Punk. Rock.

I've enthused in this journal before about the photographers whose images in the music press back in the late '70s/early '80s inspired me so much as an adolescent and continue to influence me now - Pennie Smith, Jill Furmanovsky and their ilk.

Amongst them was the American-born but British-dwelling Sheila Rock, whose photos of the punk and post-punk bands of my school days are amongst the best of that era. I stuck her pictures up on my wall back then and it was great to get the opportunity to see her talk about her work today at a new exhibition, 'Tough and Tender', which features portraits of English people in seaside towns and reflects Rock's 'outsider's affection' for her adopted home country.

Although it's a long time since the punk days, and although her work has encompassed a broad range of themes since then, she hasn't lost all links with the old guard of the punk scene and I was beyond excited that her interviewer for today's discussion was none other than former Sex Pistol, Glen Matlock!! 

Glen is, to my mind, a ridiculously under-celebrated musician and arguably the most important member of the Sex Pistols. John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) may have written the lyrics but it was original bass player Glen who wrote the bulk of the music. Despite being overshadowed in the media by his successor, Sid Vicious, his contribution to the band's legacy and the history of music is immense - 'Anarchy in the UK' and 'Pretty Vacant' simply wouldn't exist without him. It's been said that the band only managed to write two songs after Glen left...

He's continued with a career in music since he quit the Pistols in 1977 (some say he was sacked for admitting to liking The Beatles although he denies this!) but I really don't think he's had the plaudits he deserves.

It was great to discover that both Sheila and Glen are lovely people. Funny, quiet, intelligent and a joy to listen to in conversation. I'm still coming down from the excitement of being in the same room as them both!

Deciding which of them to blip was a real nightmare but, this being a photo site, I've ended up blipping the photographer, Ms Rock! Thank goodness for the new 'extra photos' feature which allows me to post a picture of Mr Matlock too!

Thanks for all the recent hearts, stars and comments - they're very much appreciated. I've had a massively hectic few days so have been even more absent from Blipworld than usual but I'm really feeling the love. Thank you. xx