Richard Davis (photographer)

Richard Davis (born 1965) is a British, social documentary and portrait photographer, based in North West England. His work has been promoted and exhibited by the British Culture Archive and photography publishers, Café Royal Books. A series of Davis' photographs of Hulme Crescents, from the 1980s are currently held at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library which is part of the University of Manchester.

Life and work

Davis was born in Birmingham. He moved from Birmingham to study photography at Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University) in 1988. Whilst living in the city, he quickly started documenting life in the inner-city area of Hulme, its huge brutalist inspired concrete Crescents, as well as its many characters that inhabited the flats, many of which were squatters.

Davis also photographed stars of the Madchester scene as well as taking early portraits of comedians Steve Coogan and Caroline Aherne along with the poet Lemn Sissay.

Davis also photographed Nirvana live on their first tour of the United Kingdom in 1989, photographs of which were used in the BBC Two documentary film, When Nirvana Came to Britain.

In the early 1990s Davis teamed up with author Steve Redhead to work on a project called Football With Attitude, his photographs making the links between music, football and fashion.

More recently, Davis made a series of portraits of Mancunians under the Mancunian Way, a document of life around Gravelly Hill Interchange, the original spaghetti junction, in Birmingham and a set of photographs capturing life in the coastal resort of Morecambe.

Publications

Books with others

• Football With Attitude, Wordsmith 1991 author Steve Redhead ISBN 187320504X

Publications by Davis

• Hulme 1980's 90's, Café Royal, 2019
• The Mancunian Way, The Modernist Society, 2019
• Tales From The Second Cities Manchester 1980's, Café Royal, 2020
• Tales From The Second Cities Birmingham 1985–88, Café Royal, 2020
• Football Fans 1991, Café Royal, 2021
• The Madchester Years 1989–91, Café Royal, 2022
• The Post-Punk Years 1988-1991, Cafe Royal 2022
• Berlin December 1989, Cafe Royal 2022
• MUFC Rotterdam 91, Lower Block 2023
• Eastlands MCR 2023, Lower Block 2023
• Cityzens of Manchester, Lower Block 2023
• Hulme - Manchester, Revelations 23 Press 2023
• Mancunian Way, The Modernist, 2024
• Spaghetti Junction, The Modernist, 2024

Exhibitions

This Nations Saving Grace

• Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham, 1989

Entertainment UK

• Cornerhouse Bar, Manchester, 1991
• The Green Room, Manchester, 1991
• Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham, 1991/92

Football With Attitude

• Righton Building, Manchester Polytechnic, 1991

Under Morecambe Skies

• The Dukes, Lancaster, 2011
• Lancaster Library, 2011
• Storey Institute, Lancaster, 2011

Portraiture - Past & Present

• The Dukes, Lancaster, 2013

Streets in the Sky

• Bonded Warehouse, Manchester (Photo North Festival), 2022

In the City

• Manchester Central Library, 2023

My Brutal Life

• Moore Street Substation, Sheffield 2023

Collections

Davis' work is held in the following permanent collections:

• John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester: 35 photographs taken in Hulme

General references

• "Hulme 1980s-90s". British Culture Archive. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
• britishculturearchive (10 August 2019). "90s Football Culture | Photographs by Richard Davis". British Culture Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
• "Capturing Hulme's 'inspiration and get up and go energy'". BBC News. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Keeling, Neal (8 September 2019). "The young lads hanging out in Hulme who would one day be famous". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• "Concrete evidence: photos from Hulme Crescents". Confidentials. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Sisley, Dominique (12 December 2019). "Documenting life on the fringes in Thatcher's Britain". Huck Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Sorene, Paul (20 February 2020). "Brilliant Photos of Hulme - 1980s and 1990s". Flashbak. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Wilkinson, Damon (1 November 2020). "Ravers, crusties and chaos - what it was like to squat in Hulme Crescents". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Schofield, Daisy (11 November 2020). "An unflinching portrait of 1980s Birmingham". Huck Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Wilkinson, Damon (28 December 2020). "The never-before-seen photos of Nirvana's first ever Manchester gig". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• "Previously unseen photos of Nirvana at an early UK show". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Schofield, Daisy (17 May 2021). "The photographer who captured Britain's football fans in the '90s". Huck Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Moran, Danny (4 June 2021). "Photo Gallery: "Manchester dominates my photography." Richard Davis". Northern Soul. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Molyneux, Jess (14 December 2021). "13 brilliant photos of Manchester match-goers in the early 90s". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Molyneux, Jess (25 December 2021). "Photos of Merseyside match-goers will take you back to the 90s". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Molyneux, Jess (27 December 2021). "People, shops and streets in Morecambe more than a decade ago". LancsLive. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• "'It was like the stars aligned': When Madchester ruled the world - in pictures".
• "I Photographed All Of Steve Coogan's Early Characters In My Hulme Flat - Madchester scene photographer Richard Davis discusses his vital documentation of the Manchester scene with Tim London ...the latest story in Outsideleft". outsideleft.com. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• "Madchester icons feature in new photo book". BBC News. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
• Huckmag.com (Miss Rosen) - 19 April 2022 Gritty photos celebrating the Madchester years
• Gigslutz - 22 April 2022 REVIEW: Richard Davis Madchester years 89-91 book
• Photo North Festival : Some of the stunning Images going on show - Manchester World (Andrew Noweli) - 22 April 2022 [1]
• Manchester Evening News (Jenna Campbell) - 4 May 2022 A festival showcasing major photography talent is coming to Manchester
• Manchester Evening News by Lee Grimsditch - 16 July 2022 Images of Hulme, Rusholme and Moss Side from the 'Poll Tax' era
• Birmingham Mail by Thomas Fair - 1 July 2022 Late 80s snaps of Birmingham by Richard Davis
• Huckmag.com (Miss Rosen) - 15 Dec 2022 - Gritty scenes from the final days of the Berlin Wall | Huck (huckmag.com)
• i-D.Vice.com (Miss Rosen) - 15 Dec 2022 - "Wild, Politically-charged Photos of the late 80's Post-Punk Boom" https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/y3pjj7/richard-davis-80s-post-punk-photography
• The Guardian (Daniel Dylan Wray) - 6 Jan 2023 "Black Panthers, Punks & Brutalist Buildings" https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jan/06/craig-atkinson-interview-cafe-royal-photography-books
• BBC NEWS (Jenny Coleman) - 12 Feb 2023 - "Photographer Richard Davis's Post-Brexit fears inspired new work" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-64413429
• The Face (Davey Brett) - 22 March 2023 - "How Hulme inspired three generations of photographers" The Face (Davey Brett) - 22 March 2023 - https://theface.com/culture/how-hulme-inspired-three-generations-of-photographers-manchester-richard-davis-al-baker-anne-worthington-hulmeloonies-shirley-baker
• Greyscape - June 2023 - "Richard Davis' Backstage Pass to Madchester's Cultural Explosion" https://www.greyscape.com/richard-davis-backstage-pass-to-madchesters-cultural-explosion/
• Manchester Evening News (Damon Wilkinson) - 22 July 2023 "The Glorious Pics of Manchester City Fans Celebrating Historic Treble" https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/gallery/joyful-pics-manchester-city-fans-27296326
• The Guardian (Daniel Dylan Wray) - 27 September 2023 "It was like Blade Runner meets Berlin Rave" https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/27/it-was-like-blade-runner-meets-berlin-rave-the-manchester-sink-estate-with-the-uks-wildest-nightclub
• Mancunian Matters (Hoda Javandi) - 5 October 2023 "My Best Photo is my Next Photo" https://www.mancunianmatters.co.uk/arts-and-culture/05102023-my-best-photo-is-my-next-photo-richard-davis-on-35-years-of-documenting-manchesters-culture/