News / Blog - Gigs & Bands News

As the seasons change and autumn approaches we look forward to the weekends when we can lock the doors, close the curtains, stoke a glowing fire and watch this years Strictly Come Dancing.



No! What this season means to me is that the live music scene gets back into it's stride after it's mini summer holiday!

Maybe you will take the lazy choice of exercising the thumb on the TV remote but I promise it is worth making the effort to search out some live entertainment.

Saturday kicked off the autumn season at the Fermain Tavern. If you missed it because your thing is more Ballroom than Band then you can see what you missed here :-)

Pics of Sugarslam & Lifejacket are online here:
SUGARSLAM - THE ALTERNATIVE TO STRICTLY COME DANCING
LIFEJACKET - ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE TO STRICTLY COME DANCING

It's a slow start but the BIG Jersey Live edit has begun!

But just as I get things moving I'm working away again for a few days so the updates will continue in sloooww motion.

However it is worth mentioning here that Jersey Live 2016 managed to entertain me again... and (as usual) offered a few 'new' finds together with a couple of surprises.

For example the Mungo Jerry band is much more than the 70's hits we all remember. You want the Blues... you got it!!

I'll be adding a lot more pics featuring Jersey Live 2016. You'll just have to be a bit patient :-)

The first pics are here though:
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THE JERSEY LIVE GALLERIES ARE PROGRESSING

2016 represented a milestone for the Vale Earth Fair Collective as it was 40 years since they first organized a small gathering of friends to enjoy live music and share similar beliefs in humanitarian causes and the care of our precious planet.

That original ethos is still strong and underlies everything the Vale Earth Fair Collective organizes.

However the Vale Castle Earth Fair has changed, evolved and grown over the intervening years and now sits as the oldest running Channel Island Festival.

It is responsible for many happy memories formed by the regular VEF supporters.

The 2016 VEF was a bit of a vintage edition... this was very fitting for such an historic year. The lineup consisted of a few favorites from yesteryears ably supported by many newcomers.

If you have somehow managed to miss all the previous Vale Earth Fairs - or maybe you haven't been for a few years - I highly recommend you add this Festival to your bucket list of things to do. You won't be disappointed :-)

I've now completed the VEF 2016 picture edit. All TWENTY Galleries :-)

These galleries should give you a feel of the vibe you get at a Vale Earth Fair.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VALE EARTH FAIR 2016 PICTURE GALLERIES

A couple of days ago someone asked me where I've been on holiday.

This person had (logically) assumed that as I hadn't made any major updates to this website for around two weeks that I must be lying on a beach somewhere, beer in hand, not a care in the world.

If only!!

No, the lack of updates is for completely the opposite reason. I'm stacked with work at the moment.

Now if you were to ask my missus about this she would be quite happy and content. You see, if I'm dashing around on photoshoots I can't keep a check on how much time she is spending in the summer house reading on that new Kindle I bought her for her birthday.

Now I wouldn't want you to think that I'm disliking work at the moment. Far from it. I'm someone who will always find another thing to do rather than sit around... even on the beach!

But all this activity does cause a log-jam in my picture editing and web-site updates. I have just sorted out one though. The gallery features pics of the 2-Day Motocross meeting.

There are other updates on the way (Vale Earth Fair & Hillclimb) but they will have to await my return from photographing Jersey Live together with a couple of Commercial Tallpictures jobs whilst I'm over in our sister Isle.

I must also get around to writing a Blog to celebrate the 14 MILLIONTH viewing on this website... hopefully before the counter hits 15 MILLION ;-)

View the 2-Day Motocross pics here:
VIEW PICS OF THE 2-DAY MOTOCROSS MEETING

I've just discovered that I have a new talent... and it's a bit special.

It's one of those amazing abilities that you dream about as a child and now, at the ripe old age of sixty-one, I've just found it!

How would you like to be able to see into the future too?

Well I promise that if you follow my advice you too can possess the same super-power!

All I had to do was to attend the School of Popular Music's Summer Party at the legendary Fermain Tavern last night.

The SoPM's young and energetic team had organized the evening to show-case six of their new bands. There was huge support given to all the young performers who were treated to a full stage sound system and lighting all controlled by pro technicians. How lucky were they!

If that opportunity didn't fire up their passion for live music I don't know what else would.

To get back to my original point I think that last night I saw into the future of the Guernsey music scene and it looks good.

In fact my guess is that the talent on show could be destined to even bigger things. Maybe there was a future chart-topper among them?

... but that's just a bit too far into the future for me to see yet :-(

Follow this link to see into the future with me:
CLICK HERE TO SEE PICS OF THE SoPM 2016 SUMMER PARTY

OK, I know I'm a bit of a cynic. This often gets me in trouble with my missus ;-)

So I suppose I was in 'normal' mode as I walked down my road towards Guernsey's latest Music Festival. The site was almost in shouting distance of my Guernsey cottage and there were many more residences a LOT closer that mine.

So as I made my way to the festival site I was half expecting the whole thing to be shut down as soon as the Main Stage turned the sound level up to ten! It's a sad fact, in this modern world, that if one or two people make a complaint about noise their 'rights' can take precedence over the many.

But I'm pleased to say that I was wrong on this one. Maybe a first ;-)

Careful and sensible management of the sound levels and a refreshing tolerance by the neighbors enabled the full three days of performances to be completed. Thank you St Sampsons residents!

I had also wondered as I made my way to The Gathering if such an ambitious set-up spread over three days could be pulled off when this was the first attempt... and (for maybe only the second time) I had got this one wrong too!!

Cage & Stage Productions must be praised and congratulated on how well organized and 'complete' their first Festival was. There were a few small problems but hey, I'll give them an impressive 9 out of 10 for most aspects and I think there is a very solid base in place if they have the enthusiasm and energy to give it another go in 2017.

Fingers crossed :-)

I hadn't intended to take many pics... we all need a break sometimes, but it seems I got into the atmosphere and the cameras started clicking! So I will be adding quite a few picture galleries in the next couple of days.

First up are two of the most popular bands in Guernsey. Fade to Grey and King Rat and the Soul Cats. Check-out the pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE GATHERING

This time of year my Commercial work hits a high. This is good... this is what pays the bills :-)

But this means that some of my other work has to take a back seat.

Like every previous year I'm left with a pile of editing to catch up with. The problem is compounded by the amount of events I have booked in for the next few weeks.

So, there is really no time to waste Blogging, just the time to add another link to an update.

The Greenman Chaos Gallery continues to fill with new Band pics, Tattoo pics, Burnout pics and pics of the Twelve course 'Exotic' meal competition...

View the updates here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST CHAOS PICS

I'm just back from Folklore Festival in Jersey.

My overall impression was a good one with a couple of disappointments... but until we can control the weather there was not a lot that the Folklore organizers could have done to change things.

The positives include the fantastic secluded Festival setting in a valley below a high reservoir dam.

Folklore also has a very friendly, family vibe. This is re-enforced by the line-up of bands which played sets chosen to build a fun, party atmosphere... nothing too dark or heavy. This is a summertime festival after all and the Folklore site is within a few hundred meters of the expansive sands of St Ouen Bay.

All the ingredients were in place for the perfect summertime festival.

But then the weather had different plans!

This led to the other disappointment. Unfortunately two of the bands that many of us were longing to see didn't manage to land at the fogbound Jersey airport.

There was a lot of reorganizing, rearranging and negotiation behind the scenes to bring the whole festival back from disaster with the headliners, the Levellers, graciously agreeing to play an earlier set to allow time for the guitarist from another of the bands, The Charlatons, to make a delayed appearance.

In the end the goodwill shown by many allowed Folklore to run smoothly and most people I spoke to were more than satisfied with their day out.

However the members of one of the bands were walking around with grins from ear to ear. Buffallo Huddleston were the proof that every fog bank has a silver lining.

The band had opened the festival in the heavy drizzle with only a few die-hard fans to play to. But after the fog affected the arrival of Slamboree and Showhawk Duo, Buffalo Huddleston were offered the chance to play again - this time to a much bigger crowd... and in the sun.

Buffalo Huddleston fully justified their opportunity and I reckon they were the band that got the party going.

Maybe you could even say that the Guernsey band came to the rescue of the Jersey Festival! Proof that we are all part of the same Channel Island family :-)

I'm working through my pics and the first galleries featuring Levellers, The Charlatons, Dubioza Kolektiv (a really great band), Buffalo Huddleston, J-C & the Loony Tunes and The Smooth Hounds are now online. Others will follow:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF FOLKLORE FESTIVAL 2016

I'm sorry that this website has been completely down for a large part of the day and when the technical issues were identified it eventually re-appeared but in a VERY SLOW form :-(

This was all out of my control and my website administrator has been working hard to return things to 'normal service'.

The whole event is VERY frustrating but Photium... the web admin that I use, have a very, very good record of reliability and are extremely quick to respond to problems. Indeed they come with my full recommendations.

But sometimes these things are out of all our control and patience and understanding is all we can ask for.

I'd be feeling a little bit pleased if the 10,000+ daily views that this website gets had bought the internet down but I can't make that claim to fame!!

Please bear with us while we get things back up to full speed.... thanks.

UPDATE: The website has returned to normal and speedy service. I would like say a big thank-you to the Photium team for keeping me up-to-date with the problems... which were out of their control. These things happen but thankfully are extremely rare!

Andrew :-)

Guernsey celebrated and remembered it's Liberation from occupation for the 71st time on May 9th 2016.

Our National Holiday included formal ceremony, a cavalcade, lots of live music and entertainment for all ages. Islanders were out in force despite the wet start to the day.

I was assigned to cover some of the varied events and my pictures are included in a new Gallery.

I think the best fun was being had by the residents of St Andrews together with 'all-comers' who had heard about the traditional activity of Soapbox racing.... there was also beer on offer ;-)

This year the hill outside The Last Post had been turned into a temporary Soapbox racing track. No man or boy could resist the temptation to race!

There was a good entry of homemade racing machinery (minus an engine) and the ages of the drivers must have spanned seventy-one years! Clearly you are never too old to have fun!

St Peter Port offered a whole day of live music and entertainment finishing with a firework display on the castle breakwater.

All this amounted to a full, long and tiring day. Islanders enjoyed their freedom surrounded by a friendly holiday atmosphere bound together by our love of the island of Guernsey.

A few pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF LIBERATION DAY 2016

The Channel Islands premier live music venue opened its doors again to talent from our sister Islands on Saturday night.

Over the decades 'The Tav' has presented acts from literally around the world. However it has always welcomed musicians from closer shores too.

So on Saturday the talent on show had originated from just across the water in Alderney and Jersey. These two acts proved that it isn't just Guernsey that produces great original performers!

We were treated to sets from Jersey's Tadhg Daly and the Robert J Hunter Band from Alderney. Both acts had played the Fermain Tavern before and they attracted their fans out in the knowledge it would be a good nights entertainment.

Rob and Tadhg are ambitious to break into the big time. Saturdays performances suggest that all they need is that lucky break... the talent is already there.

My pics of the night are here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE ROBERT J HUNTER BAND
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF TADHG DALY

As a Professional photographer I take pride in producing high quality work.

I also rely on selling a few pics to pay for the food, the beer, the household bills.... you get the idea :-)

A large part of my income comes from selling prints. I've invested in my own large format Pro printer that produces industry leading quality using 11 Archival Pigment inks. These prints should outlast you!!

But I often feel disappointed when I deliver a batch of prints as I have an idea that, after the initial enjoyment of them, many of the prints end up in a draw... forgotten and creased :-(

Now maybe I shouldn't be bothered... after all I have been paid for them!

The thing is, I long for people to see and enjoy the pics for longer than that.

This brings me to this SPECIAL OFFER. It's for the print option that I think is the best that I offer. An A3 sized FRAMED & BEVEL MOUNTED PRINT.

These A3 prints are big enough to have impact and show off all the pictures detail - and being framed behind glass they will remain in perfect condition for years.

So to encourage all my customers to try an A3 FRAMED PRINT I'm offering, for a limited time, a SPECIAL PRICE of £45... that's a £10 reduction.

This is a fantastic price that I'm only able to offer as I control every aspect of production. I personally optimise every individual print before hand-cutting a bevel mount. Finally the print is framed in the satin black frame that I purchase in bulk direct from the manufacturer.

This results in an UNBEATABLE PRICE.

Next time you are thinking about buying a pic please consider choosing an A3 FRAMED PRINT. You won't be dissapointed, I promise.

I have often said that I think that Guernsey has an incredible live music scene especially when you remember that our population barely equals a small mainland town. I challenge you to find an equivalent community that offers so much diverse talent in such a small area... actually don't waste your time looking because it doesn't exist!

So now we agree on my first point can I just add this.

Not only is there all this local musical talent but it is also professionally supported by committed teams of techies, promoters, logistics, sound-men, lighting techs (Lloyd, you're the Man!) and all the other helpers.

Bring all that together and you have an unrivaled music scene.

BUT, the best part of all that is the guys 'n gals who make up this vibrant community are also amazing and generous with their time and talents - in fact I think I should really be calling these people 'family', not a community.

So 'our' family excelled itself at the weekend when brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, nephews and nieces came together to raise money for one of our own. Jonah Gillingham and his family are in need of a little bit of help to pay huge medical treatment costs. So the music family came out in support!

For twelve hours on Saturday the Guernsey musical family met to do our small bit to help Jonah. The 'pop up Festival' took place inside Vale Castle and was a huge success. The organization was as slick as you can imagine. The music was non-stop and the atmosphere was friendly. In fact it was more like a family party... but without the arguments ;-)

Best of all is that lots of money was raised for Jonah's treatment.

Well done to all the extended family.

I well and truly did my bit too... apparently the profits from the bar were also in aid of Jonah Beats.

Wonky Donkey, you gave me a serious hang-over on Sunday.... but it was all in the aid of Charity, eh ;-)

My pictures are now online and I will be donating 25% of any picture sales from 'Jonah Beats' to support Jonah. Thanks.
CLICK TO VIEW THE JONAH BEATS PICTURES GALLERY

It’s a tantalizing thought and something has just grabbed my interest. :-)

Now that another MILLION MILESTONE of views has been shattered I can only look ahead to the next one….

13 MILLION VIEWS HERE WE COME!

My interest was tickled after I analyzed how long it took to jump from 11 MILLION views to hit the 12 MILLION mark… it took a couple of days short of three months.

After a few simple sums it suggests that the hit rate might just be on the way to a new annual total.

How does 4 MILLION views a year sound to you?

It sounds GREEAATT to me. :-)

As always I have to thank all of you for making it over to visit this website. The Google analysis shows that more than 50% of you drop in quite regularly, so I guess that you continue to find the occasional item and photoshoot that interests you.

I’m encouraged by the fact that I’m also finding a stream of new visitors. Now it falls on me to grab their attention whilst they are browsing with the aim of getting them back again too.

I know from my own Internet usage that if a website is to become one of my regular ‘haunts’ it has to be updated on a regular basis. I’m also aware that my own browsing usually includes sites that offer comments, advise, reviews and analysis.

As I’ve been receiving regular requests to pass on a few of the tips and tricks that I’ve picked up along my photographic journey I intend to add an occasional Blog covering a variety of topics – from the software I use to the kit I hang around my neck.

Perhaps my first Info-Blog will cover my first impressions of the new Nikon D5 and D500 cameras!

I have these new range-topping cameras on pre-order with Grays of Westminster… right near the top of their list. :-)

As a registered Nikon Professional Services photographer I’ve been able to get my hands on the first UK delivery of cameras going all the way back including the D200, D3, D300, D3s, D4 and D4s. It has become a little perk of the job to play with the very latest kit… and I wasn’t about to break with tradition!

So the count-down to delivery has started. Hopefully in about three weeks I’ll have a new Nikon D5 to play with. This time I intend to share my thoughts. Pop back soon to see what I make of the latest upgrade. :-)

You can read some of my previous 'MILLION VIEWS' Blogs here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PREVIOUS MILLION VIEW BLOGS

We got down and dirty at the Fermain Tavern at the weekend.

Just an average weekend then, I hear you say :-)

The occasion was the return of Pussy and the Dirty Johnsons to a Guernsey stage.

The band had impressed many (including this photog) when they first appeared on the Stage Against the Machine at Vale Earth Fair 2015.

So my guess is that an invitation to the Dirty guys to return to Guernsey was made soon after the festival.

It has taken until the end of February to get things together and it was good to see that the anticipation had not waned... in fact it had only got bigger!

Now this can sometimes be a problem. Maybe we were going to be disappointed?

I'll cut straight to the bottom-line. Pussy and her Dirty boys were fantastic. They had all the energy I remembered. The songs still had the hook I remembered... and Pussy still makes a great picture!

Well I am a pro photog so I notice those things!

There was good support for this Vale Earth Fair gig and a good time was had by all. I know this without even asking the punters. You could tell by the grins on their faces :-)

Support acts did a good job of warming everyone up. First up was The Phantom Cosmonaut followed by Thee Jenerators.

All pics are now online:
VIEW PICS OF PUSSY AND THE DIRTY JOHNSONS
VIEW PICS OF THEE JENERATORS

VIEW PICS OF THE PHANTOM COSMONAUT

Another trip down memory lane...

This time Down to the Woods.... taking a Lifejacket along whilst chasing the Last of the Light Brigade.

I think that covers everything :-)

Just in case this sounds like mumbo-jumbo to you (like most of my Blogs) there were three Band names in that sentence and I've just updated their picture galleries!

It all makes sense to me, anyway. Ha, ha.

And just in case you are a little intrigued the following links will take you to the updates:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF TO THE WOODS
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF LAST OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST PICS OF LIFEJACKET

Well the question was 'How long can it take one photographer to complete one edit?'

The answer, when talking about this particular photog, is months.... and months!

Indeed, I was at real risk that the next annual shoot of one of my favorite events would come around again before I'd completed the 2015 edit. Shameful eh!

But in my defense I'll say that all those months that have passed have been full and busy. I'm certainly working more hours than I ever did when I had a 'proper job'. There was a lot happening in the middle of last year and I simply couldn't keep up.

So I'm relieved (even a bit proud, ha, ha) that.... drum roll please.... The 2015 Vale Earth Fair Picture Galleries are complete, Hurrah!

The Vale Earth Fair is the Channel Islands longest running, most friendly and laid back Music Festival.

Many things play a part in making the atmosphere so chilled... a list would include: The historic setting inside and around Vale Castle, the relaxed manner the organizers 'organize', the family friendly crowd... oh, and the fantastic line-up of bands!

Here's another hint why I love VEF CLICK HERE ;-)

These galleries should give you a feel for the vibe you get at Vale Earth Fairs. I highly recommend you add this Festival to your bucket list of things to do :-)

BTW I reckon that the 'Stage Against the Machine' was particularly good in 2015. Let me know what you thought of VEF 2015. See you in 2016.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COMPLETED VALE EARTH FAIR 2015 GALLERIES

The last 24 hours has seen this web-site record over 32,000 views.

May I thank you for the interest in my work.

Whilst this isn't a record number it actually illustrates the interest in the events that I have been photographing... not really my pics.

This small island, as I've said so many times before, offers countless different activities, gigs and motorsport meetings to visit that no-one has any excuse to be bored. Heaven help you if you moan about there being nothing to do near to me!!

I only manage to photograph a few of these events (you will notice a personal bias) but it seems to be clear that I'm not alone in having these passions.... they are Motorsport and Music gigs,,, if you haven't worked that out for yourself!!

Happy days :-)

Some of my weekends work can be viewed here:
VIEW PICS OF ALFIE BARTON'S BALLROOM EXPERIENCE 25th ANNIVERSARY GIG
VIEW PICS OF THE GK&MC MOTOCROSS MEETING
VIEW PICS OF THE AUTOCROSS CLUB BANGER RACING

This Anniversary gig was headlined as a 'Special'.

It certainly never needed any hype as another Fermain Tavern sell-out was guaranteed. The Alfie Barton Ballroom Experience gigs started 25 years ago (actually we think it was 27 years but who's arguing).

The idea was to get musician friends together, invite music lovers in to enjoy the vibe, then jam and improvise... just for the love of the music. The added bonus was that Alfie would invite a few of his famous friends to come along to enjoy the party.

Legendary is probably an overused word but none of the old crowd who frequented the 'Ballroom gigs' would let you call it anything less!

So inevitably all those who managed to get a ticket before the quick sell-out were buzzing with anticipation when Alfie took to the stage to announce that we were in for a busy night of entertainment.

Legendary and Special is exactly what it was.

The line-up included 'The Reverend' Ian Kewley, Denny Newman, Stewart Ivins, Nick Windsor, Colin Hewlett, Jim Delbridge, Alan Palzeaird, Chris Dean, Screamin' Jez Carvery and new boys on the block Kylypso amongst many others.

A fantastic start to 2016... same again next month anyone?

If you were at the gig I hope you think my pics capture some of the highlights.... If you weren't, silly you!!
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ALFIE BARTON'S BALLROOM EXPERIENCE 25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY GIG

With the Vale Earth Fair Collective's 2016 fundraising events about to start I thought I should make an effort to catch up with my 2015 Vale Earth Fair galleries!!

In the next few weeks the VEF Collective will be organizing more of their popular fundraising 'Unplugged' gigs where we can experience some of our favorite bands stripped down (thankfully just in a musical form!)

I really love how a familiar song is re-imagined. I also fancy the creativity and discipline required of the bands when re-interpreting their work can energize and refresh the group.

Keep a eye on Facebook for the dates of VEF Unplugged.

So what about those Gallery updates?

Well they include Ukuladeez, Schema, Lord Vapour, Kilig and Fernweh, Robert J Hunter, Honest Crooks, Bonsai Pirates and Gay Army!

Phew, and there are still quite a lot to go! Follow this link to view the latest pics:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST VEF 2015 BAND PICTURES