Mark McNulty
Interview: Moments In Time By Tim Keating
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swings and roundabouts and the main thing is that I love the constantly changing medium that is photography especially now with the extended capabilities of being able to shoot video. TK: You have a long association with music photography, is this your favourite subject matter ? MM: An obsession with music has been as constant a part of my life as has photography and I’m lucky enough to be able to combine the two with a lot of my work. Add travel to that and you’ve very much got a favourite but then I do love the variety of of my work whether it’s music, fashion, portraiture or documenting events. Liverpool’s changed massively over the last ten years but when I started, there wasn’t a lot of work going around, so I learnt to diversify which means I’ve done everything from product photography to TV and film stills and it’s that variety that I’m used to and love. TK: What inspires you? MM: I love Liverpool and if I had a brand, or an overall subject, then I’d say it’s the city. When I started, I’d shoot a lot of work out of town for people who lived out of town but these days, I get people
out of town asking me to shoot Liverpool because Liverpool and it’s culture is something that people around the word want to know about. So I’d say the city inspires me massively. Outside of that I’d say my influences are Nick Knight, David Bailey, Elliot Erwitt, William Klein, French New Wave, Motown, Richard Lester, films like Heartworn Highways and Searching For The Wrong Eyed Jesus, Robert Tressel, Colin MacInnes and George Orwell. Oh and Crosby beach and our dogs because it’s getting out with them every day that gives me the chance to work out what to do next and to think about some of my project based work. TK: Is Being based in the North of England a good thing? MM: Without a doubt. We work harder and we play harder, we’ve produced the best music, it’s much more friendly and it feels healthier. Did you ever consider London as a base? When I used to do a lot of record company shoots in London, people down there were always suggesting I moved down but I lived in a two bedroom flat in Princes Park on the top floor with views of the hills in North Wales for something like sixty quid a week so moving was something I never considered. TK: You have a passion for Berlin , is this
your favourite city in the world? MM: It has been for a long time and I’m going again this month. First time I went was on a 70 quid Liverpool Echo coach trip when the wall was still up but I’ve been back since loads of times. I had a long term project on the go there too documenting the Love Parade and I’ve shot loads of other club and music related stuff over there so it’s been a work and pleasure place for over twenty years.
MM: There’s a lot to remember but offfhand, I’d say I loved the first session I did with Travis which ended up as an album cover, the studio session with Bjork was hilarious, any visits out to SXSW are always amazing, the first nine editions of Plastic Rhino which was a great local mag and I really really love the body of work I’m still producing with the Liverpool Philharmonic since Vasily Petrenko’s being holding the baton. TK: Your recant book launch how has it gone?
TK: Your 2008 book “POP CULTURED” was a great success, Can you tell us about this? MM: It was a document of my first 20 years as a music photographer, mostly featuring the work I’d done with local artists and the clubscene in Liverpool but also including some of the work I’d shot around the world. In the 1990’s I shot a lot of work all over the place and there’s artists like Paul Weller, Bjork and Travis in it but this book features the work that got me into all that in the first place such as clubs like The State, G-Love, The Underground band Cream and local bands like The Real People, Shack, The Las’, Space and The Farm. TK: Do you have a favourite photo? or musician or person you have photographed?
MM: Ten ‘Til Late came out a couple of months ago via Café Royal Books who publish limited edition artists books and it sold out in a couple of weeks which is amazing really as well as being stored in the archives of various galleries. The book featured some of my ‘rave’ stuff from the 1990’s and there’s going to be a follow up or two by all accounts. TK: What does the future hold? MM: Technically, God knows what’s around the corner so that part of the journey is unknown but hopefully I’ll keep on documenting popular culture and the city with more video work siting alongside the photography.