Cummins, Slattery and Tilton exhibit at The Stone Roses: The Third Coming

With the resurrection of The Stone Roses in full swing, another, related revival has taken place between three of the UK’s most acclaimed music photographers.

The Stones Roses: The Third Coming exhibition launched this week at The Space in Bayswater, West London, featuring work by the iconic photography trio of Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery and Ian Tilton.
Jacqui Black, picture editor for Omnibus Press headed down to the exhibition premiere to see what all the fuss was about.
From the first appearance of the monkey face, to the paint splattered shots inspired by John Squire’s Pollock influenced designs to Reni’s hat, the show featured the images that, along with their music, immortalised the band within the public conciousness.
As a friend of the band, Ian Tilton was able to capture some of the most intimate images  of The Stone Roses at their peak, and is the man who got Ian Brown to pull his very first monkey face, on camera or off.

His other work features pictures of the band away from the limelight,  soaking up the atmopshere of the pre-gig dressing room and the tensions just after coming off stage.

The images are testiment to the band’s trust in Tilton and the intimate access that allowed him to snap photos that no one else could have taken.
Set In Stone, a book covering Ian Tilton’s work with The Stone Roses, is due to be published by Omnibus Press in the next few months.
He spoke to the Musicroom blog about the new show:
“I am very proud of my contribution to our Stone Roses exhibition, The Third Coming. It’s a  privilege to have my work shown along side the inspiring images of world class photographers Paul Slattery and Kevin Cummins.
This exhibition will be loved and enjoyed by both Stone Roses fans and fans of photography.”
Kevin Cummins, acclaimed music and portrait photographer, was working for the NME when the Roses burst onto the scene. His shots of the band covered in paint, inspired by John Squire’s love of Jackson Pollock, are some of the most widely recognised images of the band and their visual motifs.

We asked Kevin Cummins about The Third Coming and band’s reunion:
“I rarely do group shows but I found it interesting to see the different approach to shooting The Stone Roses from the other two photographers. It’s difficult to impose discipline on the session when Ian Brown dictates the mood of the band so well.
“I’m delighted they’re back. They have a lot of unfinished business to attend to. And on the opening weekend of the tour – in Barcelona – they sounded as fresh as they did in 88.”
Check out Omnibus Press’ Helen Donlon’s interview with Kevin Cummins for The Quietus.
As a world renowned music photographer, Paul Slattery has shot some of the most exciting artists in muci, from the Manchester scene and beyond, including The Smiths, Morrissey, Oasis and Joy Division.

His live shots of The Stone Roses, along with other pictures of Brown and co. on-tour, add another dimension to The Third Coming show, rounding off the collection with a sets of images focusing on the band’s on-stage presence and their condition while on the road, particularly during their Japanese tour.
Slattery’s work with Oasis and The Smiths has also been published in the two books by Omnibus Press, as seen above.
The Third Coming runs from June 13 to August 12 at The Space, Whiteleys, West London.
Ian Tilton’s work is also on exhibit at his own Set In Stone show at Manchester Photographic, which runs until July 31.
Check out our images from The Third Coming show in the gallery below: