12/12/06
Well, it’s certainly been a long while since I updated this, but I fell of the face of the earth and only just found my way back on! Lol.

Sunday night I headed down to the Stourbridge Rock Café 2000 to see an evening of Bad Company. We took our friend Ian down as a surprise too! We got to the venue just in time to see the support act ‘RockStar’ who sang a host of great classic songs from bands such as Metallica, Kiss, Hardline, Guns N Roses and Tyketto.
After a brief interlude Bad Company took to the stage. The line-up was Robert Hart, Dave Colwell, Jaz Lochrie and Harry James from Thunder. The band had great energy and gave the crowd all the greatest hits, including one of my favourites ‘Wishing Well’. The gig was one of the best I’ve been to and I look forward to seeing them again!

On Thursday i’ll be heading down to The Robin 2 in Bilston to see M3 and Lunar Mile. After seeing Lunar Mile before I look forward to shooting them again. Check out www.lunarmile.com for more information on a great band.

For all the wrestling fans out there check out the latest issue of Fighting Spirit, it has the usual great articles but also a feature on my friend Keith Myatt, which is a great read!

Hope to have some shots from Drumfest online soon. The event was held in Birmingham and I did a shoot for Meinl Cymbals. Rodney Holmes and Jason Bittner gallery's to follow soon.

Took some shots of Glenn Hughes during his UK tour and they have come out really well. These will be added to the gallery soon too. So many shots and not enough hours! Must get my lab guy to hurry up!

Here's a few Bad Company shots. Full gallery will follow.

13/10/06

It’s been about a month or so now since I updated this so sorry for the delay. Been extremely busy and then webmasters PC died again,,,,keep telling him it’s one foot in the grave! Lol

On Sunday 3rd September I went to the Triple X show ‘~’ which was one of the best wrestling shows I’ve seen. Click HERE for a full review from Snake

Mark was also at the FCW show which took place at JB’s Dudley. Click HERE for Mark's review of this show.

On 21/09/06 I headed down to London to shoot a Promark/Gibson party. We took the coach down there which allowed me to catch up on some sleep! Once we arrived we got the underground to the Gibson Headquarters. We met up with Bjorn who works for Rosetti and Kevin Radomski who works for Promark in the US. Lunar Mile and Femi Temowo were providing the performances for the night.
The party started early in the evening and Nick Mason the drummer from Pink Floyd was one of the first guests I photographed along with Tony Royster Jr. Femi Temowo were the first band to perform tonight. They had a great laid back "bluesy jazz" feel to them and I got some great shots. It was after Femi finished their performance that Tony Iommi (guitarist in Black Sabbath……as if you didn’t know that already! Lol) arrived, and I got a few shots of him on his own as well as with Nick. Ric Parfitt Jnr was also in attendance and was filming a pilot for MTV.

Lunar Mile then headed to the stage and gave an outstanding performance. It was the first time I had seen them perform and I wasn’t disappointed. I hope to with them again in the near future. I also spoke to Jeremy Singer who works for Gibson Guitars and I hope to work with him in the future too. A big thanks to Bjorn and Kevin for all their help.


On 23 & 24/09/06 I went back to London to photograph for Rosetti/Promark at the Drummer Live exhibition which took place at the Excel Arena. I arrived at the event and was greeted by over a hundred drum kits all being played at once….which was nice, lol.
I photographed the Rosetti/Promark stand which were also selling some very cool Coffincase drumstick cases. Each day of the event had performances from some of the very best drummers today. Unfortunately I missed Nicko McBrain’s performance which I was really looking forward to but there were many more great drummers. My favourite performances were from Aquiles Priester and Akira Jimbo but each performance showcased a different style of drumming which I appreciated.

On 29-30th September I went to the Assembly Rooms in Derby for the Bloodstock Festival which featured the best in metal music over the two days. It was my first time at the festival so I was really looking forward to it. My favourite performances on Saturday was Axel Rudi Pell, as I’m a big fan of the vocalist and they gave a great set full of energy.

Quite a few galleries have gone up online recently including the shots from the second Whitesnake show, Lunar Mile from the Gibson/Promark party, Al Atkins from JB’s Dudley, 1PW’s Invincible shots and also galleries from Drummer Live which will be updated again in the next few days.

LUNAR MILE GALLERY

WHITESNAKE GALLERY

DRUMMER LIVE GALLERY

INVINCIBLE GALLERY

30/8/06

The last few days have been quite busy, I’ve mostly spent it either at work, on the PC doing shots or choosing wallpaper!! So I apologies for the late diary entry.

Last Friday Al and myself went down to Minworth near Birmingham for Mad Mike’s LPW event. We caught up with Keith Myatt who would be wrestling later in the evening. The venue was full and the crowd were great, the lady threatening to beat up Pete Bod was hilarious!

I am currently working through all the shots from BHW, I will then get working on 1PW followed by last nights LPW shots, and that’s not including the recent Whitesnake and Eric Sardinas shots,,,,phew!!!

We’re also currently making great progress with our sister site, www.wrestlingphotography.com It isn’t online at the moment but will be very soon. We also have a surprise for everyone with a guest reviewer, his first review can be found below from Fridays LPW show. I'm sure that those at the event will figure out who the reviewer is but here is a clue,,,,,,,SNAKE!

Here's the review.

Well another good night of wrestling from LPW This time taking on the SCUM FROM BRUM known as SCW. I now think SCW is now dead and buried, a night of mixed emotion's and good matches.
Friend's bond's were put to the test and match's for the next show signed a ladder match and a championship match were just two of the matches signed for later show's

The night started with Mad Mike taking the mic of Gang* who was MC for the night, as he was telling everyone that tonight the SCW was finished and the feud between the two Fed's was coming to an end tonight.
All of a sudden music started and the curtain was opened and what can only be described as a freak ran round the ring sitting on lap's and high fiving everybody, he entered the ring and Mike asked him who the hell he was and what he wanted.
I am Tripp Hazzard and you are my hero and I want to be just like you came the reply. Mike then went on to say if you want to be like me you must visit the darkest depth's and the only way to do that was to start at the bottom and Mike gave Tripp the asylum seeker.
Tripp managed to crawl to the back but soon returned when Mike was attacked by Pete Bob and the SCW team he had brought to the fight. Tripp attacked all the SCW guy's with a shoe they all retreated and Mike thanked Tripp and said” you come back out here smiling after taking the asylum seeker you can join the Rumble as a member of team LPW".

So the card for the night started with The IT Boy Quinten Hyde Syles taking on J-icon in an It Boy's rule's match, this match started of very quickly and icon getting a 1-2-3 but Quinton got out the rule book and pointed out rule (something or other) witch stated fall must be a 4 count. A kick in the stomach on Quinton by Icon also proved fatal as The It Boy got the rule book out again and stated that kicking was also illegal so Icon was disqualified. This feud is nowhere near over and a rematch under normal rules must be on the card somewhere down the road.

The second match was a tag team match between Nero and C K Light vs Samuri and Chris Charisma this match soon spilled out on to the floor with Nero and Samuri using a fan (myself ) as a ring post. A good match that was fast paced and hard hitting witch we have come to expect from Nero and Samuri. CK got the pin over Charisma while Nero and Samuri were fighting outside the ring.

After the match Samuri took the mic and addressed Nero he told Nero it was time to put an end to this feud between them that has been going on for over a year so on 17th Sept in a new venue there will be a ladder match to end the feud.

Next came a LPW Championship match between LPW Champion Ronin and Central Counties Champion Keith Myatt who had been hired by Pete Bod (SCW) and accompanied him to ring side. On seeing Bod in the corner of Myatt, Ronin called for SCW Champion Mad Mike to stand in his corner and keep his eye on Bod. This match soon turned into a brawl with Mike Attacking Bod that soon spilled into the ring Myatt was on the verge of making Ronin tap when he was attacked by Mike so the ref had no choice but to disqualify Ronin. Mike apologized for his action's and all was well between them. Myatt was so upset at the fact he had Ronin beat but never won the belt he started to take his frustration out on the fan's and said that Minworth was (not to be repeated),to witch Mike pointed out to the ref that foul and abusive language like that was a suspendable offence. Myatt has now been suspended for 30 day's.

Then interval came at the right time it gave everyone time to calm down and take stock of what had happened in the first half of the night. Also a chance for the kid's in the audience to have photo's taken with Mad Mike, Ronin and newcomer Trip Hazard.

The second half started with a no1 contender's match for the Central counties Championship between Scott Grimm( who was in for Chris Stone who could not make the show),Hatred, Andy Shoes and Surf Digby, good in ring action until Hatred and Grimm went to the outside and were counted out. Surf was the eventual winner and now has a shot at the champion whoever it may be.

The second match was a singles match between Carnage(scw) vs John Bull (lpw)in the first of the feud matches. Bull came out strong but Carnage complained about hair pulling and trouser pulling but soon got the better of Bull and took the victory.

The second of the feud matches saw LPW's very own nutter Mad Mike vs The so called Living God and boss of SCW Pete Bod,
Bod came out to the ring with all his crew and they soon got involved attacking Mad Mike who asked for Ronin to come to ringside to watch his back, the match soon left the ring and went all over the hall even out in to the corridor and back Pete was slammed on a table Mike then started to fly and with the aid of a road sign splashed Bod ,Mike even used a boot that was raised by your's truly to slam Pets's face into. When the fight finally went back in to the ring all the member's of SCW and Ronin also entered and all hell broke loose. Ronin had a substance thrown in his eye's and slammed the first person he grabbed hold of unbeknown to him it was the Madster, Bod got the cover and the victory Mike had a go at Ronin who was very sorry and could not apologize enough, they maid friend's again for the second time that night.

The last match of the night was the LPW vs SCW rumble witch was a bit of a blur after all that had gone on before, not your normal rumble as the only way to eliminate your opponent was by pin fall, wrestler's were being pinned left right and centre ( even the Mad Mike wanna be Tripp Hazzard had a good time and held his own he even eliminated a couple of SCW guy's till he got eliminated himself).
In the end the only to wrestler's left in the rumble were Pete Bod and Silverrado who unmasked himself Oh my god it was mad mike who went on to beat Pete and win the rumble.
Mike then told everyone that the fued is over and SCW was now dead and the winner of the rumble was also the no1 contender for the LPW title and asked Ronin for a shot at the next minworth show, Ronin said yes.

A decent crowd for the venue witch is not very big but a good night of wrestling, and fan participation was one of the best i've seen for a long time the crowd rallied for the team LPW who showed there all in a hard night of action.
All i can add is now that SCW is now officially dead and buried the LPW board and Promoters' must look at acquiring some of the SCW roster who did try and put up a good fight.


Good Eh! We are really pleased and excited about having our new friend on board so keep checking back and the grand unveiling of the amazing reviewer will be revealed. Expect even more great reviews soon!

I got asked to do an interview with Mark from invisionfree.com which is a 1PW EFED site and it’s a cool site. There’s also an interview with Jay Phoenix which is a cool read, definitely one to check out.

On Sunday I will be heading to the Tam O Shanter Burns Club in Coventry for Triple X Wrestling’s fourth event, (gotta love the event names, lol) I urge you all to go along, its going be a really good event.

22/8/06

Spent the last week on holiday in Wales with Al and his family. Apart from the typical rain we had a really great time and the time away was really nice. Went to some really cool places and we saw Pirates of the Caribbean which was awesome and much better than the first one. Its Nacho Libre with Jack Black next, lol

We came back on the Saturday and went straight to Doncaster for 1PW’s Invincible event. We got to the Doncaster Dome and saw Tommy and Jem MTX (who I last saw at the BHW show) and Jem was sporting a funky new haircut. I also met up with Keith and Tony, I last saw Keith at the BHW show too.
The first match was Chav Nation vs. Damn Nation which started off the event perfectly. Damn Nation which featured Dragon Aisu, Majik and Gabriel Grey got the win after Dragon Aisu got Langford with the Canadian Destroyer. I thought they were great and hope to see the team together at future shows.
Unfortunately Ulf Herman couldn’t make the show so after Martin Stone defeated Andy Boy Simmonz, Iceman came out and challenged Martin Stone for a match. The brawl left off from there match at Fight Club 2 and it was just as raw and brutal with the action being taken outside of the ring and out of the arena!!
Samoa Joe vs. Jay Phoenix was one of the matches I was really looking forward to. The tension between Joe and Jay had been building since the now infamous ‘pillow’ incident. Jay entered the ring on crutches with a note excusing him from the match, but Joe entered and soon showed his dislike for Jay.
The match before the main event was SJK & Hyson vs. Spud & Teddy Hart and I was really looking forward to it. However it wasn’t long before the wrestlers in the main even match starting invading the ring one at time and it was announced that the match was now a "Ten man, Elimination, Survival of the sickest, Falls count anywhere match". The action was soon taking place all over the Dome and I was doing my best to shoot but also avoid many of the weapons being thrown around the ring! One by one all the wrestlers got eliminated until it was Abyss, SJK, and Steve Corino. Abyss got the three count over Corino but the videotron showed that Abyss would have to face Corino in a barb wire rope match at the anniversary show.

The next 1pw event will be the 1st Anniversary show and it looks set to be the biggest event so far.

9/8/06

On Wednesday I got a reply e-mail from Whitesnake’s bassist Uriah Duffy, asking if I wanted to take shots at their NIA show at Birmingham that night. This would be the rescheduled show from the show that was cancelled a few months back due to David Coverdale being unwell. Shots of that gig can be found in the gallery.
Once we arrived at the NIA, we met Uriah who gave me a photo pass and took us into the arena. I made my way to the front and got my equipment ready. It wasn’t long before Whitesnake hit the stage to a huge applause. I shot the first three songs, the lighting was really good which certainly helps. I then watched the rest of the show, and the set was great. They played some of my favourites including ‘Still of the Night’ and also a new song that will be featured on an upcoming live album.
After the show I met talented photographer Matios who was telling me he has had only two days off in the last two months…..phew! I then saw Kevin Beardsley who I last saw at the first Whitesnake show. Kevin has been busy photographing bands and I still plan to see his vast collection of shots that he has taken over the years.

A big thank you to Uriah Duffy for all his help.

6/8/06

On Sunday I headed to JB’s in Dudley to shoot Al Atkins and his band. I arrived early and caught up with them all. I had met Pete and Chris before when I photographed them during their gig as The Vaseline Rats which was also at JB's (shots can be found in the gallery). The Al Atkins band consists of Al Atkins, Pete Emms, Chris Johnson, Mike De Jager and Alex Reynolds. I also saw Mitch Emms and his father, Mitch would be the opening for tonight's show and I was looking forward to seeing him perform.

Mitch took to the stage and sang some great songs from his demo album (which I’ve listened to and it is great!) along with a few covers such as Nirvana’s ‘Smell’s like Teen Spirit’ which he performed on ITV’S "Star in Your Eyes". I got some great shots during his set.
Al Atkins and his band then took to the stage and it was amazing, really enjoyed it. They ended the energetic set with the Judas Priest classic ‘Breaking the Law’, which really got the crowd on a high. After the set I took a few shots of the band backstage. I'm currently sorting through the shots and hope to have them ready by Wednesday 23rd August.

5/8/06

Had a great weekend. On Saturday I went to the BHW show at Melton Mowbray WMC. I met Duncan Tomblin who was organizing the event and was busy running round making sure everything was going smoothly. I then met up with Keith Myatt who would later be in the final match of the night against Stixx.
A few of the wrestlers from 1PW I knew were also on the card such as Darren Burridge, Andy Boy Simmonz, Team Supreme and Spud.
There were so many great matches during the event. The battle royal saw all the wrestlers battle each other, was also hard to shoot because the action was everywhere but I managed it
!!
The final match was Keith Myatt vs. Stixx and it was strange to see Keith as face and receive cheers.
After the event had finished I caught up with Jem MTX who had recently spent some time in Australia (lucky him, lol) and I will hopefully see him at the next 1PW event.

1/8/06

Just got back from 1PW’s Devil’s Due event and what another spectacular event it was. I had to start the day with a dreaded 4 hour train journey to Hull, which is never good. When I got to the Gemtec Arena I met Phil who is one of the cameramen at the shows. I also spoke to Chris Hamrick who is such a funny guy before catching up with Vikram. I then met up with Keith Myatt and Tony Barrett who had spent the morning with Blue Meanie who was doing an autograph signing at the town centre.

The event started with a 6 Way Elimination match with Chris Hero, Dragon Aisu, El Ligero Darkside, Yoshinobu Kanemura and Takashi Sugiura. Darkside got the win and was greeted by SJK who asked Darkside to join his side, Darkside refused and a match soon took place with SJK scoring the win.

The Ulf Herman vs. Iceman was the match I was most looking forward to and it certainly didn’t disappoint, I lost count of all the weapons that were used (all of which Amy and myself did our best to avoid) and seeing Iceman walking on the tacks was painful to watch so I can only imagine what it felt like!

Samoa Joe made his return to 1PW’s ring and took on ‘Euromonster’ Martin Stone with Jay Phoenix at ringside who added to the tension between himself and Joe.

Due to Matt Hyson not being able to appear due to travel difficulties Spud entered the ring against Tag Team Champions Jody Fleisch and Johnny Storm before being told it couldn’t be a handicap match. Spud waited for a partner to enter the ring and I think everyone was shocked when SJK entered the ring. SJK and Spud battled as a team against the Champions until SJK left Spud to fend on his own.

The last match of the night was a Double Jeopardy match with Abyss, AJ Styles, Doug Williams and the 1PW Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino. At first this was a hard match to shoot because there was two matches going on at the same time, lol. Corino faced Williams and AJ faced Abyss. After Abyss and Williams were eliminated Corino and AJ Styles battled each other until Corino got the pin and regained his title.
A big thank you to Steve, Rosie, Keith, Tony, Vikram and Phil. The next event will be Invincible at Doncaster Dome and I urge you to get your tickets.

I’ve got a busy week ahead of me this Saturday I will be heading to Melton Mowbry WMC for BHW wrestling show, which will feature Keith Myatt, Stixx, Andy Boy Simmonz, Jay Phoenix and Brad Flash. Doors open 2.30pm and the show starts 3.00pm. Tickets are £5 each.

On Sunday I will be heading down to JB’s, Dudley to do a shoot for Al Atkins who was the original singer in Judas Priest. Tickets are just £8 and will be a great night! To get tickets, click HERE.

Here's a sneak peak of some of my shots from Devil's Due

28/7/06

Last night I went to the Robin 2 in Bilston to see Eric Sardinas, who is currently on a full UK tour. I arrived at the venue quite early with Al and John and managed to catch the support band "Slow Burner",who were a blues band and they did a great job of warming up the crowd.

Eric Sardinas, Patrick Caccia and Levell Price took to the stage and were met with a big applause. The band played all their greatest hits and all I could do was watch in amazement at Eric's talent and energy on stage. Near the end of the show Sardinas jumped into the crowd, not missing a note and continued to wow the audience.The band returned for an encore and promised to be back soon. After the show we waited for the band to come out so we could get a few things signed. I got a few shots signed that I had taken during their support slot with Vai and Al got his Washburn ES-10 signature guitar signed by the whole band which was especially cool. The band still have a lot of dates in the UK and I urge you to check them out if you can. Tour dates can be found at
www.ericsardinas.com

Tomorrow I will be going to Hull for 1PW’s "Devil’s Due" event. Like all other 1PW events, this promises to be and WILL be,,,amazing!

25/6/06

On the Sunday 16th, I went to shoot Triple X’s ‘Chop Him In The Face’ event at the Tam O’ Shanter Club in Coventry. I managed to catch up with Stiro’s parents who I hadn't seen since the Blackpool Pride event.

The event started with BlokBusta entering the ring to MC the night until Gabriel Grey, (who had been previously banned from performing in the West-Midlands) took his rightful place in the ring.

There were so many great matches throughout the night but the highlights for me were Keith Myatt & Stiro vs. Zack Sabre Jr & Jimmy Havoc, Devilman vs. 3 members of Chav Nation and Dragon Aisu vs. Jon Ryan which saw Dragon Aisu set his hand on fire!!! Ouch!!! I’m really looking forward to their next event.

I have also been spending the week doing more product photography work at Mix n' Match for their new product range. These images will go towards their new brochure and web site.

Today I went back to Nottingham (I miss it so much, lol) for my Graduation. I was pretty nervous and as soon as my name was called I turned into jelly, but it was a great day for everyone involved.

This Saturday I will be heading to Hull to shoot 1PW’s Devil’s Due, which looks set to be another great event. I’m really looking forward to Iceman VS “ The Flaming German “ Ulf Herman and Jay Phoenix's vs. Samoa Joe…..See you all there!

10/7/06

I completed the shots from 1PW’s Fight Club last week and they will be going up in the wrestling gallery tomorrow. The whole site is changing its hosting site, so keep watching for updates. As my portfolio grows I need to buy more web space and I have now out grown my current web hoster.

Heard an interview on one of my local radio stations with Simon Lees. Simon talked about his role in Budgie and gave a brief history of how he started playing guitar. Well done Buggy!

Had a really good weekend, went to Tewkesbury with Al and we came across a Medieval Festival. Al insisted we go in and it was pretty cool. They had a lot of stalls selling all sorts of medieval stuff like swords, medieval clothing, handmade wooden furniture along with lots of other things. I may go back next year,,,,in a suit of armour!

This Sunday I’ll be heading down to Coventry for Triple X’s " Chop Him in the Face"!!! event, where wrestlers like Stiro and Dragon Aisu will be appearing along with a mystery wrestler?????? The show starts at 5pm, click here for the site. See you there!

2/7/06

Just got back from Fight Club 2 and what a great night it was. I left out in the morning for a three train journey, which I’ve got accustomed to seeing as I’ve been on them non-stop for the past four days. I got to the Barnsley Metrodome and met up with Keith Myatt and Tony Barratt,who were hard at work getting everything sorted out.The England vs. Portugal match was being shown at the time for all the footie fans, unfortunately I’m not one of them, lol, so I spent that time with Sterling James Keenen and Vikram. SJK will soon have some merchandise that all the ladies out there will love!!!…..me included!!! I also saw Jay Phoenix and Phil who was one of the cameramen for the show.

After a disappointing loss for England the last preparations were made for the start of Fight Club. The night started with SJK coming to the ring and mocking the British fans and verbally attacking Spud who he would later face in the night.

The first match was a 1PW VS PWG Six Man Tag Challenge with El Ligero, Dragon Aisu, Darkside vs. Scorpio Sky, Topgun Talwar and Phoenix Sky which was a great fast paced match with team 1PW getting the win. Iceman vs. Martin Stone was a very brutal match which saw the action start out of the ring ….(had to avoid the flying chairs for this) , Iceman got the win due to a KO.
The Street Fight between Spud and SJK was a great match that saw the ring filled with trash can, sticks and a cheese grater with the action being taken all over the arena.
I was really looking forward to the match between Pac who I first saw at KYE and Teddy Hart and it definitely didn't disappoint. It was so hard to take shots because they were moving so fast! Unfortunately Brian Danielson was unable to make the event, so Darren Burridge teamed up with legend ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka and they faced Jay Phoenix and Stevie Lynn.

The final match of the night was World Heavyweight Champion, Steve Corino vs. Doug Williams which was a great Old School styled match which put both competitors through their paces. Unfortunately the 60 minute time limit had run out but Corino informed the crowd that the match at ‘Devil’s Due’ featuring Corino, Doug Williams, Abyss and AJ Styles would definitely be worth the wait.
Halfway during the event my camera decided to stop focusing which made the job of shooting the fast paced matches difficult, thankfully the manual was fine so all was not lost….but damn it was annoying!!! After the event I managed to get a photo with Jimmy Snuka (thanks Vikram!), I also spoke to Dragon Aisu who I will be photographing again soon and who also has excellent taste in music!

The hotel was much further than I thought it would be, so Duncan who was also staying at the same hotel and myself decided to get a taxi, for some reason all taxi’s in Barnsley have at least a 40 minute wait, and at 12:20am waiting was something I didn't’ want to do, so we decided to walk it despite not having a clue where we were! We were going the wrong way but didn't’t realize until we flagged down a taxi and he went the opposite way to where we were heading….oopsy!

The journey back this morning was full of delayed and late trains, on the last train I met Solar who was a great guy and yes, that is his real name. Solar was telling me about his site www.challengee.co.uk where you give Solar challenges to do and he does them, one of the past challenges was for him to change his name so Roger became Solar and that is now his legal name! Kinda insane but very cool!!!

Big thanks to Keith, Reese, Rossie, Steven, Tony and Vikram for all their help. The next event will be ‘Devils Due’ on July 29th at Hull. It will be another great event so I’ll see you all there.

30/6/06

I haven’t updated the diary for nearly a month now, so I apologize for the delay but what a busy few weeks it has been so there's loads to put in.

I had my end of year degree show from the 13th-23rd June in Nottingham. It took just over a week to prepare the actual exhibition space because it needed modifying, but it went really well. We had a lot of visitors and got a lot of praise and positive feedback. Thanks to everyone who came down. I came back home the following Sunday and I guess I’m still getting used to it.
On Wednesday I went to London to exhibit my ‘Total Non-Stop Action’ as part of the ’Free Range 06’ festival. There was still a lot to do so I had to go back on Thursday where I spent 2 and a half hours walking around London looking for fishing wire!!! The exhibition runs from Thursday 29th-2nd July. There is a lot more work from different universities and it’s definitely worth checking out.

The 1PW ‘Know Your Enemy’ shots are now up in the gallery and as soon as they went up, the counter went crazy as people logged on to see them. The Triple X shots have also gone up and I know that a lot of you have been checking them out too. The Blackpool Pride wrestling shots are complete and will be up next week.

Tomorrow I'm off to 1PW’s Fight Club in Barnsley which promises to be great and I’m really looking forward to it. At 9pm tonight, The Wrestling Channel showed a two hour 1PW special and already I have seen myself running around with my camera many times. Brings back all the memories from a great event.

The latest copy of "Fighting Spirit" features a selection of my images so make sure you get a copy from your nearest W H Smiths, Sainsburys and any other good newsagent!!

3/6/06

Just had a call to say that my Whitesnake gallery is now up and on-line. Check out the gallery page to see them. It was a pleasure to work with Whitesnake and I hope to work with them again.

Been working hard sorting through the thousands of shots I took at last weekends "Know Your Enemy" show for 1PW. There are so many that I find it hard to believe I could take so many in just one weekend. Were still sorting through the Triple X shots and hope to have them up early next week.
The wrestling shots I took at Blackpool last month should also be up soon so keep checking the site for updates.

31/5/06

I arrived at the Doncaster Dome on Friday morning for 1PW’s ’Know Your Enemy’ event and met up with head of security, Keith Myatt, (who is a great wrestler in his own right) and referee for the event‘s matches, Tony Barratt. We headed to McDonalds for a caffeine fix and I was told many humorous stories of being out on the road.
Back at the Dome I met Axel who is doing a great job with distributing 1PW DVD’s in Portugal and was also doing the commentary for them.
The wrestlers started to arrive early afternoon and soon after the doors opened for the fans. I spent the Fan Slam taking Polaroid’s of Christian with his fans and it was great to see so many familiar faces again.
The rematch between Abyss and Ulf Herman was one match I was certainly looking forward to seeing and I wasn't’t disappointed! The mayhem started in the ring, led to the balcony, through to the outside and ended back in the ring with Abyss with the victory. I managed to get ahead of the action and get some great shots from outside, an amazing match!

On Saturday the event started earlier with the Q&A, featuring Tracy Smothers, Blue Meanie, Darren Burridge, Nigel McGuinness and Sterling James Keenan and an appearance by Al Snow, (before he made his way to McDonalds! lol). All the wrestlers gave some honest and hilarious answers to the questions asked, making sure everyone had a great time.

Following the Q&A was the Fight Club, a new addition to 1PW which featured some great matches which really got the crowd psyched before the main event.
Spent some time talking to Ricky Reyes, unfortunately his tag team partner Homicide was unable to make the event but Ricky had some great matches against Team SHAG and Chad Collier.
Nigel McGuinnes was a new addition to 1PW and he had some amazing matches against Darren Burridge and Jay Phoenix along with an awesome tag team match with Doug Williams where they faced Toni Morishma and Mohammed Yone.

1PW’s first Tag Team Champions were Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch who defeated AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels in an intense match. All the British wrestlers came out to congratulate Storm and Fleisch during their victory.
The main event for tonight’s show was Christian Cage vs. Steve Corino vs. Abyss which was a brutal match to say the least. Steve Corino took a death defying drop from the balcony to a merchandise table but Abyss still wasn't’t done as he threw Corino onto a wooden table wrapped in barb wire.Corino’s son Colby, nearly suffered at the hands of Abyss before Corino used a bat then getting the three count making him the new 1PW Heavyweight Champion. Christian awarded Corino the belt who then made a very emotional speech thanking the 1PW crew and all the fans.

It always amazes me how each event manages to top the last but everyone involved gave 110% to make sure Know Your Enemy was an enjoyable two days for everyone.
The next event will be a Fight Club on Saturday 1st July at the Barnsley Dome featuring a lot of great British talent. I urge you to all get your tickets as this promises to be a great night!

I’d like to say a big thank you to Steve, Rosie, Anthony, Axel, Keith, Kreese, Jeremy and Tony for all their help.

29/5/06

22/5/06

On Friday I made my way up to Blackpool for the first Blackpool Pride festival which Keith Myatt and a handful of other MPW wrestlers were a part of. On Saturday morning I went to the Promenade where the parade was taking place. I managed to get some good shots of the parade and the crowd that had gathered to watch it go by. After the parade I met up with Stiro’s (one of the wrestlers) parents and brother and we made our way to where the main part of the festival was being held. The weather wasn't’t the best (is it ever?) but that didn't’t stop anyone enjoying themselves. The main stage had entertainers including the Cheeky Girls and other singers.
 Kendo Nakasaki was organizing the wrestling event and Klondyke Kate was the special guest referee and she did a great job keeping the wrestlers in line!!! There were three matches and then the finale, a Battle Royal consisting of all the wrestlers with the winner being the last wrestler in the ring.
The shots from Blackpool Pride can be found in the gallery page or by clicking HERE. The wrestling shots from the same day will be up in the gallery later this week.

On Sunday I went to Coventry to shoot the Triple X show which Stiro kindly invited me to. This was a great show with a great crowd atmosphere. The event was hosted by Gabriel Grey who I had shot before.Live band Prym8, was also their and they did a performance of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ which really got the audience excited. The event ended with an eight person tag team match that was as much in the ring as it was out of it. Shots of this event will be up on the gallery later this week.

16/5/06

Just been told that my shots of Waltham are now online. Just go to the gallery page and check them out. Really pleased with how they look. Hope to see Waltham in the UK again soon.

Heard from Simon Lees today,,,its his birthday!!! Happy birthday Buggy!!!

15/5/06

Firstly let me apologies for the recent delay in getting the site updated. My web guy's PC suffered a huge set back and had to be repaired and is now up and running and better than ever. There's a lot of work to go up in the gallery over the next few weeks so updates will be a lot more frequent from now on.

Been busy at university arranging my Degree show which is coming up in June. I will be putting up details of where my work can be seen as the date nears. The Three Doors Down shots are now up in my gallery and I will follow this up with gallery's of Waltham and John Nicholson. As soon as those are up I will then get my Tigertailz shots sorted and on line.

On Saturday I will be heading to Blackpool for a Mardi Gras show which is being organized by wrestling legend Kendo Nagasaki. Keith Myatt will be wrestling at the event and he has been kind enough to let me take some shots. Keith has helped me with this event and i'm very greatful to him. On Sunday I will be taking shots of the Triple X federation at Coventry which I’m really looking forward to. All the shots taken at these events will be in the gallery and on my sister site, www.wrestlingphotography.com . At present the site is only 1 page but I have seen how the site is coming along off line and its looking great. Hope to have it on-line in the summer this year.

Here is a shot of me, Brad Arnold and Chris Henderson from 3 Doors Down

21/4/06

Hope everyone's had a good easter break. I have put up all the shots I took from MPW at the Ivy Leaf Social Club in Sheldon, Birmingham, UK. These can now be found in the wrestling gallery of this site.

A new magazine came out this month,, "Fighting Spirit". It covers all kinds of contact sports including wrestling and martial arts. I'm proud to say that the 1PW section of Fighting Spirit features some of my shots from the "All Or Nothing" event and i'm really pleased with how they look. Its probably one of the best magazines in that genre and is defiantly worth checking out. Fighting Spirit is available from most good newsagents including W H Smiths, Tesco's and Sainsbury's. Get a copy NOW!!!!!!

I will have the images from Three Doors Down, Jon Nicholson and Waltham show up in the gallery soon. There's so many to sort through but i'm making good progress so far. The shots I took at the Tigertailz gig will also be going up soon, they look amazing!!!

Spent a few days this week working for "Mix n' Match" taking some shots of their products ready for their new web site.

Had a nice email from Stirling James Keenan this week. SJK is one of the wrestlers to feature at the 1PW shows in Doncaster. Apart from being an excellent wrestler, he has great taste in music. He's been busy the past weeks with wrestling and is taking a well deserved short break before doing it all again. Check out the shots of SJK which are in the wrestling section of the gallery.

Going to enjoy the last few days of my easter break with family before returning to Nottingham this Sunday.

10/4/06

On Tuesday 4th I shot the 3 Doors Down at Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall. Was met by our friend Ulf Herman who was in charge of all security.It was strange to see Ulf away from the wrestling environment that I'm so used to seeing him in but he is just as at home in security as he is in the ring.

The first act of the night was Jon Nicholson who appeared as a solo act for this tour. He threw in a few covers including Johnny Cash's 'A Boy named Sue' which was a real treat. Jon has a great soulful voice and I hope he tours the UK again soon.

The second act was Waltham who were a five-piece band who were very energetic on stage which always makes for great shots. I managed to get a lot of great shots of them and will have them up in the gallery soon.

Last up were the headliners 3 Doors Down, who really got the crowd going. Shot the first three songs and then enjoyed the rest of the set from the side of the stage. 3 Doors Down were true professionals and this reflected in their sound. After the show I chatted with a few members from Waltham then went backstage with Ulf and met 3 Doors Down.

I also had the pleasure of meeting another fellow photographer, Jeff Price who has been in the business for over 20 years. Jeff was taking shots of Waltham for Powerplay magazine while Rob Evans reviewed the show. It was a pleasure talking to Jeff and I'm sure we'll meet again soon.

I'd like to thank Ulf once again for all his help that day, I really appreciated it, will see you again in May.

On Saturday I headed to Rock City, Nottingham to shoot Tigertailz. Was surprised to see that the gig had been moved to the Rig, but the room was full of fans and had a great atmosphere. I arrived to see Zodiac Mindwarps set, which was full of energy and great to watch.

I made my way to the front before Tigertailz appeared on stage and met Kevin Beardsley and we both photographed the full show. Tigertailz played all their old songs and some new ones and even threw in Kiss' 'Shout It Out Loud' and AC/DC'S Highway to Hell!

After the show we caught up with Kevin again and had a general chit chat about music photography and had a giggle at the state of young peoples trouser waistbands!!!

Will get all the shots from MPW up this week and get all the shots I took this week up soon.

31/3/06

Finally got my shots from Saturday nights "All Or Nothing" up in the gallery which can be seen via the wrestling gallery. Can't wait till the next 1PW show, "Know Your Enemy" which is guaranteed to be just as great! I will also be getting the shots that I took at the MPW event in Sheldon, Birmingham up next week.
Just heard that Eric Sardinas will be touring the UK in a four date tour later this year. Eric is a great rock/blues player so you should defiantly check him out.

Will be photographing a family function this Sunday and I'm really looking forward to it,,,,, just hope the weather improves! lol

21/3/06

16/3/06

I have put up the shots I took of Trivium last Saturday at Rock City, Nottingham.. This was a three song only pass, and it was over before it started. Was kind of nervous but I asked security what I could and couldn't do and they were really friendly and helpful. I had great fun doing the shoot and was able to enjoy the rest of the bands set once I'd finished. The band gave a great medley of songs from their vast catalogue and even pulled a fan to the stage to give the vocals to Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' which was greatly received by the whole crowd. I'd like to thank Kirsten again for all her help with getting me the pass.

I'm still working on the 1PW 'All or Nothing' shots and will try to get them up ASAP.

6/3/06

Just got back from 1PW 'All or Nothing' weekend and all I can say is...WOW!!!

Saturday started early with a press conference for all the media and press in attendance that day. During the Fan Slam I was asked to take Polaroid's of Christian with his fans during his signing. Christian was a perfect gentleman and had time for all his fans. I've had a lot of admiration for Christian since his early days as a member of the Brood.

Unfortunately on Saturday their were quite a few photographers so we had to take it into turns to shoot at ringside so I was unable to shoot all the matches but thanks to the security team I was able to stay at ringside during the second half of the night.

On Sunday during the Fan Slam pre-match Christian came out to congratulate Sterling James Keenan on his win over Tony Spitfire, and said that he was a future champion in the making. Offering his hand in friendship, Christian was greeted by a kick by SKJ. A series of moves were exchanged until Abyss ran into the ring causing Christian to suffer a concussion. Christian had to be escorted out of the ring by referees and staff and was told the unfortunate news that he wouldn't be able to make any appearance later that night.

The Fan Slam Q&A was great fun, hosted by Kingdom James with Austin Aries, Sterling James Keenan, Colt Cobana, Rhino, Ulf Herman, 2 Cold Scorpio and Samoa Joe in the ring who all answered the questions they were asked by fans with honesty and hum our.

During the wait before the show I was fortunate to talk to Keith Myatt, who is part of the 1PW team but is also a wrestler himself! Keith has wrestled with many of wrestling's great British talent and had some great stories to tell and I look forward to hearing more soon.

The match between Ulf Herman and Abyss was certainly a match I was looking forward to shooting. I knew we were all in for a treat when I was told to tie my hair back before the match began!!!! Before the 3-way dance between AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels had ended, all the photographers were escorted out of the ring by Steve on security. So I was outside shooting the match, but thankfully the shots were successful. The match was one of the most brutal matches I've ever seen in wrestling and the audience couldn't believe it as Ulf and Abyss made their way threw the crowd causing mayhem wherever they went.

Everyone put in 100% and the whole weekend was successful. All the wrestlers gave excellent matches and the fans loved every second. I want to thank all of the 1PW staff who put together such a great event and went out of their way to make it a great experience for myself and the 1PW fans.

The next 1PW event takes place on Friday 26th  May and Saturday 27th May. I urge you all to get your tickets asap as this event is guaranteed to sell out.

Here's a few shots of me backstage with some wrestlers.

3/3/06

Been at home all this week, doing some work for Mix 'n' Match again. Spent a few days with friends and family and will be spending this weekend at Doncaster for the 1PW All Or Nothing weekend. Will aim to get the shots from this show on the gallery page quicker than the last ones which I hope to have done by next week.

My friend Simon Lees from Budgie is playing tonight in Tamworth and again tomorrow in Dudley with Ozzmosis. Saturday night is his last gig with the band before their new guitarist joins them. Check out Simon in the Budgie gallery which can be found on my music gallery page.

Treated myself to a new laptop which should help me with work I have coming up (and should also let me work a bit quicker). Spent ages putting all my software and plug ins on it but I'm really pleased with it.

Been confirmed as official photographer for Trivium at Nottingham Rock City on March 11th. Really looking forward to this show as the whole tour is a complete sell out! My sincere thanks to Kirsten for all the help. Thanks!

22/2/06

Finally finished my main coarse work for university so I can concentrate a lot more on getting the wrestling shots up on the gallery page. Apologies to everyone who's emailed in asking when they will be up but its looking like very early next week. Will put an update on the main page as soon as they are up.

Had a really nice email from Tommy Aldridge earlier this week. Tommy is the gentleman drummer in Whitesnake and will be coming to the UK in May with the rest of the band for a four date, UK tour. Along with David Coverdale, Reb Beach, Uriah Duffy, Doug Aldrich and Timothy Drury, they will be playing at Manchester, Birmingham, London and Portsmouth. I will be doing shots for Tommy and the rest of the band at the Birmingham NIA on Sunday 28th of May. I urge you to get your tickets as soon as possible as their last UK tour was a near sell out!

Had an email today from Anthony Booth at 1PW to confirm that I will be taking shots at the "All Or Nothing" weekend at Doncaster Dome on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of May. With just over a week to go, I'm really looking forward to the event as the last one was amazing. I have even treated myself to a new laptop so I can get the shots uploaded sooner this time.

16/2/06

Hope everyone had a nice valentines day! I had a firework explode in the sky making the shape of a heart for me, amazing! Oh yeah, and a chocolate fountain too! Mmm
Had a nice email from Linda Esprit. Linda is a very keen photographer and hopes to be selling some of her work soon. Thanks Linda.
Still working on my wrestling shots so hope to have them up for next Monday? Have updated my biography page today.

10/2/06

Been informed that Metallica are to headline this years Download Festival at Donington Park. Hoping to get along to this years event but still have things to sort out. There's plenty of sites saying how the original line up of Guns & Roses may also be playing but this is as yet unconfirmed. Read on the Melodic Rock forum that Thunder have been asked to join the already confirmed bands for Monsters Of Rock. Hope they do, my fingers are crossed for them.

Been sorting out all my wrestling shots from the 1PW event, "No Turning Back". At the moment there's just two gallery's on the wrestling page but I hope to have all the others done and up on Monday. Already had some good feedback on the ones that are up so keep checking the gallery's for updates.

7/2/06

Spoke to Simon Lees today. He is the guitarist in Budgie (see the music gallery page). He has added a new mypspace page to his existing one. They can be found HERE and his new page HERE. Simon's new page features four samples of his solo work from his album "Freethinka". They are amazing tracks and everyone deserves a full playing and if your already on myspace, add him to your friends and send him a message, (don't forget to say that you found him on here).
Simon is also lending his talents to Ozzy Osbourne tribute band, Ozzmosis. They hail from the midlands and with Simon being a huge Jake E Lee fan, he fits in perfectly, (although Simon can play any style with ease!!) Their next show will be at JB's in Dudley on Saturday 4th March.

Had an email from TigerTailz asking me to spread the word of their Nottingham Rock City gig which I will be shooting. Really looking forward to the show as both Tigertailz and Zodiac Mindwarp are excellent bands,,,get your tickets before they sell out!!!

Just had an email to say that a new gallery has been added to the wrestling page. This gallery features a match between Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Charlie Haas at "No Turning Back" for 1PW. Check them out.

2/2/06

Finally finished my dissertation for university. Did just a little over nine thousand words and my i'm really relieved its done so that I can concentrate on getting more of my shots into the galleries. Will have all my shots from last months 1PW Wrestling show plus my Thunder shots from the christmas show at Nottingham up soon. Might even through in a few landscape shots that I have lying around somewhere?

Have had confirmation that I will be taking shots for Tigertailz at Nottingham Rock City on Saturday 8th April. The show will be a double headliner with Zodiac Mindwarp. If you want to buy tickets, check out the link to Rock City from my links page or by clicking HERE.

Had a few other emails for more possible work later this year but I will say more about them once they have been confirmed.

Here's a few of my Thunder shots. Hope to have the full gallery done by the middle of next week.

27/1/06

11 days since the last update and its been a busy 11 days! The PC for this web site completely crashed and I thought that most of the files on it were lost but after a lot of late nights everything is ok and back to normal. My apologies for the delay. Anyway, on with the news.

Had a nice email from my friend Kevin Beardsley. Plan to go and see Kevin's work as soon as I have finished this big dissertation that I've been working on. Had an email from Thinny at Thunderonline.com A selection of shots that I took at the Thunder Christmas show are now up on their site. Click HERE to have a look. Thanks Thinny for all your hard work and help. Hope to have my Thunder shots on this site soon.

I have sent off my shots from the No Turning Back Show for 1PW and hope to see them up soon. Now that the web site is back on course, I should be putting some more of them in the wrestling section of my gallery. Will put an update on the main index page when they are up. Already had some nice comments on them from Anthony at 1PW. Really looking forward to the All Or Nothing weekend in March. If you haven't got your tickets yet, click HERE.

16/1/06

Had a really good weekend even though I still have loads of research work ahead of me. Danny Vaughn has put a gallery on his site featuring a selection of some the shots I took of him and his band last year. To see the gallery click HERE. Thanks Danny.
I'm still sorting through my shots from the 1PW show earlier this month. Its taking longer than I thought because there's so many to get through. Will have them done this week though.

There should be a few more shots from the 1PW show going up on my wrestling page tonight. Will be putting them into order of matches, so keep an eye on that later.

13/1/06

Been sorting through my shots from the 1PW show last week and i'm really pleased with how they look. Sorting them out into matches at the moment but hope to have them scanned and up in the gallery next week. Can't believe how many shots I took of Bret Hart,,, can you blame me though?

Had a lovely email from Kevin Beardsley who is a fellow photographer. I have seen Kevin at a lot of the shows I've been to and finally got to chat to him at the Thunder Christmas show. Kevin has been shooting bands for a long time and has amassed a large collection of shots which I hope to see one day soon. Kevin was one of the official photographers at the Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister show that I went to at the Nottingham Arena. Kevin showed me a few shots from the show and they were amazing. He plans to put up a web site soon which will feature a selection of his work so when he does, i'll put a link on my links page and put details in the diary.

Talking of Thunder, Thinny emailed today, (Thunder's web guy) to say that he has received the copy of shots I sent him from the Thunder Christmas show.

Here's a few more shots from last weeks 1PW show, "No Turning Back". Full gallery coming soon!