Proud Camden is pleased to present Set in Stone: Ian Tilton’s Stone Roses Photographs, an exclusive photographic exhibition to coincide with the release of the Omnibus Press photo book of the same name.

Seminal music photographer Ian Tilton gained unprecedented access to many of the most iconic groups of the 1980s and 1990s. This collection of photographs of The Stone Roses offers a candid and striking view of the band on their journey to international success.

Born from the independent music scene in Manchester in the 1980s, The Stone Roses were quickly championed as pioneers of modern music with their seamless blend of contemporary styles that ranged from acid house to the pop song format of the punk bands that influenced them as teens.

Ian Tilton first photographed the band for Sounds Magazine in 1987 in front of a backdrop of guitarist John Squire’s Jackson Pollock style canvases. This marked the birth of a collaboration that would last until the band broke up in 1996.

From this, Tilton was afforded the access to capture the band's nonchalance in a way that helped forge their identity as figure heads of the baggy ‘Madchester’ music scene. He would also provide Brown with the inspiration to first pull his infamous monkey face.

Launching in the week that precedes the Stone Rose’s triumphant return to the London stage, the exhibition and photo book offer a window in to the journey of a band as they craft a legend that poised the most anticipated return of any group in recent years.

Capturing the moment, stealing the soul, and flashing it back in brutal black and white or an expansive colour, Ian Tilton infuses his photos with a flair and a lust for life, underlining them with distinctive bled borders. These are photographs that spit energy and vigour, mirroring a genuine love for the subject.

Tilton moved to Manchester in the mid-eighties; this vibrant northern city a perfect place to cop some rockin' shutter action, as the Manchester music scene exploded. Tilton was well-placed to capture its protagonists; grabbing the truest carefree leer of the young Liam Gallagher and early Oasis gigs, the studied cool of the Stone Roses, the abandon of a youth culture free of shackles.

Tilton also photographed Nirvana after being the first European photographer to form a relationship with them. His shot of Kurt Cobain crying was voted the 6th best Rock shot ever by Q magazine amongst others.

Ian Tilton comprehensively documented the famous Manchester club the Hacienda and his colour shots of the interior, alongside fantastically atmospheric photos of the club in full swing capture the design and excitement of that legendary place.

Not that all action has been confined to the 'rainy city', Tilton has removed his lens cap all over the world, and has featured in numerous books and exhibitions on Guns N Roses, Nirvana, and Manchester music, and undertaken work for Sounds, Select, Melody Maker, Mojo and Q magazines.

Proud Camden Gallery
The Horse Hospital, Chalk Farm Road
London NW1 8AH United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0) 20 74249778
info@proudgalleries.co.uk
www.proud.co.uk

Opening hours
Monday - Friday from 11am to 5pm
Saturday from 11am to 4pm
Sunday from 11am to 5pm 

Related images

  1. Ian Tilton’s first photoshoot of the band with new bassist Gary Mounfield, better known at Mani. Tilton: “I love that shot right at the end of the shoot, of Reni laughing his head off and John grinning at him, with Mani collapsing in a heap, whilst Ian’s looking at me smiling. Everyone now looked like they belonged. Mani had arrived.” March 29th, 1988.
  2. Ian Tilton’s first photoshoot of the band with new bassist Gary Mounfield, better known at Mani. Tilton: “They all turned up at my place together and had coordinated what they were wearing. Second hand clothes were the thing back then and they each wore heavy black, half-length overcoats; three were shiny leather and John’s was corduroy. Three of the band had grown sideburns (‘sidies’ or ‘diggers’ as we called them). March 29th, 1988.
  3. The Stone Roses at Granada TV Studios. Tilton: “The Roses were appearing on Tony Wilson’s show, The Other Side of Midnight, a pre-recorded programme. Wilson’s show was at the time one of the only saving graces of Granada Television.” Early January, 1989
  4. Ian Brown backstage at the Blackpool Empress Ballroom. Tilton: “So Ian tape me on the shoulder from behind and says, ‘Here, have a look at this!’ He spontaneously shoves a whole jaffa orange in his mouth, so I quickly grabbed the shot. Just one shot and that was it. And that orange in the mouth became one of his most famous images, despite being such an extremely fleeting moment.”
  5. Photo shoot for the cover of Sounds Magazine. Tilton: “Brown put his hand in the air and started waving his fist around. And that was it, the iconic monkey face – I got him to do it!”. July 20th, 1989
  6. Photo shoot at Ian Tilton’s Studio in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy. Tilton: “So I said to the Roses, ‘I want you to kind of pose a bit like the famous Pennie Smith/Clash photograph. Lean on each other so you look close to each other. Look cool and cocky’. So that’s what they did, standing against the wall at my studio.” September 6th, 1988