Documentary photographs taken in New Brighton and Liscard on the Wirral in 1980 by the photographer Paul Elsam.

Paul, “These photos predate Martin Parr’s famous series by several years. I took these around 1980, just before I moved to Manchester to study at the Poly. This is a different New Brighton from the one photographed and displayed by Parr. I’m keen to avoid too much ‘compare and contrast,’ but I would say that, as a local (I was born in New Brighton and grew up in children’s homes and foster care there), I was photographing people and places I cared about, including my family. As you’ll see, there is a mix of colour and black and white photos. Two of the images are titled ‘Liscard,’ which is a mile or so inland from the seafront. They show locals ‘doing their everyday thing’ a short distance away from the Mersey.”