Lawrence Watson opens an exhibition of images spanning his career and includes icons such as Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher, Grace Jones, Damon Albarn, Snoop Dog and David Bowie.
Event: Lawrence Watson Photography Exhibition
Date: 15 July - 1 August 2021
Time: 12 - 7pm Monday - Sunday (Thursday: 12pm - 9pm)
Location: 5 Newburgh St.
As part of Soho Music Month, we are hosting a photography exhibition in Newburgh Quarter showcasing imagery throughout Lawrence Watsons' career as a music photographer and pioneer in the industry. Watson left school aged 16 in 1979, went straight to the source of his passion and found a job as an apprentice in a commercial photographic dark room in Old Street. A clued-up cat on the scene, Watson, was soon contributing to the then all-powerful NME and captured the likes of Tom Waits, Erasure and The Eurythmics and, consequently, carved a rather groovy niche for himself as the man everyone wanted to work with.
In the early eighties he was sent to New York City to photograph the emergent hip hop scene and soon bolstered his swelling portfolio with shots of pioneers, Public Enemy, Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim. Presently, he was shooting James Brown, George Clinton, BB King, Morrissey, David Bowie, Snoop Dog, Andy Warhol, Harold Pinter and Grace Jones and became both, The Style Council’s (and to this day Paul Weller’s) and Oasis’s (and still Noel‘s) house photographer.
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“You can sense how Lawrence works – quietly, unobtrusively, intently – from his portraits. You can sense the trust he engenders in people he has grown to know over the years,” enthuses former NME writer and now Observer columnist , Sean O’Hagan. “He has that eye for the crucial moment.”
The shop will include a mix of handprints, one-offs, artist proof prints, t-shirts, posters and postcards. The exhibition will be open from 15 July to 1 August 2021 at 5 Newburgh St. Take a look from 12pm till 7pm, Monday to Saturday and late opening till 9pm on Thursday. Prices of original signed prints are available on request in the exhibition.
“Lawrence was often the first photographer to capture the raw energy that’s so exciting in the early stages of their careers. He captures people before they become blasé,” states Watson’s former NME colleague, Loaded founder and ex GQ editor James Brown. “He’s a truly great photographer.”