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<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nThough this picture has little to do with the topic of 1980s invitations, I’d like to extend an invitation to you to meet my family in the ’80s (1988, to be specific) at my sister\u2019s wedding. L to R, we are: Ed, Bob, Lorraine, Mom, Dad, Geri.<\/span><\/p>\n This may be my favorite family picture and it has been in a frame atop a cabinet for the last 3 decades, blocking whatever was behind it for all that time. I happened to look behind it recently and saw this:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t sure what all this was, so after removing a layer of dust, I realized that they were all of the invitations – mainly from Manhattan clubs – that were either given to me or mailed to me during the 80s (with a few from the 70s and 90s).<\/span><\/p>\n There were 367 of them! I sorted about 70 of them into four groups (many of the 70 have multiple invites in them). In ascending order, the groups are:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n GROUP 4<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n A little background: the way my job usually worked was if I wanted to shoot a show, I\u2019d contact a record company publicist or band management to arrange a photo pass to be left for me at Will Call. If it was a direct assignment, I\u2019d let the magazine do the dirty work.<\/span><\/p>\n At some venues, club security knew me and I could just walk in. The Cat Club was always like that.<\/span><\/p>\n On other occasions, the clubs did all the work with invitations.<\/span><\/p>\n Let me state right off the bat that – as far as I know – these are not exclusive, sought-after invitations that will make anyone drool with envy. I’m sure that hundreds of each were sent out in a effort to not only get publicity, but also to fill clubs and sell drinks. <\/span><\/p>\n Most of these were ignored because the acts (or activity) were just not of any interest to me and I would immediately add them to the pile. Of ZERO interest were \u201cAfter Work Parties\u201d – mainly at a club called \u201cSHOUT!\u201d (\u201cDoors open at 5pm\u201d) – from a club promoter named Maggie Saloman – someone I don\u2019t believe I ever met or had any interaction with and have no idea how she got my name and address, but she probably mailed me more invitations than anyone else. Apparently, she had no idea that my<\/em> work started no earlier that 7pm (and sometimes started after 1am), so her efforts (and postage) were all for naught.<\/span><\/p>\n I should mention that some invites in ALL groups have great graphics and are included solely for that reason.<\/span><\/p>\n Here we go:<\/span><\/p>\n Maggie – always SHOUT!ing:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Interesting graphics:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some dress codes are not easy to comply with:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Group 3<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Some invites in this group were of mild interest or featured artists or bands that I may have been aware of, but really had no interest in shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n This may be the only invite I got in the mail from Studio 54 (years after its infamous heyday):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This was the second incarnation of the Ritz, which moved from E. 11th St to Studio 54\u2019s old location in 1989:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This invite is a VERY thin piece of see-through plastic that was difficult to photograph:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Great graphics (click to enlarge):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Double-yawn:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another confusing invite from Maggie Salomon\u2026\u2026\u2026.the listed events obviously occurred elsewhere, so what was the reason to go to The Underground?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maggie invites us to \u201ccelebrate\u201d the movie, but not actually see it, so what\u2019s the point?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Think any Native Americans might object to this invite today?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Might have been interesting\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Same for Herbie\u2019s Public TV gig. Don\u2019t know the Poison Girls:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pass\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Group 2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In this group were a lot of artists that maybe I really should have gone to see. Some of these have me scratching my head as to why I didn\u2019t. Two possibilities: I had a conflict that night (I had to shoot a bigger act) or – in the case of the Limelight – some places were just not conducive to good concert photography, so it\u2019s possible I was able to shoot the artist in a better venue for shooting on that particular tour.<\/span><\/p>\n Actually, there\u2019s a third possibility: I may have just whiffed on it.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Click twice to fully enlarge this one. I\u2019ve shot the Thompson Twins and the B-52s a few times, but neither of these invite events involved performances. The \u201cGuitar Heroes Night\u201d looked worthwhile, but not at the Limelight. I see that Maggie Salomon\u2019s in the middle of things (and this collage), but it sounded WAY too boring to go to – especially on my birthday. Warren Haynes would have been worth shooting, but I had retired the year before.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I met Dave when the Blasters were on The Uncle Floyd Show in 1982. I\u2019m not sure why this is in the pile since it\u2019s not an invitation. I guess I just threw mailed cards relating to music there:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I photographed both Jason Bonham and Joe Satriani a few times, so took the nights off (or shot something else):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Heaven\u2019s Edge gig was in Philly (pass) and the Motorhead card is about them being the first metal band on The Tonight Show (how did I miss THAT?):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hmmm\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.I shot for TP for a few years\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026I wonder why I didn\u2019t go to this. Maybe because the bands didn\u2019t interest me that much?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This might have been fun, but it was on the wrong side of the country:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thor (Jon Mikl) was an old pal who I met on the Uncle Floyd Show in \u201982 (and \u201983). Jon was just about the nicest guy you could ever meet in the music industry. Girlfriend Rusty was no slouch either:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This looks like it would have been an interesting show to shoot (Grandpa Munster?). The only two people listed who I HAVE photographed were Abbie and Geraldo:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Can\u2019t go wrong with these guys, but I don’t see anything that says that either of these acts would actually be performing:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Word Up! was published by the same company that gave us Faces magazine, which I had a lot of photos in. They were located about two miles from my home – no trek into Manhattan! When I shot the Grammys in 1988, I was on a Word Up! assignment. None of the acts pictured on the card were at the party, so I passed on it:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not an invite, but an interesting card to find in the pile:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another nice invite that I didn\u2019t take advantage of:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Worthwhile event, but not in my photographic wheelhouse. Click twice to fully enlarge:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lots of names here, but they were there as judges – not performers…………..pass:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n These are three 3-page invites on top of each other (click TWICE to enlarge). You\u2019ll find the names \u201cCoati Mundi\u201d and \u201cAugust Darnell\u201d in the first two rows. I shot them together in 1986 (taken from my site, below invites):<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve photographed BeBe Buell (3rd row) a couple of times: (https:\/\/iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com\/?p=7764<\/span><\/a>, one photo) and wrote about her (https:\/\/iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com\/?p=6433<\/span><\/a>, one paragraph) and also shot her in performance once, but not at this Limelight gig.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of this lot, I\u2019ve photographed Bo, Billy, Steve, and Kenny, but thankfully, not at the Limelight:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ve shot Richie Stotts a bunch of times with the Plasmatics and once with King Flux (on the same night I shot Liberace!) and Marc Bell with the Ramones (click to enlarge):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n These are two different Limelight\/Willy DeVille invites:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I don\u2019t even remember this band with all former Cheap Trick members:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But I DO remember Chris Spedding playing in Robert Gordon\u2019s band – especially the night Bruce Springsteen showed up to join them in Asbury Park (where else?) in 1979 (look under \u201cRobert Gordon\u201d on http:\/\/bobleafe.com\/<\/span><\/a>):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Something a little different from the Limelight: a matchbook invitation (4.5\u201d x 10.5\u201d when opened (click twice to fully enlarge). Shown are the front and back and when you open it, you get what\u2019s on the right side, Cab Calloway – complete with \u201cmatches\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are two Buster Poindexter invitations for two different venues (click to enlarge first one):<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Again – no movie to watch, so why bother? I DO have to say, though, that Rodney was fun to photograph on the Robert Klein Radio Hour tapings (on my site under \u201cKlein\u201d). Click to enlarge:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both of these came after my 1992 retirement. Dalle was a French photo agency I was with for a while via a foreign woman named Victoria-something who screwed me out of a thousand dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
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