COLM HENRY made his name with a series of stunning portraits of U2 in their early days, before embarking on a career which would see him acclaimed as one of the finest photographers of his generation. He has snapped extensively for Hot Press and numerous other publications over the past 20 years. Of all his photographic endeavours, one of the best known is his stunning 1987 portrait of the late Bill Graham (above), which was used as the famous Magic & Loss Hot Press cover to mark Bill s death in May 1996. His latest exhibition, Are The Musicians Irish?, opens at the Temple Bar Music Centre on Monday April 27th.
That title is a kind of rhetorical question, meaning that if the musicians are Irish then that s pretty cool because they re good, Colm explains. At the moment, as well, the most famous people in Ireland tend to be musicians. It used to be writers but, temporarily anyway, that s changed. Musicians seem to be defining the Irish . . . fight, I suppose, and I want to use that aspect to show where we re currently at.
So the exhibition won t just be a collection of famous musicians there ll be traditional musicians, rock musicians and one or two classical musicians as well. Cumulatively, it should give a perception of and definition of the whole Irish thing , which is a reflection of Irish people as well, in their good aspects and bad aspects, because after all, there are good Irish musicians and musicians that people think aren t so good.
ABIDING MEMORIES
After 20 years in the trade, does Colm have any abiding memories of a particularly memorable shoot?
Well, I ve done a lot of work with U2, who are remarkable because they re so thorough, y know, he explains. They keep at it until they ve got it exactly right. On the other hand, I ve noticed that traditional musicians have no patience at all when it comes to photo-sessions. But I ve found that, generally, Irish people don t like getting their photos taken.
Why does Colm think that is?
Well we re not too pretty to look at, y know? We re not good looking in the model sense; there s a fair amount of character in our faces but pretty, sharp American or Italian good looks are not something Irish people have. I can t think of any Irish musician who has them.
It s not a criticism; I mean, most of them would admit it themselves. Some of them, like U2 for example, have become very sleek at presenting themselves. When they start off, though, they don t concentrate on the visual side of things because, foremost, they re musicians. The music is the most important thing, and the looks have to be worked on, usually, over a period of years, and then it gets defined.
I ve been doing this for 20 years now, and I ve grown up with a lot of musicians. It s my opinion that some of the most important pictures of people are taken when they re quite young: people like Paul Brady, U2 . . . people who ve made it out of the country. Then there are even people who ve died, like Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott. A lot of the good pictures of these people were taken at the start of their careers, before they got caught up in the whole image thing, when you could still see what they were about. I mean, U2 are essentially the same now as when they started, but now they re much more sophisticated and polished. But because of the various clothes, garbs and presentations of themselves, people tend to forget that they re still the same people.
Are The Musicians Irish? runs from 10am-6pm, Monday 27th April to Friday 8th May. Admission is free. Temple Bar Music Centre, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.