Rarely-seen photos of Amy Winehouse are to go on display in Manchester to mark the late singer’s 40th birthday this month.
The exclusive images of the legendary vocalist – who was considered to be one of the voices of her generation, but sadly passed away back in 2011 at the age of 27 – will form part of an exhibition showcasing work by critically-acclaimed music photographer Richard Kelly that’s currently happening down at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in the city centre.
The exhibition, titled Richard Kelly: A Time and Place, features never-before-seen images of some of music’s most-talked-about talents – including local legend John Cooper Clarke, Arctic Monkeys, and Florence + The Machine.
Up-and-coming Manchester music talent like Anthony Szmierek and Akemi Fox also feature as part of the popular exhibition.
And now, following its unprecedented popularity, with dozens of eyes having been able to clock eyes on the photos over the last couple of weeks, the hotel has announced that the exhibition‘s stay in our city has been extended.
ADVERTISEMENT
It will now close at the end of October.
As well as the extension, two new rarely-seen framed photos of Amy Winehouse taken by Kelly are also being added to the one already on display in the exhibition as a special homage to what would have been the star’s 40th birthday – which is on 14 September.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rare Amy Winehouse photos to go on display in Manchester to mark the late singer’s 40th birthday / Credit: Richard Kelly
“When taking people’s pictures, I always try to distance myself from the celebrity and just see and capture the person,” Richard Kelly said of the two new additions to the exhibition.
“The images of Amy Winehouse I’ve added are from the time she supported the Arctic Monkeys at Old Trafford a few years back. I managed to catch her just before she went on stage, as it seemed to be a brief respite from the whirlwind that seemed around her at the time, [and] she then went on to lead the crowd in a singalong of ‘Valerie’ – it was magical.
“She was one of a kind, and is definitely missed.”
ADVERTISEMENT
As the long-standing official photographer of the Arctic Monkeys, and as a celebrated music photographer in general, Kelly has been highlighting the best in British musical talent for over 25 years now, and has captured some of the most-famous names in the industry.
He also prides himself on scouting local Mancunian talent, which makes this exhibition – and its now extension – all the more important.
The images are part of the Richard Kelly: A Time and Place exhibition at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel / Credit: Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
David Steel, who is the General Manager of Kimpton Clocktower, said the hotel is “proud” to be extending the exhibition to give people the chance to see never-before exhibited shots.
“We know Amy Winehouse made such an impact on so many people’s lives with her extraordinary talent,” he added, “So we’re hoping to help people feel connected with her art and memory, at a time that would have been a celebration for her.”
The two new Amy Winehouse photos as part of the free-to-view Richard Kelly: A Time and Place exhibition will be on the walls at The Refuge from 14 September.
The exhibition has been extended to end in October 2023.
Featured Image – Richard Kelly
Art & Culture
Beloved Greater Manchester tourist attraction left devastated after deliberate act of ‘mindless’ vandalism
Emily Sergeant
A beloved heritage tourist attraction in Greater Manchester has been left devastated after being attacked in a deliberate act of ‘mindless’ vandalism.
East Lancashire Railway (ELR) has revealed that it has, once again, been the victim of what it is referring to as a ‘deliberate and disgraceful’ act of vandalism overnight over May bank holiday weekend, where a locomotive and several coaches from the InterCity 125 heritage set were ‘targeted’.
In what can only be described as a ‘mindless attack’, extensive graffiti was plastered across rolling stock.
“One coach had only just been repainted in February, making this damage particularly galling,” ELR said in a gutting statement.
East Lancashire Railway has been left devastated after deliberate act of ‘mindless’ vandalism / Credit: ELR (Supplied)
Staff and volunteers working on the heritage railway claim this incident was ‘not opportunistic behaviour’ and was, in fact, a ‘calculated act of destruction’ against irreplaceable heritage assets cared for by volunteers.
Once the vandalism was discovered, volunteers immediately stepped in and worked tirelessly for several hours using specialist cleaning materials to remove the graffiti before it could permanently set.
Although further polishing and restoration work is still required, ELR says the volunteers’ swift action prevented what could have been ‘significant and lasting’ damage.
The beloved heritage tourist attraction called it ‘a calculated act of destruction’ / Credit: ELR (Supplied)
“This is a disgraceful and deeply frustrating attack on a railway run largely by volunteers, with many steam and diesel traction owned either by the ELR or groups and in some cases, private individuals who give their time freely to preserve our railway,” commented Mike Kelly, who is the Chairman of the East Lancashire Railway.
“It is nothing short of a kick in the teeth for those who work so hard to maintain and preserve historic traction and rolling stock.
“We are working closely with the police and are determined to see those responsible identified and held accountable.”
Greater Manchester Police attended the scene, gathered evidence, but anyone with any information about those responsible is urged to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.
Featured Image – ELR (Supplied)
Art & Culture
Antony Szmeirek announces second album along with biggest UK tour dates yet
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester spoken word artist Antony Szmeirek has finally revealed the name, cover art and release date for his second album, along with his biggest run of UK tour dates yet.
The Tameside teacher turned full-time artist dropped his maiden record, Service Station at the End of the Universe, back in February 2025, and now, just over a year on from its launch, he’s getting ready to deliver his highly anticipated follow-up.
Entitled Decoding Birdsong, the sophomore studio project is scheduled for this summer, with a series of live shows booked for the following autumn.
Having already dropped lead single ‘The Heron’ earlier this year, Szmeirek has just released the opener from his upcoming LP, which is simply called ‘Chalk’; he’s also unveiled the rest of the tracklist and a rather striking bit of album artwork.
The Hyde-born artist is making big moves not only within the spoken word space but across multiple genres, with his music blending everything from indie, hip-hop, electronica and more.
His latest song, for instance, is more of an acid-house-esque meets contemporary EDM outing, and has quickly gone down as a popular addition among fans.
On the album name itself, he’s never one to shy away from a weird title or two – case in point, ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ from his debut and ‘Dave’s Angling Superstore’ on this new record.
The 34-year-old carries that same idiosyncrasy throughout his lyricism and creative concepts, as well.
‘Chalk’ is a perfect example of this, as the song is inspired by The Edge of Everything documentary: a film about the career of legendary British snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Here’s the music video…
As for his latest raft of live shows, these will be some of the biggest domestic gigs that the local lad has played in his career so far.
In addition to a pair of hometown shows here in Manchester, he is set to play a dozen different cities across Great Britain and Ireland.
Antony Szmierek UK/IE tour dates – October 2026
We’ve highlighted the Northern stops for you, too:
Emily Sergeant -
8th September 2023 
