The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse – Mark Allan has snapped them all.
Now this is music to our ears: a new exhibit at the Barbican Music Library is set to show off iconic photographs of the music industry’s brightest stars. It’s the work of Mark Allan, a photographer who has spent more than 30 years around the music and entertainment industry. Having snapped some legendary faces up on stage, he’s amassed quite the collection – and from April 4th to June 29th, you’ll be able to see them yourself.
See also: All the London art exhibitions you mustn’t miss in 2019.
‘It’s NOT only Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is essentially a who’s who of music royalty. Mark has photographed Queen, Tina Turner, The Who, Oasis, Robbie Williams, George Michael, KISS, and countless others over a career which has taken him all over the world.
It’s honestly an embarrassment of riches, but perhaps the most iconic inclusion is a photo of Queen performing at Live Aid – widely regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time, and a proper “I was there” moment for anyone lucky enough to have had a ticket.
This is just a little sneak peek of what you can expect at the exhibit – Mark Allan is also a regular at the Barbican’s classical music concerts, so photographs of conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons, and Bernard Haitink will also feature. The Barbican has attracted star names for years, but I bet they weren’t expecting this many all at once!
You can find the exhibit on Level 2 of the Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS, from April 4th to June 29th. It’s open Monday to Saturday, and the nearest stations are Barbican, St Paul’s and Moorgate.