Rock photographer Bill O’Leary has a book Featuring over 175 full color concert images from the ’70s through ’90s of icons like Van Halen, Rush, Judas Priest, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Pink Floyd, Zappa, and more Available Here
During his career, photographer Bill O’Leary took pictures of some of rock’s biggest names at the peak of their powers – Van Halen, Rush, Judas Priest, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, etc. And now, he has opened his archives for the first time ever – assembling a collection of not only his best images, but also, offering stories and recollections behind concerts he shot over the years. Indeed, this book is comprised of over 175 full color, live concert images photographed primarily from the late 1970’s through the 1990’s.

Artists include…AC/DC, Albert King, The Allman Brothers Band, Anthrax, Blues Traveler, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Dixie Dregs, Foreigner, Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, Hot Tuna, Jeff Beck, Jethro Tull, Joan Jett, Judas Priest, Kiss, Marillion, Mercyful Fate, Michael Schenker Group, Molly Hatchet, Mötley Crüe, Motörhead, Outlaws, Overkill, Ozzy Osbourne, Pat Travers, Phish, Pink Floyd (The Wall), The Police, Queen, Rainbow, Reo Speedwagon, The Romantics, Rossington Collins Band, Rush, Scorpions, Slayer, Styx, Ted Nugent, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Triumph, UFO, Van Halen, White Zombie, XTC, Yes, Yngwie Malmsteen with Alcatrazz, and ZZ Top.

O’Leary says:
“Hard to believe that I have been shooting concerts for 4 decades now, beginning in the mid 70’s when I went to my first concert at the world famous Madison Square Garden in New York City. I felt at home among the walls of speakers and the towering lighting rigs, I also immediately knew that leaving the show with a ticket stub, program and maybe a t-shirt would not be enough, so I had to capture the memory permanently. Within’ weeks I had traded my Sony home stereo system for a black leather jacket and my first Minolta SLR camera. After a brief learning period experimenting with the constantly changing lighting and vast array of colors, film speeds and the quick movements of the artists, I was told by many people that I was a “natural”. I have always felt that “knowing” the music deeply and being passionate about it as well, really was the “secret” to capturing the “moment”. With that confidence, I was soon shooting many concerts, 46 in 1980 alone. By then I was also being published in many major magazines as well. In the early days, I practiced “gorilla type tactics” to get my equipment into the venue’s. Later, I was forced to play the game of securing credentials in order to shoot shows. All too soon, promoter and band management rules and demands on photographers began to take the excitement out of shooting shows. Then the ” first 3 song” rule became common, NO more pictures after the third song. Pro concert photographers know that the “best” part of a shows production comes later in the event. In the end, I’m glad to have been a part of the glory days of concert photography.”

FOREWARD by Freddie Salem of The Outlaws:
“Bill O’Leary has played an extremely important part in the rock n’ roll world, as the consummate live performance photographer for over 40 years. As a professional musician, rock photographers are a part of the music scene – whether it be shooting promotional shoots, live concerts, or simply capturing life on tour. Bill first photographed us back in 1979 – a couple years after I joined the Outlaws, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. We were touring in support of our latest album, In the Eye of the Storm. Madison Square Garden is a big show for any touring band – as well as me personally, as a musician. A landmark venue. The following year, 1980, Bill again photographed me onstage – twice. Once at a Pat Travers Band show at the Palladium in Lower Manhattan in April, then again later that fall in November, as the Outlaws were touring in support of our latest album, Ghost Riders. This time, we were playing a smaller venue in Passaic, New Jersey, called the Capitol Theatre. Hundreds upon hundreds of marquis performers from all over the world have been captured on film by Bill – with the help of his trusty camera. I am surely anticipating the release of Bill O’Leary’s book, featuring his life’s passion and his iconic photography work. Looking at the thousands of live photos Bill has shot over the years one thing is very clear – he knows when to “pull the trigger.”

So, I’m sat on the plane at Schiphol waiting to jet back to Blighty after my weekend in Helldorado, my tits are well and truly on the deck that’s for sure, then for some reason, I look inside my wallet and find one last 20 Euro note. What do I do with it? Why not get a ticket to see Nashville Pussy in Cardiff on the first night of their 5 date UK I thought? Yeah, why fucking not…

I’d last seen Nashville Pussy at Sjock Festival in Belgium back in July 2017, a day when the sun beat relentlessly down on many thousands of righteous heads and the band, whilst very good, were just a little bit too Southern for yours truly. So, what better way to redress the balance than to catch them on a freezing cold evening here in the UK playing to about a 100 or so diehards who have traveled from all over the country to witness Blaine, Ruyter, Bonnie and Ben on their seemingly never-ending road trip to promote studio album number (lucky) 7, the rather splendid ‘Pleased to Eat You’.

The Pussy must think its rather splendid too because tonight we get a total of five cuts from said opus and every one of them easily stands shoulder to shoulder with their already impressive canon of work. Highlights for me are the glamtastic ‘Go Home and Die’ where Blaine plays the role of storyteller to Coop-like proportions whilst on the menacing ‘CCKMP’ the band somehow manage to outclass Steve Earle right in his own backyard. Oh, and let’s not forget the boogie bastard that is ‘She Keeps Me Coming And I Keep Going Back’ a song that can make even the straightest gig goer want to duck walk across the dancefloor, as one or two do right here tonight.

It’s on the boogie train where the Pussy really are at home (and at their best) though as ‘Wrong Side Of A Gun’, ‘Pillbilly Blues’ and ‘I’m So High’ all prove to be some of the best AC/DC songs written in the past 20 years, whilst in ‘First I Look at The Purse’, ‘Piece Of Ass’ and the superb ‘5 Minutes to Live’ the band recently earned the honour of being dubbed the American Motorhead by Classic Rock magazine, something Blaine is very quick, and proud, to point out tonight.

Thinking back to that hot summer afternoon in Belgium this doesn’t really feel like the same band I’m watching here tonight and even the extended version of ‘Go To Hell’ is enthralling stuff plus it has to be said that guitarist Ruyter Suys really is one of the best out there playing this kind of cow-punk-abilly blues stuff she’s an engaging devil on those six strings even when she decides to rip most of them off her trusted SG during the final encore of ‘Wang Dang Sweet Poontang’, a song that perfectly sums up an evening spent in the presence of Nashville Pussy and takes the Ted Nugent influenced artwork of ‘Pleased to Eat You’ to its natural conclusion.

Granted I could have done without two drum solos and starting and ending the set with covers (they opened with AC/DC’s ‘Kicked In The Teeth’) seemed a bit unusual, as did the lack of support band tonight, but otherwise this was the perfect pick me up feelgood night of rock ‘n’ roll music played by one of the last true purveyors of the born to lose, live to win legacy something that had Tim Butcher (Lemmy’s long-term bass roadie) beaming from ear to ear along with the rest of us.

Epic stuff from an epic band and 20 Euros very well spent indeed.

Buy Nashville Pussy Here

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Author: Johnny Hayward