Trouble in the Camera Club
A Photographic Narrative of Toronto’s Punk History 1976 - 1980
by Don Pyle
introduction by Steven Leckie
Brimming with nostalgia for one of the few major music movements of the last 30 years, this visual journey through punk history lays witness to the high-water mark of a golden era in music. In 1977, before he entered on to the punk scene himself, Don Pyle bought a 35 mm camera and began photographing some of the earliest gigs of Toronto punk acts and other visiting punk artists. His trial-and-error education in photography resulted in this collection of images that document the early history of punk rock in Toronto and its influence on the local music scene, from the point of view of an awestruck fan. Influential punk musicians such as the Ramones, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, and The Clash, as well as Toronto bands such as The Viletones, Teenage Head, and The Curse, are captured at their creative prime, on the forefront of a musical revolution. The original scratched, water-marked negatives have been completely restored and together with authentic ephemera reveal a significant yet underrepresented period in Toronto’s musical cultural development.
close this panelDon Pyle is a musician and a producer who has released 12 albums, created music for films and television, and produced recordings for other artists. For 11 years, he was a member of the Juno Award-winning band Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Steven Leckie was the lead vocalist and a founding member of the Canadian punk rock group The Viletones. He now fronts the band Steven Leckie and the Solutions. They both live in Toronto, Ontario.
close this panel"The sense of time flying in Don Pyle’s Trouble in the Camera Club is dizzying. It's more like time sky diving without a parachute. The crash may be only seconds away, but the sensation in the moment is amazing." —Toronto Star (May 14, 2011)
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