The 1980s were a troublesome decade for many industrial towns and cities across the UK. Liverpool, with its rich industrial heritage, was hit particularly hard. The iconic docks, once the lifeblood of Liverpool’s economy, faced a sharp decline during the 1980s. Factory closures and job losses were acutely felt, contributing to a sense of frustration and disillusionment among the city’s working-class population. The unemployment crisis hit some communities harder than others, creating pockets of social inequality.
Class War
The old tenements and tower blocks were being demolished, and the lack of job opportunities had a significant social impact. As with other major cities throughout the UK, there were police clashes and inner-city riots, and the city became embroiled in a class war with the Thatcher government, who many felt let their city rot when it most needed help.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
“Rob Bremner’s photos captured the mood of Liverpool during the turbulent Thatcher years, they also highlight the everyday life and positive spirit of the people; colourful and casual fashions and local characters who were proud of their city.”
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Rob Bremner
Rob was born in Wick, a small, tight-knit fishing village in the north of Scotland. He left school at sixteen without any qualifications and started his first job working in a garage. Although he didn’t particularly enjoy it, he soon met a press photographer from Inverness who offered him a job on a youth training scheme (YTS).
Wallasey School of Art
Rob didn’t know much about photography back then; he just didn’t want to work in the garage anymore. The scheme only lasted six months, but he enjoyed it, so he decided to pursue his newfound passion. In 1983, he enrolled in a photography course at Wallasey School of Art. Leaving his hometown of Wick, he swapped rural North East Scotland for the industrial landscape of the North West of England.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
New Brighton
While studying in Wallasey, Rob became acquainted with photographers Tom Wood (who was teaching at the college) and Martin Parr, who lived nearby. He would help out in Tom’s darkroom and spend his weekends following Tom and occasionally Martin around the faded resort of New Brighton, as they famously documented the area.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Thatcher's Britain
Rob was later accepted on to David Hurn’s respected School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales. It was around this time he started to photograph the Everton and Vauxhall areas of Liverpool, then the third most deprived area of Britain.
Rob: “It was tough times, but I found everyone to be warm and friendly, and on rainy days they would ask me in for tea. I left my college Bronica in a pub one night after some dockers invited me for a drink, I returned the next day and they had left it behind the bar for me. I wish I could say I was a socially aware photographer, campaigning against Thatcher’s Britain, but I just felt comfortable taking photos there and liked the people.
“I know how to take portraits in the sense that I’ll look for a background and people, but basically I just asked people if I can take their photo. Obviously, you’re hanging around the same area, so you get to know people.” – Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Liverpool's Pier Head
On completion of his course in Newport, Rob came back to live in Merseyside, establishing himself as a freelance photographer in Liverpool. A local gallery considered commissioning his Everton/Vauxhall work but this fell through. Struggling for work, Rob ended up living in a bedsit and on the dole. Unable to afford to work in color, he purchased cans of out-of-date 35mm black and white cine stock. It was during this time that he took his black and white images of Liverpool’s Pier Head.
Friendly
Rob: “Liverpool’s Pier Head, at that time, was really just a dilapidated bus station where people went to catch the ferries across the Mersey. It was the last stop for most buses, and older people with their free bus passes would alight there. There was a café where the staff were friendly, and you could sit there all day sipping the same cup of tea without being asked to leave. It was cheaper than heating a home. Danny, who used to run the burger stand, would give me free burgers.”
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Rob eventually managed to secure a grant from the Prince’s Business Trust and joined the Enterprise Allowance Scheme – another government program to help people become self-employed and get off unemployment benefits. That’s when he began to get freelance work, primarily for trade unions and social housing publications. He continued to work freelance up until around ten years ago, when both of his parents developed dementia. After his mother passed away, he returned home to Wick to care for his father.
Gallery
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
Photo © Rob Bremner.
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- Article first published
- September 7, 2018
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