How better to kick off the content of our blog than with Ride The Lighting’s co-founder Danny North - photographer for Q, Kerrang!, Rolling Stone and previously, NME? Ash asked the questions, and Danny opened right up. Eugh, not like that, you sicko.

Ash: Before you became a photographer you were a musician - tell us about your bands. And why did you stop?

Danny: Yeah, I guess from the age of 11 when I first heard Iron Maiden, that’s all I ever wanted. I picked up bass, even living in LA when I was 18, pushing my music. But it wasn’t until I returned to England that I joined the band that got signed. We were a death metal band, not too heavy but enough for my mum to hate it and and my dad to love it.

Why did I stop? Ha ha, never been asked that before. I didn’t choose to stop, I think I just became burnt by it. Like the 99.9% of musicians that spend their lives trying to reach this illusive goal of self-sufficiency through music, I didn’t quite manage. It’s heartbreaking really, I see so many people in the same boat, so many musicians give their teens and then their 20s to it!  I was lucky in that, when I finally got burnt, I had started to shoot, to take photos of the band I was in, the band I was managing and various gigs I was promoting in Leeds. So I took my creative frustration out on my camera.

Ash: So you weren’t always a photographer too?

Danny: I guess I’ve been a photographer in some ways for a long time. When I left school I just wanted to be in a band, but thought college was a good idea so I randomly chose a photography course, a BTEC ND, but got booted off after a year by my teacher. He said my heart was in music, so I should pursue that. I didn’t automatically stop taking pictures, but over time, it got less and less until one day it kinda stopped.

It was reignited one fateful day about seven years ago by my girlfriend, Michelle (now my wife), who bought me a digital VGA camera keyring. I hadn’t come across digital photography before, as I’d learned on film. So it was a revelation. And it sparked a love that grew, the instant creativity that my short attention span craved. I shot my band that I was in with Michelle, then as I mentioned before, I shot every aspect of my musical life. Eventually figuring out I was not bad at it, I started shooting for the local zine – Sandman in Leeds. That was the real start of the journey to where I am now.

Ash: Were you dead set on music photography, rather than other kinds of portraiture work or landscapes?

Danny: Yeah, there was no compromise, not that I had a choice, I just didn’t love anything else, I’m not sure I even knew if I loved photography. I just loved music, and photography was a way for me to stay close to it, in some aspects closer to it that I’d ever been before, I was peaking into the lives of other musicians and loving it.

Ash: Where did you cut your teeth as a photographer, and did you have a ‘big break’?

Danny: In 2006, Sandman zine was a new thing to Leeds, although they had already established themselves in Sheffield. At the time I was stage-managing and promoting the odd gig at The Warehouse nightclub in Leeds. I offered to put a show on for them, the launch party for the zine in Leeds.

I shot it, showed the editor the photos, he asked me to contribute to the zine. It was a magical coincidence that for the first time in what seemed like years Leeds was developing an AMAZING scene of young bands. Duels, Parva (Kaiser Chiefs), ¡Forward, Russia!, The Cribs, Black Wire, Capital State, Parisman…  Leeds was such an amazing place at the time. Not just a few venues with a few local acts, but a scene that had creativity, a DIY ethic, one that wasn’t short sighted. I was so happy to be slap bang in the middle of it all. My first shoot was I Like Trains, in errr… Leeds train station. The next day I shot Blackwire in the studio, a photo from that went on to be the issue’s cover shot. The next issue I shot ¡Forward, Russia!, that shot became an iconic image within leeds at the time. It’s not much to look at now, but it did show that I had potential.  It made me consider for the first time that maybe, just maybe I should give this photography thing some serious thought.

That was February, and by the end of the year my name had been established as the go-to photographer in the Leeds indie music scene. NME were obviously taking a big interest in Leeds at the time, and started to ask about, enquiring if anyone knew a decent photographer in Leeds, my name was given out by the editor of Sandman, and I got a call. I remember it very well. I was in Leeds on my way to physio for a recent knee op I had, took the call and it blew my mind. Someone wanted to pay me for this?! It felt like I’d been given an opportunity in life, the proverbial ray of light from the gods shone upon me.

Ash: Does having been a musician help you deal with artists as a photographer?

Danny: I genuinely think it does. Both in the photography itself, and in dealing with people. I understand the mechanics and relationships of bands, the people in them, the staff in venues and so on, because at some point or other I’ve done their jobs. I’ve been a sound engineer (a bad one), a lighting tech, I’ve been a manager, promoter and all that stuff…  none of which were successful in any shape, but it did teach me a lot. That life experience is invaluable.

Ash: What three albums are you listening to most right now?

Enter Shikari’s new one, in fact it’s on rotation whilst I’m doing this interview. One album that I listen to a lot when I’m in need of calming is Dadawah… psychedelic reggae. Every bit as good as it sounds. And finally, I’m really enjoying the Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains record, ‘E Volo Love’.

Ash: What’s been your proudest moment as a photographer?

Danny: My dad was in intensive care, he had leukaemia, he was terribly ill. That week I had finally left 9 to 5 work behind and became a full-time music photographer. The NME had printed my name in the masthead for the first time. I rushed to the hospital to show my dad. He fell unconscious that night, and died three days later. It breaks my heart that he never got to see the adventures I’ve been on or to read a single word of what I’ve typed here, but he got to see my name in the NME, the first solid step in my career.

Ash: And your worst experience as a photographer?

Danny: There’s been a few close scrapes with mentalists at festivals. Rogue security bloke trying to headbutt me several times as I stopped him from breaking the neck of a crowd surfer… yeah, that sucked.

Ash: Other than me (I’ll teach you a few tricks sometime), which other photographers do you most admire?

Danny: My first ever influence was NME photographer Andrew Kendall. Coming back into photography with no interest in it other than actually doing it, I had no influences that impacted on me creatively. But then I met Andrew, not only did he impact on my creativity, but also encouraged me technically and give me hope with regards to being able to earn a living out of it. 

I think if you look back to my childhood, I was influenced by a photographer, I mean I knew his name and loved his photos, despite at the time not having an interest in photography. And that dude was living legend Ross Halfin.

Ash: In your opinion, which is the best photograph you’ve ever taken?

Danny: Shit the bed. You really want me to answer that? OK… Probably the one I take tomorrow.

Check out Danny’s work at www.dannynorth.co.uk