Photographer David Harrison recalls best York Barbican gigs

YORK photographer and music lover David Harrison has captured some fantastic photos during his career - and many of them took place in York Barbican.

Chances were, whenever a top act was in town David - who worked at The Press for almost 20 years - would be at the venue getting a front-row view of the action. Dave would stay for the first few songs, get his photos, then head home.

He has lost count of the many acts he has photographed over the years he says, but the memorable ones still stand out.

"One of my all-time favourite gigs was Elvis Costello in 2014. He came out in a top hat and tuxedo with two dancing girls and a giant roulette wheel - the idea was to spin it and whatever song title it landed on he would play next.

"He got people out of the audience to spin it and stay on stage with him while he sang the song. It was a really, really good gig. I ended up staying to the end that night!"

David had been a keen music photographer before he joined The Press and had his work published in legendary music magazine Melody Maker.

David's photo of John Barrowman at York Barbican in 2015

He said: "It was a music newspaper selling about 65,000 copies a week. I used to go to Manchester quite a bit when the Manchester scene was going on. I also went to Paris a couple of times for them, which was nice. I photographed James and A Certain Ratio."

David's links with the York Barbican go back to its first gig - which featured lots of local bands including Huge.

"That was back in 1991 when they opened with a one-day festival," recalled David.

David now works as a freelance photographer, covering all areas from weddings, birthdays, events and press and PR, to conferences, business, family and personal photography. Oh, and he still does bands and music photography too!

Find out more: www.dharrisonyorkphotos.smugmug.com