Glastonbury ready? Beezer’s new photography book captures the wild soul of 1980s music culture

As Glastonbury Festival returns this weekend, a new photobook offers a timely and electrifying glimpse into the festival’s anarchic past, and the wider cultural movements that surrounded it.

Beezer, the legendary Bristol-based countercultural photographer whose lens helped define the UK’s underground music scene, is releasing the first volume in a major three-part series titled Until Now, published by PC Press.

Launching on 31 July, Until Now: Volume I: A Life in Photos 1982–1986 presents an archive of photographs from a defining era in British music and youth culture. From candid moments with Keith Allen and a baby Lily Allen at Glastonbury, to evocative portraits of Bob Geldof, Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, and Billy Bragg, Beezer’s images document the spirit of rebellion, creativity, and community that ran through the early 1980s.

While Glastonbury today is a global spectacle, Beezer’s photographs take us back to a rawer, more chaotic time when the festival was a haven for punks, protesters, artists, and idealists. His shots of muddy crowds, DIY stages, and outlandish subcultural fashion capture the essence of what made Glastonbury a countercultural cornerstone long before corporate sponsorships arrived.

These Glastonbury images are also part of a wider story. The book also features scenes from Notting Hill Carnival, WOMAD, and underground parties across Bristol, London, and New York, painting a rich portrait of interconnected movements in music, politics, fashion, and street culture.

Best known for his work with NME, VICE, The Guardian, and the BBC, Beezer has spent four decades documenting some of the most iconic and radical figures in global culture, including Vivienne Westwood, Tricky, Massive Attack, Futura, and more. His photographs have appeared in exhibitions worldwide, from Saatchi Gallery to HMV Tokyo, and have been instrumental in shaping how we see the intersection of sound, style, and street politics.

With Until Now, Beezer opens up his vast personal archive for the first time. The three-volume series will eventually span his entire career from the Bristol scene of the early ’80s to the graffiti subcultures of New York to his ongoing life and work in Tokyo.

As Glastonbury once again fills our feeds and headlines, Until Now serves as both a historical document and a celebration of music photography’s power to preserve moments of cultural revolution.

Until Now: Volume I: A Life in Photos 1982–1986 is published by PC Press and will be available from July 31, 2025.

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