Capturing the moment, stealing the soul, and flashing it back in brutal black and white or an expansive colour, Ian Tilton infuses his photos with a flair and a lust for life, underlining them with distinctive bled borders. These are photographs that spit energy and vigour, mirroring a genuine love for the subject, which is all too rare in the increasingly hack media pool.
Tilton moved to Manchester in the mid-eighties; this vibrant northern city a perfect place to cop some rockin' shutter action, as the Manchester music thing exploded. Tilton was well-placed to capture its protagonists; grabbing the truest carefree leer of the young Shaun Ryder, the intensity of Morrissey with The Smiths at their peak, the studied cool of the Stone Roses, the abandon of a youth culture free of shackles.
Not that all action has been confined to the 'rainy city', Tilton has removed his lens cap all over the world, from the struggling half-assed dimwit at the bottom of the circuit through to the fatoid lazing walrus at the peak of an ill-deserved career, and a host of cool, mean music action in-between. This includes numerous books and exhibitions on Nirvana, Guns 'n' Roses and Manchester music, and work undertaken for Sounds, Select, Melody Maker and Q magazine.
Professional yet maverick, Tilton is widely recognised as one of the best on the scene.