General Information
During the year 2000 D J Clark built a visual record of the Lancaster &
Morecambe district using photographs and information submitted by those that
feature in the pictures. The project was conducted in association with Lancaster
Museum and has been archived for future generations to look back at the district
at the turn of the new Millennium. For more information on the project visit
the information page. If you find a caption is
wrong or there is a fault with the page please e-mail D
J Clark.
Date:
July 22nd 2000
Location: Morecambe Dome
Photographer's Diary
Holidays in the Sun - Punk Festival at the Dome Morecambe
I was tired from my early start but this festival had much promise.
Arriving about 8 PM I went to the ticket office and persuaded them to let me
in and take pictures. They gave me a wrist band, which proved useful as I wanted
to stroll around Morecambe first. The band not only let me come and go as I
please but was also my sign to the punks that gathered outside that I was OK.
It was a stunning night with skies that it up the bay. A stark contrast to the
aggressive look to the people that gathered for the festival. I was a little
nervous at first to approach them, but after a warm greeting from my first attempt
I managed to get most of the pictures I wanted. Just one woman with orange hair
standing in warm evening light refused me - it would have made a strong image.
Inside the dome it was hot and dark. I moved around getting a few pictures but
found it hard to work. Many of those I wished to photograph needed to save face
in front of friends and made an insulting gesture or shouted at me when I pointed
the camera. I found a safe area, between the crowd and the stage. The music
was so loud there was no option to communicate. On stage the performers screamed
and spat, and behind the barrier the crowd reciprocated by throwing plastic
cups of beer and spitting back. Anything short of the target, got me.
After a few hours I had all I wanted. Other photographers had turned up in anticipation
of bigger bands who played the early hours but I had what I wanted. Many of
the bands were the same I had followed as a teenager - What becomes of us in
adolescence is beyond me and this experience made it all the stranger.