Nic Salmon’s portraits taken in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, 1984.

The portraits were taken to document the spirit and style of youth and subculture in a town that was suffering greatly from the decline of the steel industry. Earlier in the decade, Margaret Thatcher’s government announced the loss of over 4,000 jobs in the area, with the closure of Normanby Park works after nearly seventy years of steel production.

Nic: “I documented the decline of the industry in the town from the start of the decade. The outlook was perpetually bleak, with the then-British Steel Corporation making numerous cutbacks, including ceasing all ore mining operations and closing two major plants.

“In contrast, the local ‘alternative’ scene during this same period was incredibly active; populated by determined, resourceful and highly original individuals, I felt that straight portraiture might be a way of trying to document it. Gigs were well-attended too, and many of these pictures were born from asking those who attracted me if they would let me meet up with them sometime and take a portrait. Other times, I would find people in the streets and approach them there.

“I made over eighty portraits. The photographs were taken using a Mamiya 6 x 6 camera, and the film stock was generally Kodak Tri-X Pan. One of the portraits was included in the third edition of Paul Hill’s book Approaching Photography, and some were exhibited in the local Museum and Art Gallery in 1986, but others have not been seen until now.”