Nineties spirit

A new book by Dutch photographer Paul Bergen provides a compelling insight into the music of the 1990s. Ailsa McWhinnie finds out more

- Ailsa McWhinnie

As a teenager in the early 1970s, Dutch photographer Paul Bergen developed – like most others who have come before and after him – a passion for the music of the time much of it thanks to the influence of an older brother, who listened to the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Who. The first album Paul bought was by Creedence Clearwater Revival, when he was 12. Then, when he was 15, a friend introduced Paul to the joy of photography and printing. Within a few months, he’d set up his own darkroom at home in Delft, and his burgeoning love of photography dovetailed with that of music.

In the ensuing years, Paul found himself attending concerts not only for the experience of live entertainment but also for the joy of photographing the bands. In those days, it was easier to take an obvious camera to gigs, and he was never without it. As a result, he came away with photos of the likes of Jethro Tull, Tina Turner, Genesis and Supertramp. ‘The photographs I took got better and better,’ he recalls, ‘and I gradually became more critical of my work.’

Ready and waiting