Hulme, 1980s-90s | Photographs by Richard Davis

British Culture Archive

Hulme in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was a time when the inner city suburb of Manchester was a haven for squatters, punks, drop-outs and artists. With its brutalist concrete crescents, graffiti-ed up walkways – I’d never seen a place like it.

Built after the slum clearances of the sixties, this version of Hulme is a place with a lot of history, good and bad. A place that needs to be documented and preserved for future generations.

Richard Davis

Photographer Richard Davis, a former resident of Hulme lived in Charles Barry Crescent – one of the four brutalist crescents that dominated the area.

Richard “I grew up in Birmingham and left school in 1982 with no real qualifications and no idea what to do. I spent a few years on various worthless schemes, but mostly I was signing on. It was whilst on the Dole my interest in photography grew.

I got involved with Birmingham Trades Council’s ‘Centre For The Unemployed’ and was encouraged to photograph things that caught my eye in the street, as well as the many political demonstrations happening around that time in the Midlands”.

Darkroom

“They had a darkroom at the centre which I really took too, and it wasn’t long before I was teaching basic photography and darkroom skills to other unemployed people. I loved it and a lifelong love of photography began. Someone at the centre suggested I should look at getting a qualification in photography and before I knew it I was accepted onto a course at Manchester Poly in September, 1988”.

Lawless

“I’d always loved Manchester music, I didn’t need any persuasion in leaving Birmingham for a new life up north. On day one at the Poly we were advised not to go into Hulme, a neighbouring district to where the Poly was sited. Hulme in the 1980s was a dangerous, lawless place to be avoided we were told, so obviously the next day I decided to explore Hulme and see for myself. I never did like being told what I should or shouldn’t do!”

Photogenic

“Little did I know at the time Hulme would play a massive role and shape my life for many years to come. I took to it straight away, how could you not – it was just so damn photogenic and very different from anywhere I’d seen before. A lot of it was derelict, whilst what was occupied tended to consist of a diverse mix of artists, musicians, ex-students and the unemployed – the kind of people mainstream society seemed to reject”.

Community Spirit

“Hulme had the most amazing creative spirit and sense of community, and for a lot of people a real source of inspiration and energy. I quickly made friends with various musicians and word got out I had a camera and knew how to use it, it was that easy. This was way before mobile phones and Manchester at that time didn’t have many photographers”.

Hulme Crescents

“After only a few months in Manchester I got offered the keys to a squat in Charles Barry Crescent, one of the four big Hulme Crescents. It used to belong to Harry Stafford from Manchester band Inca Babies – it turns out I could have his flat as long as I forwarded the mail that his band used to receive. I was in heaven, my own rent free place which I eventually converted into a darkroom and studio”

Walkways In The Sky

“The flat had no windows at the front, all boarded up, which was perfect as no light would get in. The only problem was keeping the temperature of the chemicals consistent for developing and printing photos. This proved difficult in winter as it was so damn cold, the flat only had one plug in heater. Hulme was ideal to use as a backdrop for my photos, all concrete and strange walkways in the sky, and an amazing lack of colour which really suited what I was after”.

Madchester

“During the late 1980s and early 1990s Manchester became ‘Madchester’ and the city went through a real creative period, you definitely felt it living there. It was funny as I moved to Manchester largely because of the music – I’m a big fan of Joy Division, Buzzcocks, The Fall, Magazine etc, but during those years I found myself at the heart of the Comedy/Spoken Word scene.”

Steve Coogan

I became good friends with Henry Normal (who later went on to form Baby Cow Productions with Steve Coogan) through Henry I met and became friends with Caroline Aherne, John Thomson, Steve Coogan, Lemn Sissay & Dave Gorman. I ended up photographing Steve a lot and helped with projections at his early comedy shows”.

Steve Redhead

“After my two year course at the poly finished, I did a further year hanging about there with Steve Redhead (known as Professor Rave) who ran the Unit for Law and Popular Culture. Steve was working on a project which involved the crossover of football, music and fashion, he wanted me to do the photographs for a book on this topic. It was a really productive time for me, a lot of the photos around this time were shown in various exhibitions and the book called ‘Football With Attitude’ came out in 1991″.

“I always felt lucky living in Hulme, having my own darkroom and studio right in the heart of things. All the clubs and the gigs were all in walking distance of my flat and most of the time I took my camera along to capture it all”.