Pennie Smith
Pennie Smith (* around 1949 in London ) is a concert photographer for rock music. She specializes in black and white photography. Smith's recordings appeared on the title and in the inner part of the NME, as the album cover, promotional material and were published in book form.
Smith went in the late 1960s at the Art School of Twickenham, where she studied graphic design and fine arts. Together with the graphic designer Barney Bubbles and the music journalist Nick Kent they were from 1969 to 1972, the magazine Friends out. The breakthrough in the world of professional photography she managed when she accompanied in the 1970s, a tour of Led Zeppelin as a concert photographer. She then worked up in the 1980s for the New Musical Express ( NME ) as a photographer and picture editor. In 1980 her book The Clash, Before and After.
In her career, she has to work with some legends and icons of rock music, including
- Led Zeppelin
- The Rolling Stones
- The Who
- Iggy Pop
- The Clash
- The Jam
- Debbie Harry
- U2
- Morrissey
- The Stone Roses
- Primal Scream
- Manic Street Preachers
- Radiohead
- Oasis
- The Strokes
In addition to portrait photography, they also filmed during the concerts. It was also the photo of Paul Simonon of The Clash as at a gig in New York City his bass guitar smashed in 1979 on the stage. The photo adorns the album cover of London Calling and has been honored by the magazine Q 2002 with the prize "Best rock and roll photograph of all time".
Smith lives in a disused railway station in west London, which she bought as a student and was transformed into a studio. She works as a freelance photographer, mainly of black and white photography for reportage.