“It really was important to see that there was a whole thing going on. That people weren’t just miserable.”

Interview with Francesco Mellina

Paul Tarpey talks to Francesco Mellina whose book "REVEALED: Youth culture, pop culture, subculture The Photographs of Francesco Mellina 1977-1982" has just been published.

This was the first time I had met Francesco Mellina despite noticing him around town for a number of years. An obvious air of unassuming gravitas was the big clue. He could sell himself as manager of iconic Liverpool band Dead Or Alive but photography reveals what he holds closest from life. If you have any interest in post-punk, new romantic or the fashions of many other rock movements you will have seen a picture he took and his book Revealed is a collection that focuses on a scene that developed from Eric’s in the late 70s but still inflames the city and its culture. The ability not just to reflect but to enhance other people’s nature is rare. He was fortunate to arrive in Liverpool in time to document a whole flock of human nature.

Francesco was born in a small town called Polistena right in the studded toe-cap of Italy. From the age of 10 he started teaching himself English words and then discovered the music of The Beatles. His love for Liverpool developed. He left home at 16 to travel around Europe but by 1975 arrived in Liverpool.

“I didn’t have any expectations. I romanticised so much about this place that I was just delighted to be here. I really longed to be involved in the culture of Liverpool. I wanted to learn and savour what was going on. I found it very easy to immerse myself. There was a magnet drawing me to certain places.”

One of those places was O’Connor’s Tavern on Hardman St where there were regular poetry readings. Francesco got to know Adrien Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten. Roger McGough in particular was struck by Francesco’s enthusiasm and a bond was formed with his son Nathan, later to become manager of The Happy Mondays. Roger even tried to convince Francesco to express his passions through poetry. But he discovered a different route.

“I enrolled in the Art College to do photography and as soon as I was proficient I started going out to take photos. I heard about this magnificent place called Eric’s and typical of me I thought I have to go. I didn’t know what to expect, I just knew that the bands played there. As soon as I walked in I realised this was where I belonged.

“Some of the first people I saw were Ian McCulloch, Pete Wylie, Pete Burns, all hanging around the bar. By taking photographs I became aware of all that was happening. The bands were beginning to make ripples.”

Liverpool along with a lot of northern cities had kept a mindful eye on the punk scene and chose to ignore its more affected stances. Then when post-punk emerged so did a freer approach.

“Liverpool was never really a punk band city but they adopted the ideology of punk. I thought Liverpool was always independent from everything else that goes on around it and that was reflected in the bands coming out. They were different and they were talented. Crucially they all came from one club. I think there is an engrained thing about being different. It seems to be a natural instinct here.”

An explosive mix of punk attitude, pop sensibility, raw psychedelia and flamboyant egos gathered together in the one place. Artists as diverse as Echo And The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Big In Japan, OMD and Pete Wylie demanded the eye of the national press and Francesco was the photographer of choice as both the N.M.E. and The Face craved someone good enough that the artists trusted.

“My attitude as a photographer was that I wanted my pictures to be seen in big magazines. You have to put it in context and there weren’t many people with cameras. As I was studying photography it meant I had the ability to take a more professional picture. I was lucky to be in the right place, right time and once those bands started breaking through the papers wanted pictures and I was able to supply them.”

Eric’s welcomed post-punk icons from home and abroad. It closed and became Brady’s. A New Romantic scene swanned through Cagney’s. Other clubs such as The Warehouse embraced post-punk. Some of the bands needed larger venues. Francesco continued to document an attitude that to him was much more than the bands and the venues. An attitude he feels lives on.

“When you look at someone like Jayne Casey she may not be the same person externally but inside she is. You still see that fiery person. Mick Hucknall was 18 when I photographed him and he looks like a street urchin. But even though he is a multi-millionaire I think he will love that. I think deep down no-one changes in many ways. Ian McCulloch, Wylie are still the same people. Julian Cope was always smart and erudite and so it’s proved. ‘Consequently my reaction’s getting rather strange’. No-one wrote like that till Morrissey. These bands influenced an awful lot of other bands. They have left a mark in that respect. Look at an album like Ocean Rain. They were breaking barriers.”

Francesco’s photographs are not just documenting the times but are of their time in style, with an edge and empathy that is rarely there in the mainstream music media nowadays.

“Whenever I meet someone I like to know them. It is almost unethical to go up to someone to take their picture and bugger off. But back in those days the bands had time for me. Nowadays you can’t because the manager or PR guy will tell you to get lost. But I was lucky to end up with The Stranglers or Siouxsie and Budgie in The Grapes having a drink. I would never impose myself so they would invite me. The other thing was the audience mattered to me and most people say it is fantastic that you took photos of the people. And that is what makes the story and what gives a sense of history. You see the fashion and the whole spectrum of it.

“Personally I feel there is no longer that sense of romance because anyone can take a million photos and also even mildly famous bands are being forced to disassociate themselves from the audience. The photo of Joey Ramone I am literally on the stage with them and in 1977 they were really famous. That just wouldn’t happen nowadays.”

An amazing array of talent has been captured by Francesco but so has an audience that embraced and developed their own styles and attitudes. Choosing between personality and personalities for the finished book was tough.

“There were so many images but eventually you’ve got to choose so I wanted to have a balance where everything that was important is there. To represent the various cultures was important; the new romantics, punks, rockabillies, but I also wanted to represent the happiness. That was really important. Liverpool was not a happy place economically, the government was against us but I never felt unhappy. There was unemployment but as a young person you don’t feel it. Or at least I didn’t. I never had money but I was happy and for me it’s important to counteract all the negativity about Liverpool. That is why I chose the front cover of the girls in the audience. That image has the unbridled joy. With that for me it captures the audience.”

The idea for Revealed began when a printed collection of his photos was needed for an exhibition. But although the demand seemed obvious Francesco found out that was not the way publishing works. A different approach was needed to raise enough money to cover print costs and that was when the spirit of Eric’s re-emerged.

“Mike March came up with this idea of the ‘kick-starter’ campaign and there had been a Facebook group created to get in touch with everyone who went to Eric’s. The moment they saw the kick-starter campaign they championed it because a lot of them were in the book. Their contribution was crucial. In one month we raised the money to do the book. One of the most fulfilling things to me is I felt like it was sticking two fingers up to everyone who let me down. It was the people who made it happen. We don’t have to answer to anybody. It is remarkable that the same spirit that made me do photography in the first place allowed the book to happen.”

And Francesco believes that spirit is developing into a practical way to maintain an independent creative industry.

“There is a similar project called pledge music and a lot of people have raised money to do their album which I think is fantastic. One of the things about British people is that they ‘get’ things very quickly. In Italy this could never happen. There is a sense of mistrust whereas in this country people are willing and this is what makes the difference. They have a sense of rebellion. Punk could only happen in the UK. All the fashion that is copied by Gaultier, Westwood, it has come from the streets. Where else would you get Teddy Boys, Skinheads?”

Revealed is much more than a collection of pictures of rock music. It shows how an abrasive but idealistic attitude spread across venues and cities. It was wonderful to see the young Glasgow contingent including Edwyn Collins and Roddy Frame representing an entrenched bond between the two cities. There is a brilliantly evocative introduction from Paul Du Noyer that allows the pictures to tell their own story. But is there anything that should be there?

“I never photographed Joy Division. On the one night they were playing Eric’s I was in London and my chance was gone. I photographed New Order when it was their second gig but no Ian Curtis. It is not a regret but it would have made it complete.”

So imperfect happiness it is. The best kind.

Revealed is available at News From Nowhere, Probe Records, Waterstones or online at march-design.co.uk

Read a review of Revealed here

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