Unseen LA punk scene photography goes on show

Spike Waltzer took pictures of The Clash, Blondie, Madness and other between 1978 and 1980

Previously unseen photos of bands taken at Los Angeles punk venues are being exhibited for the first time.

Photographer Spike Waltzer is showcasing dozens of his images and memorabilia from his career in Brighton.

He took the photographs of bands including Blondie, The Clash and Madness between 1978 and 1980 while in the United States.

"There was this kind of constant flow of bands coming through," Spike said. "[It was a] great time to be there really."

The idea for the free exhibition, which runs at Gallery40 until 18 October, came after organiser Jason Bick met Spike through a mutual friend in 2024.

Spike Waltzer (left) and Jason Bick are exhibiting in the images in Brighton

Mr Bick agreed to license some of Spike's images of Blondie for a documentary he was working on.

"Almost immediately I thought to myself 'someone needs to do a book and an exhibition'," Mr Bick said.

He said he was struck by Spike's "modesty" and the "quality of the shots".

Bands including Madness and The Undertones played in LA at the time Spike lived there

Spike grew up in Florida but moved to LA aged 17 to become a photographer.

He became one of the paparazzi in the city before getting hooked on punk music and began photographing bands instead.

"I just started going to shows practically every night and just taking pictures of bands," Spike said. "It was pretty underground at the time."

He went on to have careers as a chef and doing both web design and music promotion, and lived in places such as the UK, Greece and Thailand.