Derek Ridgers on Documenting London’s Iconic Youth Scenes
Welcome to this edition of [book spotlight]. Today, we uncover the layers of 'The London Youth Portraits,' by Derek Ridgers (published by ACC Art Books). We'd love to read your comments below about these insights and ideas behind the artist's work.
In the vibrant streets of 1970s and 1980s London, the raw energy of punk rock and youth subcultures flourished. Derek Ridgers, armed with his camera, captured the essence of this rebellious generation. The London Youth Portraits showcases skinheads, punks, goths, and new romantics, each photograph telling a unique story of fashion and attitude.
In this interview, we invite you to immerse yourself in the captivating world of Derek Ridgers, a photographer whose lens has profoundly documented the essence of London’s youth subcultures. Ridgers, the acclaimed author of The London Youth Portraits, has spent decades roaming the streets, clubs, and underground scenes of London, capturing the spirit of the city’s rebellious and fashion-forward youth. From the punk rock explosion of the late 1970s to the flamboyant and extravagant club kids of the 1980s, his portraits are a testament to the vibrant and ever-changing landscape of youth culture.
Ridgers’ journey into photography began serendipitously, but his passion quickly transformed into a lifelong dedication. His work offers an intimate and raw glimpse into the lives of those who were often on society’s fringes, celebrating their uniqueness and individuality. In this interview, Ridgers opens up about his experiences and the techniques he used to blend into the scene, gaining the trust of his subjects and capturing genuine moments that define an era. Through his lens, we explore the profound impact these subcultures had on the broader cultural landscape and the lasting legacy of his remarkable body of work.
Early Inspiration: What initially drew you to youth culture and subcultures as a subject for your photography?
It was music. Plus of course when I started to go to gigs in my mid teens, I was a part of the youth culture myself. If I’d had a camera or was remotely interested in photography back then, I would have had some great photographs because being at art school in London in the1960s was an amazing time.
Immersion: You immersed yourself in the vibrant youth scene of London during the 1970s and 1980s. How did you blend in and earn the trust of your subjects in order to capture such candid and genuine moments?
It didn’t really seem like I was immersing myself in anything. It just seemed like my life. And as soon as I had access to a camera, I simply started to shoot some of the amazing looking people who were going to the same places I was. I didn’t start to take myself at all seriously as a photographer until about 1982. By which time I’d already had three solo shows and been published quite widely. I thought it was all beginners luck and I’d just happened to be in the right place at the right time a lot. And to be honest, that was the case.
It wasn’t until I’d left my job in advertising and started to try to make a living as a full time photographer that I thought that I needed to knuckle down and get a bit more serious about it all. But I’ve never tried to blend in. Blending in with anything has never been my way. What I would do in any environment was just stand quietly on the edge of things, watch and wait until people either forgot that I was there, or they’d just ignore me.
I’m not sure exactly why I was able to gain the trust of my subjects. It’s always been a little bit of a mystery. Maybe these are the unspoken things that one never has much control over? But what I would say was that my interest in the people I was photographing was always a genuine one.
Street Photography Techniques: What techniques or approaches did you employ in your street photography to capture the unique essence of London’s youth during this era?
I’d spend 97% of the time just watching and waiting and only 3% of the time taking photos. And my camera was always kept out of sight in a plain looking bag - not a camera bag. But I suppose, if I’m really honest, I probably spent as much time thinking about precise places to shoot and which had light coming in the right direction as I did searching for my subjects. That may sound a bit odd, but it comes from many instances, when I started out, of shooting someone fantastic looking only for the photograph to be spoilt by the light being a bit off or a distraction, I didn’t notice at the time, in the background. Often one will only have one chance to photograph someone so one might as well try to control the things one can control.
Sometimes I’ve missed out or people just ignored me when I approached them - which does sometimes happen. Those times are seared into my memory. I have sharp recall of every time I’ve badly missed out. But it does make me even more determined not to repeat those same mistakes. Often there’s a synchronicity to these things and subject, light and background come together and, for a moment, seem almost perfect. I always try to be receptive to that as well. The other part of what you might call my technique is that I’m always very polite with people, but I tell them the absolute bare minimum needed to get them to stand still for a moment so that I can get a shot. I’m happy to chat afterwards but not beforehand.
My feeling is that any time spent with one’s subject trying to “gaze into their soul” will offer them the equal amount of time to gaze back. During which they’ll be thinking about what it is you really want and, sometimes, trying to help you get that. And that may not always be helpful. Sometimes we forget that human interactions are a two-way street.
Subcultural Impact: How did the various subcultures you photographed—such as punks, skinheads, and new romantics—impact the wider culture of London at the time? Did you feel you were documenting a lasting cultural shift, or did it feel more ephemeral?
At the time I started to photograph skinheads, in the late 1970s, they were flying under the radar a bit. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to photograph them. I was completely shocked. I’d never encountered people with that sort of collective worldview before.
With punk and the New Romantics it was a bit different.
The punk aesthetic had a huge impact on the wider culture almost from day one. I remember seeing some very punk inspired clothing in the Miss Selfridge shop window as early as the Autumn of ’76. And many of the small group of original New Romantics came from one London art school - Saint Martins. They were an extremely talented bunch and some of them would have been destined for fame and fortune anyway. Billy’s and the Blitz was really just their social club at the beginning. The New Romantics didn’t really influence the wider culture in the same way as punk though because it was much more of a collection of individuals rather than a movement. And it was more multifaceted. The punk ethos was simplistic and very easy to understand. It said that you can do it yourself if you want to. The way the New Romantics dressed was initially presented as being a reaction against the punk look, even though some of them were ex-punks themselves.
There was a great deal of DIY to being a New Romantic too of course, half of them were fashion students after all. And yes, it did feel ephemeral at the time. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to take my photographs. I thought that these people wouldn’t look like that for very long (sometimes just one night) and so I wanted to capture it all for posterity.
Aging of Youth: Looking back at the portraits now, how do you view the changes in youth culture from the 1980s to today? Are there any similarities or differences that particularly stand out to you?
The one big difference is difference itself. It’s okay to be different now. Certainly, in London. I realise we have a long, long way to go and still people will be bullied and picked on but it’s not like it was.
People like Leigh Bowery and Philip Sallon would take their life in their own hands, walking the streets in the way that they did. Philip Sallon almost died after being beaten up in the street.
But youth subculture itself has completely changed. You don’t really get very clearly defined youth groups getting together once a week in little basement clubs in Soho anymore. For a start, all the little basement clubs have gone too. And young people don’t need to physically get together now, they can meet and interact on the internet. And it doesn’t have to be London or the UK either, these days it’s global.
Evolution of Identity: Youth identity and fashion change rapidly. How did you see the identities and styles evolve during the years you documented, and how did that influence your work?
I suppose I was photographing the final years of the main British youth tribes. A time when you still had teddy boys, mods, punks, skinheads, New Romantics, goths and more. These days everything is one big mélange of everything all at once. And the youth tribes don’t all have to be young anymore either. Nowadays at punk, skinhead or mod gatherings it’s really an all ages thing, right up to people who (certainly look like they) are in their 70s or 80s.
But the way this change has influenced my work is an entirely different thing. I’m in my 70s myself now and it’s not so easy to approach young people in the street.
When I started I was really just a few years older than the people I was photographing and that small age difference might not even have been particularly apparent. Nowadays I’m seen - fairly accurately in fact - as an old bloke with a camera so there’s a huge gulf. And no one needs me to photograph them to make them famous anymore. They can do that themselves. And in truth, they can probably document their own lives much better than I could anyway.
My constituency doesn’t really exist in the same way now. Many of the people I photographed for the book were living in squats and bunking in everywhere. Nowadays, when a ticket to a UK rock festival can cost up to £360, the kind of people who you get at events has changed too.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying "everything was much better back in my day." Not at all. The squat dwellers and the unwaged might not be out there in the same numbers but there are still a lot of great looking young people and still a lot of great places to shoot them. I know this. Not because I’m out there shooting them myself so much but I’m seeing a lot of fantastic photographs taken by the current generation of social documentary photographers.
Exhibition Experience: Your work has been exhibited internationally. How has the reception of your photography differed across cultures, and what impact do you hope your exhibitions have on audiences?
Apart from one thing, the reception to my photography across different cultures is fairly consistent. People are fascinated by how people were back in the day, and they often say stuff like “I wish I’d been alive then” or “I’d love to have been there”.
That one thing relates to how accepting people from different cultures are about the LGBTQ+ community. As we all know, some cultures are not accepting at all. When I post photographs of two men kissing on my Instagram, for instance, I know my follower count will go down the day after.
As to what impact my shows abroad have on the people who see them, I can’t really say. I’m usually not there myself and often I don’t get that much feedback. I’ve been a part of some big shows in China and South Korea and got sent lots of press cuttings but, sad to say, I couldn’t read them.
In 2018 I had a show of my punk photos at the Rondo Sztuki in Katowice in Poland. That was my biggest solo show to date and I went along for the opening. People were very complimentary, but I didn’t see any reviews. But I don’t kid myself. People don’t go to see my work for the photography itself so much as to look at how people were back in the day.
Legacy and Influence: Your work has inspired photographers, artists, and fashion designers around the world. How do you feel about the legacy of your work, and what advice would you give to aspiring photographers looking to capture subcultures and youth identity?
I’m often asked to give students advice on exactly this and what I usually say is, if you really want make a mark, you need to find an area of the subculture that isn’t already photographically oversubscribed. It also helps a great deal if it’s something you have a genuine interest in rather than just seeing it as a photographic opportunity or project. And ultimately, in the area of social documentary photography, commitment trumps talent almost every time. Social documentary photography is not really an area that rewards people who just dabble occasionally.
As to my legacy - if any - that’s totally up to others to judge. Nothing I say could or should make the slightest difference.
To discover more about this intriguing body of work and how you can acquire your own copy, you can find and purchase the book here. (Amazon, ACC Art Books)
Derek Ridgers
Derek Ridgers is a distinguished British photographer renowned for his compelling portraits of youth subcultures. Born in 1950, Ridgers developed an early fascination with the vibrant and often rebellious youth culture that flourished in London during the late 20th century. After initially working in advertising, Ridgers transitioned to photography in the mid-1970s, a career move that allowed him to document the dynamic and evolving subcultures of the time. His work, characterized by its raw authenticity and keen observational skills, has been exhibited internationally and featured in numerous publications. Ridgers’ extensive archive spans decades, capturing the essence of punk, skinhead, goth, and New Romantic scenes with a unique blend of detachment and intimacy. His contributions to visual anthropology and social documentary photography have cemented his legacy as a key chronicler of British youth culture. (Website, Instagram)
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