Got the call on Friday afternoon, could I get over to RTE at 9pm to shoot a cover image of Elbow for Hot Press. They were appearing that night on The Late Late Show and I could have 5 minutes to shoot them before they went on. Got there about 8.30pm and was shown the space I could shoot them in. Mmmm lovely, long narrow corridor with piles of junk and chairs in it. It opened out at the end, so I could put up the paper background I brought with me.
While I'm setting up, the members of The Commitments were passing by on the way to make-up, which was fine, but I know some of them and they all wanted a chat and I was frantically trying to set up lights etc before Elbow arrived. The record company contact asked if I wouldn't mind taking a shot of them with Ryan Tubridy (the Late Late Show host) and the platinium discs they were being presented with for the last album "The Seldom Seen Kid" (a beautiful album, one of my favourites). I saw a red leather chair I liked and thought it could be good for the group shot, as with my limited background paper, I would need to get them all in very close together. I was just testing the lights when they arrived with Ryan Tubridy too. Ryan has about 1 minute before the start of the show, so I ask Guy, the singer, to sit in the chair and I quickly arrange Ryan and the rest of the band around him with the framed discs, a couple of test shots with the lights, that'll have to do, bang, bang, Ryan's gone.
So, just about to set up the group shot for Hot Press and Guy informs me, he doesn't really want to sit in the chair for the group shot. Ok, no problem, aaaah! except he's taller than the others and I'm not sure if I have enough space for 5 people on my background. Ok guys, squeeze in, closer, closer, closer! Just about. All the while, behind me, the manager, record company people and others are talking to the band, cracking jokes, commenting on various peoples heights etc. Not the most conducive atmosphere for a photo shoot, but needs must. Bang, bang and the band are leaving. I grab Guy and ask if I could just take a few shots of him on his own, he kindly agrees and I even get him to sit in the chair for one! And just like that, they're all gone, leaving me in a hyper sweating mess.
I pack up and retire to the green room for a beer and watch The Commitments talk and perform live on the screen, while hearing them booming through the wall. As I am leaving they are all filing out into the corridor too, to go outside to be photographed by the shivering freelance photographers, who have been waiting there since before I arrived. Hot Press is out tomorrow.
