Careless night life of the British in the 80-90‑ies of the lens in the club photographer Adam Friedman
Today the headlines are not optimistic: "the British Nightclubs are closing at an alarming rate, according to statistics," "Why the British Nightclubs die (says the owner of a night club)", "How to save London's club culture?". The story goes that before the introduction of licensing, to the ability to complain about the noise and to the high cost of rental of premises that almost destroyed the small establishment, in London's West end, the East end and partly in the South-West of the British capital there was a special club culture.
The reality is much more complicated than this point of view, but the conclusion is still obvious one: the clubs are closing faster than open new schools, and not only in London but throughout the UK. By the end of 2015, the UK has lost about half of the clubs in ten years. But thanks to the photographers who documented the nightlife in the 1980s and later today there is something more than vague memories of the current 45-year-old, to get an idea about the peak of British club culture.
JoJo's.
"What I've ever done, was not so much a music or dance, strangely enough, says Adam Friedman, a 53-year-old photographer, whose pictures night life from the 1980s to the 2000s in the archives of the Youth Club and are included in the exhibition, which opened in East London on 7 July. — I shot the pleasure. And I think that this is an underestimated force. It's the antidote to everything bad in the world, it can be said that our superpower".
Dingwalls.
When talking to Adam now, almost 30 years after his return to London from new York, where he had taken a subculture club and party goers, he is as fascinated by sanctuary Nightclubs, as when he was a teenager. He says he grew up in North London and became interested in clubs, being fond of punk and live music. A few years later he stuffed his hand on photographing people in the center of Manhattan from its Hispanic neighbors to "the guys on wall street who tied the money in places such as Area, by gambling it away thousands per night," and then came back to reality mode Thatcher in the UK, approximately in 1987.
Pure Jam.
"Everything seemed broken, like they said they can't do anything — says the photographer, referring to a sense of universal disconnection. But people still found ways to unite. — Sometimes three o'clock in the morning comes a time in someone's face a certain expression: a way to combine all. And it's amazing. We all felt it, everyone who went to clubs, who were a kid and had a passion for travel, felt it. But to do the this or even a series of photos is amazing. It's very important." To document the moments of happiness became the basis of his work.
Trash.
As it relates to the fact that now everyone who can hold a smartphone, automatically becomes a photographer? "What I always loved about photography is that photography egalitarian art. Before there was all these phones, we were invited to each event. Of course, now everything is different. I'm cool with that. When something changes, I too change." In this case, it means that he moved from portraits and snapshots clubs to large-scale project. He wants to turn the print with hundreds of photos similar to mosaic — "one photo club partying every night of the year" in giant-like a stained glass window. The photographer calls it "the Key to pleasure."
Dingwalls.
As for the future of Nightclubs, Adam had no desire to dwell on the subject. "I'm not sure I can answer this question. I think what is happening with the club places in London — the same thing that happened to the petrol stations in London. Try to fill the car here. What happened to the gas station? They were sold out, and now on their sites to build offices. That's what happened in the West end, and the same thing happens everywhere. Just to sell the building became too tempting".
Roller Disco.
The Lick Party.
Soup.
Freidays "R Firin".
Trash.
Indigo.
Blue Martini.
Youth Club, Adam Friedman.
Youth Club, Dave Swindells.
Youth Club, Gavin Watson.
Youth Club, Teddy Fitzhugh.
Youth Club, Gavin Watson.
Keywords: London | Dances | United Kingdom | Photographer | Night club | 80s | Society | Atmosphere | Mood | 90s | Photo | Fun | Disco