Graham Beck – artist, musician and performer

Graham Beck – In his own words…
I first came to Hull as an art student, back in 1973, not knowing what Hull was like – my tutor had seen a programme on The Land Of Green Ginger, & said it looked a nice place. Reality seemed a bit different at first! Still, I got to like the place, formed an art college band (Ruby & The Takeaways) with Eric Goulden, who later became Wreckless Eric. We played upstairs at The Bull on Beverley Road, every Thursday night, from 1975-76. They were great times, & I even managed to get my degree in Fine Art! I went up to Newcastle University (teaching qualification), & then lived in London for 12 years, as a (struggling) musician & ‘entrepreneur’.

I arrived back in Hull in 1988, & have been here ever since. It’s definitely changing for the better (there have certainly been some huge changes since I was a student). It has a uniqueness which is hard to define when you live here, but the people are what make it. Sure, there are parts of Hull that need ‘looking at’ & revamping – we must be careful that it doesn’t lose it’s character because of all the redevelopment. Things have to move on, though.
These are difficult times, where budgets are tight & wages even tighter. Let’s hope that 2017 City Of Culture turns out to be all that’s promised, & that there IS a lasting legacy for the city. In the meantime, I’ll carry on being a musician………

Graham has two gigs coming up before the end of the year they are at Sewerby Hall Dec. 21st. & Adelphi Dec. 30th.

Here is Graham’s contact sheet he was absolutely marvellous to photograph and I’m looking forwards to photographing him again in the near future.