I was recently invited along to a band shoot for a local band called the Guttercats. They were having promotional pictures shot for an upcoming EP and had asked Andy McGeechan to shoot it for them. It has been a fair time since I shot any promotional material for bands, think the last time (excluding gigs) was for The Satin Dolls.
The shoot was organised at Fargo Village which is situated in Far Gosford Street Coventry, a world away from the image of a wild western town. Fargo Village is part of a large redevelopment and revitalising what was a run down area of Coventry. It has for years been an area that is home to students and migrant workers and has quite a transient diversity. The development differs from so many in the past in that it does not seek to eradicate what was there and start with a new look, rather it seeks to return the area to a glory it once new. Old buildings rather than being revamped are being sympathetically restored, hidden timbers are now on show and large airy windows replace the thick steel mesh that held out vandals. There is definitely a community feel returning to the area with a new found pride.