Exhibition Runs: 30th July to 13th September 2009
Proud Central presents an intimate photographic portrait of legendary rock band Queen - launching to coincide with the anniversary of the band’s final gig and showcasing revealing, never before seen images.
Selected from photographer Peter Hince’s extensive archive, this exhibition is set to reveal the hugely influential band from the unique perspective of a close friend who spent two decades as Head of Crew during the height of Queen’s fame.
With access to all areas of Queen’s life both on stage and off, Hince’s work exposes the band’s personal face as well as its public facade in an incredibly candid manner, resulting in a photographic profile unlike any other.
An essential must see for any Queen fan, the collection shines light onto a famed ensemble within a firsthand framework available nowhere else.
Background
PETER HINCE
Peter Hince met Queen as a teenager in 1973, whilst working for Rock band Mott The Hoople, who Queen were supporting on the band’s UK.
Following this Hince was asked to work full time Queen as they began recording the Night at The Opera album.
Hince began as Freddie and John’s roadie, and in the subsequent years became head of the crew, working full time until the end of Queen’s final tour in 1986. As the longest serving member of the band’s crew, Hince developed a strong friendship with the group that shows in his candid and personal images.
Hince subsequently left the music business to become a professional advertising photographer, a career that he continues to this day.
Peter Hince has worked as a BBC Producer on The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody, has been consulted by broadcast press as an expert on Queen and has written a book on the band from an insider’s viewpoint.
You can download the PDF file of this release, that includes some photo's at: 094605139926116QueenPressRelease.pdf">link
I will be so lucky to be in London in August! I have already been in touch with Janine Limb at the Proud Central Galleries.She was extremely nice. Invited me to the launch. Unfortunately, I don't arrive until after the launch,however, since 'you can't always get what you want', I will very definitely take what I can get.Maybe I'll meet Peter Hince.
I'm very excited and looking forward to this exhibit. I've already pulled up the satelite map and located The Proud Central Gallery. I'm relatively familiar with London. I was last there 10 months ago. Once I found John Adam St., I got my bearings. I'll be in that area anyway.I'm also taking my 87 yr old mother with me. I have to do a DVD introduction of Queen to her. This should be good! I'm also taking her to see WWRY at the Dominion theatre.I've seen it in Toronto, Canada and the UK several times now.. You're never too young to become a Queen fan, or hopefully, never too old. And if it's too loud she can just take out her hearing aid!
Post visit comments-
It was a good thing I had looked up John Adam St myself on satelite before going. The cab driver hadn't a clue how to get there and I must say it is awkward and out of the way. It was an extremely hot August day and of course the ancient little building had no air conditioning just two feeble fans, one on each level, trying their best rattling along but getting ready to conk from being in overdrive for so long. I almost did a pratfall on the uneven step going in. The receptionist, although a pleasant enough young girl, was obviously not a Queen fan. At least not in any major way. I think I had set the bar of my expectations way too high. There were a few Queen tchotches like coffee mugs and mini statues of Freddie but that was about it in the gift dept. I did purchase a packet of picture post cards-quite nice. I had expected that there would be a coffee table book chock full of Mr. Hinces' photos since that was what this was all about. Instead there was a large stack of the book ,beautifully done mind you of Mick Rock's photos of which I already had a copy. Seemed like a strange thing to do. Promote another photographers work.
Anyway there were a few photos on the main level then you descended a set of narrow curved vertical steps to the floor below. Here there were a few more photos. Nothing remarkable and most of which I'd seen before plus a fill in of other contemporary artists. I used the loo and left with my overpriced ( 6 photos L10). All in all a disappointment. Too bad,but nothing is ever a complete waste if it's about Queen.