"I got thrown out into the freezing cold night, completely soaked in sweat just for being a spectator with a camera. I was smart enough not to take pictures as everybody would have attacked me" – Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden on Britain

Shock-jock street photographer Bruce Gilden has a new book of black-and-white portraits he has taken in Britain over the years. Called The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets, the monograph features over 50 photographs that the Magnum photographer has shot over a period of over 30 years.

As you would expect from Gilden, the portraits show people up close and personal – without any need to show them at their best. From Liverpool’s football terraces to the edgy corners of London's King’s Cross district, the wide-angle close-ups are a great showcase for the legendary Gilden style - characterized by wide-angle lenses used from close distance, and often with flash. 

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gilden's projects have often focused on people living on the edge of normal society - from his early work capturing the visitors to Coney Island's pleasure park, to his project on Yakuza gangsters in Japan. His in-your-face style has earned him a love-hate figure in the world of street photography.

But in this book he admits that his reputation for taking pictures that others wouldn't dare to take, there are time when he just can't release the camera trigger. He recalls an assignment in the coal mining region of Rhondda Valley on the Magnum  commission to celebrate the new millennium: "There was a fight on New Year’s Day at the working men's club," he recounts. "One of the muscle-bound young adults threw a glass against the wall and all hell broke loose. I got thrown out into the freezing cold night with no jacket on, completely soaked in sweat just for being a spectator with a camera. I was smart enough to not take pictures of this because I’m sure everybody would have attacked me". 

Now aged 78, Gilden has been a regular visitor to Britain over his long career, and says he was originally motivated to take photographs of this country "After seeing Tony Ray Jones’ book, A Day Off. I wanted to shoot the beach areas in England because I felt there was outstanding material there. I never got there, but eventually I got to England".

The publisher Setanta describes this resulting publication as "a book that sits between documentary and personal diary: a jagged, unforgettable journey into England’s shadows, where danger and humanity collide in every frame".

Bruce Gilden's The Empire On Which the Sun Never Sets goes on sale from late October. It is available from the publisher Setanta Books for £50. 

Special editions with a choice of one of three 11x7-inch signed prints are also available from £250.