-known rock musicians, including:
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
,
Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
,
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
,
the Jam
The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...
,
the Slits
The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...
,
Siouxsie Sioux
Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976ā1996). They released 11 ...
,
Debbie Harry,
U2,
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
,
the Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...
,
Primal Scream,
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus ...
,
Radiohead,
Blur,
Oasis, David Smith and
the Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...
.
In addition to her portrait work she has covered tours with musicians, including a photograph of the Clash's
Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar on the stage in New York City during a 1979 tour.
[Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". '']Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
''. October 2004. p.70. The photograph went on to be used on the cover of the Clash album ''
London Calling
''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records.
T ...
'', designed by
Ray Lowry
Ray Lowry (28 August 1944 ā 14 October 2008) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and satirist, possessing a highly distinctive style and wit. He contributed to ''The Guardian'', ''Private Eye'', ''Punch'', ''Tatler'' and '' NME'', among ma ...
, and received ''
Q'' magazine's "Greatest Rock 'nā Roll Photograph of All-Time" award in 2002.
Smith's work has appeared on the covers and pages of the ''NME'', on album sleeves, promotional material and has featured in books. Her book ''The Clash, Before and After'' was published in 1980; it proved to be a bestseller.
In 2002, Smith received the award for "Godlike Genius" (the ''NME''s name for its Lifetime Achievement award) at the
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...
.
In late 2009, multiple images by Smith were included in the "
Who Shot Rock & Roll" exhibition of rock photography at the
Brooklyn Museum.
In January 2010, Smith's ''London Calling'' image was issued on a postage stamp by the
Royal Mail.
Smith currently lives and works in a disused
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
in west London, which she bought and converted into a
studio while she was a student, and freelances in black-and-white
reportage
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the journalist, occupa ...
photography.
See also
*
Tony Mott
Tony Mott (born Anthony Moulds, April 1956) is an English-born Australian rock and music photographer. In a career spanning more than 30 years, his photographs have appeared in local and international magazines, newspapers, and album covers. M ...
References
External links
Pennie Smith at the National Portrait Gallery*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Pennie
Photographers from London
Living people
1940s births
English women photographers
Rock music photographers