GirlAfraidWillNeverLearn
Well-Known Member
í'd never really 'got' those old Catlin shots before; sometimes saturation can dilute the power of an image. But, yeah, they are pretty pretty.
And, good lord, that was a damn fine hair day in Feb '85. Pretty much the finest Quiff of Smiffs-era {as someone who heartily subscribes to the theory that The Quiff didn't really attain immaculate perfection until the solo years ~ he had to up his game from '87; he could no longer rely on his hair looking good in comparison with the...ah...varied...efforts of Wythenshawe's own Keef Jones?}
That 5th B&W shot is illegally good. {The colour is nice for the knitwear, less so for the skincare? }
í'm sure he must have been weary of inkie snappers setting up yet another awful "Orphée" ordeal. But who can resist a floor-length reflection...?
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Joe, the 5th one is what sparked my obsession.
It was used by Rough Trade on promo photos but for some reason I'd never realised how good it was, on its own, until yesterday. Seeing them all together just made it more obvious.
They also used a cropped version of another shot, which does nothing for me.
I'm not sure if this is the correct order but I like how he looks slightly awkward in the 1st picture, finds his pose in the 2nd and 3rd and then becomes increasingly interested in his own reflection in the 4th and 5th. And he seems to like what he's seeing...
I've always said, and I will repeat this ad infinitum, 1985 was his prime Smiths year. Hair, fashion, charms - top game.
There are other, less flattering, colour shots of him crouching on the fuzzy carpet under a staircase next to the half-rotten carcass of some luckless house plant - not sure what they were going for here...
Maybe he just wanted to pick up the scraps of paper...
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