Pennie Smith

Pennie Smith (* around 1949 in London ) is a concert photographer for rock music . She specializes in black and white photography. Smith's recordings appeared on the cover and inside the NME, as album covers, promotional materials, and were published in book form.

Smith attended Twickenham Art School in the late 1960s where she studied graphics and fine arts. Together with graphic designer Barney Bubbles and music journalist Nick Kent, she published Friends magazine from 1969 to 1972 . Her breakthrough into the world of professional photography came when she accompanied a Led Zeppelin tour as a concert photographer in the 1970s. She then worked for the New Musical Express (NME) as a photographer and picture editor until the 1980s . In 1980 her book The Clash, Before and After was published .

In her career she has collaborated with some legends and icons of rock music, including

• Led Zeppelin
• The Rolling Stones
• The Who
• Iggy Pop
• The clash
• The Jam
• Debbie Harry
• U2
• Morrissey
• The Stone Roses
• Primal Scream
• Manic Street Preachers
• Radiohead
• Oasis
• The Strokes

In addition to portrait photography, she also filmed during concerts. The photo of Paul Simonon from The Clash was also taken during a performance in New York City in 1979 when he smashed his electric bass on stage. The photo adorns the album cover of London Calling and was awarded the “Best Rock'n'Roll Photography of All Time” award by Q magazine in 2002.

Smith lives in a disused train station in West London that she bought as a student and turned into a studio. She works as a freelance photographer, mainly black and white photography for reports .

Web links

• Pennie Smith at the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Pennie Smith at the National Portrait Gallery