I began to pay close attention to music in 1972 at the age of twelve. The 1960s had just ended and the Glitter Rock era of the early 70s had begun. When I was a kid there were great songs on the radio like the "Green Tambourine" - the Lemon Pipers
"Age Of Aquarius" - The 5th Dimension, and "Sunshine Superman" - Donovan. These hits of the 60s and others were being played alongside the new records of the early 70s, which included "Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple , " Superstition" - Stevie Wonder,
"Brother Louie" - the Stories, and "Smokin' In the Boys Room" - Brownsville Station to name just a few. My friends and I would go to record stores and buy these new hit singles.
Also at that time I got my music fix on Friday and Saturday nights. After 11:30, there were the late night concert shows on television. In Concert, Rock Concert and The Midnight Special would showcase three or four acts per episode, which were filmed live for TV. I saw early performances by Golden Earring, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk, Ike & Tina Turner, Dr. John and T. Rex. These shows predated the music video age of MTV and Much Music by ten years.
I loved checking out my favorite band in concerts. Some of the acts I saw were Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Queen, Alice Cooper and Santana, to name a few. I always liked photography and by the late 70s I would take a camera to every concert. By the early 80s I had built up a portfolio of Rock acts and was starting to work for music magazines.
Living in Toronto and being a photographer in the music industry wasn't just a job, it was a creative lifestyle. I could be sent to shoot a major Rock act at Maple Leaf Gardens or a new group playing a nightclub that had attracted a large amount of attention. I listen to a variety of music, which includes Rock 'n' Roll, Blues, Jazz and traditional 60s Soul and Funk. During the 80s and 90s, I focused on photographing musicians within theses musical genres.
Back then it was all film, which was fine with me. Digital photography was just coming in when I left the music biz at the end of the 90s. I did some studio photography but most of my shooting was in front of the stage. All the photos on my website are of artists whose music I listen to and enjoyed seeing live.
Cheers!
Jim Prue