The Stone Roses "Third Coming" Exhibition Opening Night

Photo by Paul Slattery

Legendary music photographers, Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton, collaborate for the first time in an extraordinary exhibition of photography and memorabilia to celebrate the generation-defining ‘Madchester’ band, The Stone Roses. 

In celebration of their long awaited comeback this summer, Whiteleys Shopping Centre is bringing the Manchester scene defined by the Roses to the heart of London in an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia from the classic line-up.

This unique exhibition documents the band’s rapid ascent from the small club scene in Manchester to arenas in Japan and their legendary Spike Island concert. All the key moments of their career are illustrated: on the road, live on stage, in the studio and formal (yet somehow still very informal) portrait sessions with three legendary photographers who had intimate and exclusive access. Curator Dave Brolan has brought together renowned photographers Ian Tilton, Kevin Cummins and Paul Slattery, who will exhibit over 70 images of The Stone Roses under one roof, “These three photographers have between them captured pretty much every major artist of the last 30 years, many as they were still unknown or emerging. Each photographer has a distinct style but a similar honest, photojournalistic approach, showing subjects as they really are and creating iconic images that stand the test of time.  Together, they helped shape the image of The Stone Roses.”

Ian Brown - Photo by Paul Slattery

The exhibition will provide a chance to re-live the high energy and passion that bands such as The Stone Roses ignited in the British music scene. As guitarist John Squire said at the Stone Roses reformation launch last year: “In some ways, it seems like 15 years ago was yesterday.”

(L-R) Paul Slattery, Kevin Cummins & Ian Tilton - Photo by Steve Worrall

The launch night of the exhibition was excellent, very well attended and organized with a superb selection of photographs by Retro Man Blog regular Paul Slattery, which included his fantastic shots of the band off stage in Japan and at the legendary Spike Island gig. Ian Tilton is probably best known for his Jackson Pollock inspired photo shoot, the Ian Brown "orange" picture and seated portraits of each band member. Kevin Cummins has a selection of his Paint Sessions with the band almost completely covered in colourful emulsion, one of which went on to become one of the most iconic NME covers of all time. You can also see Reni's paint splattered hat along with an interesting collection of memorabilia including artwork, set-lists, record covers. All three photographers were present, Paul Slattery proudly sporting his Len Price 3 T-Shirt.

Here are some photographs taken at the opening night launch party:

Stone Roses Memorabilia - Photo by Steve Worrall

Reni's hat - Photo by Paul Hughes

Ian Tilton - Photo by Paul Hughes

Photo by Paul Hughes

Stone Roses Memorabilia - Photo by Steve Worrall

The Gallery - Photo by Paul Hughes

Paul Slattery & Ian Tilton - Photo by Paul Hughes

Stone Roses Memorabilia - Photo by Steve Worrall

Paul Slattery, Kevin Cummins and Ian Tilton - Photo by Paul Hughes

The exhibition is now open to the public at The Space Gallery at Whiteleys in Bayswater, London W2 4YN and runs until August 12th. It's free so well worth a visit if you are in London. Limited edition signed and numbered prints along with other merchandise are available for sale at the gallery.

Many thanks to Paul Hughes for contributing the excellent photos of the launch night, you can check out a full set of his shots of the party at his Flickr site HERE. I'd also recommend you to check out Paul's other photos which include the extremely well received set of photos of the Retro Man Blog gig for The Len Price 3 at The Railway in Southend HERE.