The music of the 1980s was a neon explosion of sound that rocked the world! From synth-heavy beats to electric guitar solos, the’ 80s marked a vibrant and revolutionary era in music. Madonna’s infectious pop tunes, Guns N’ Roses anthemic rock classics and New Waves’ electronic dance tracks all defined an era with a unique sonic identity, where fashion and music merged.

This Christmas until early Spring the Lucy Bell Gallery is celebrating this unique period of individuality and innovation with its music photography exhibition Back to the ‘80s. Created in association with renowned music photography collective, Rockarchive, the exhibition will showcase a vibrant collection of images including shots from photographers Jill Furmanovsky who was recently awarded the 2024 the Abbey Road Icon Award, Brian Aris, Andrew Catlin, David Corio, Syd Shelton and Sheila Rock.

Highlights of the exhibition include Prince performing at the Lyceum Theatre in 1981 by Tony Mottram, images of Siouxsie Sioux, Boy George, Paul Weller and Grace Jones shot for The Face Magazine by Sheila Rock and Jill Furmanovsky, and dandy highwayman Adam Ant on the video shoot for “Stand and Deliver” by Allan Ballard in 1981.

Also featured are Brian Aris’s backstage shots many of which are unseen  from the recording of Band Aid’s iconic charity song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Brian Aris describes this important period working with Bob Geldof  “Having photographed Bob Geldof after being introduced by my lovely friend Paula Yates I received the phone call asking me to photograph a group he was putting together to record a single to raise money for relief work in Ethiopia. A country suffering a biblical famine and desperately needing help. That was the beginning of Band Aid and a memorable day at Sarm Studios where Do they know its Christmas was recorded. I had started as a news photographer and had been to Ethiopia in 1972 to photograph the work of Save The Children Fund when a similar famine hit the African country. Those horrendous images always remain with me so Bob’s call touched a very personal nerve and it was a privilege to be involved and carry on that work when Live Aid came along and then later Live 8. And to travel with Bob three years later to photograph the results of the money raised by Band Aid and even stand on the dam that Band aids efforts constructed and which eased so much suffering”

Rockarchive.com and the Lucy Bell Gallery have been partners for nearly ten years, showcasing together the very best in music photography, and bringing this to the region.

We hope this exhibition will be just as popular as previous collaborations, appealing to music lovers of all ages, so why not get into down to St Leonards and visit the Back to the ‘80s exhibition at the Lucy Bell Gallery, St Leonards-on-Sea.