Kevin Cummins (born 1953) is a British photographer known for his work with rock bands and musicians. His work is held in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Career

Cummins studied photography at Salford College. He started photographing rock bands in the mid-1970s in Manchester. Cummins had a 25-year association with the NME, including 10 years as their chief photographer. He has photographed numerous bands and musicians. His images have been seen as a contributing factor in the rise of the Madchester and Cool Britannia scenes. Cummins was instrumental in establishing City Life, Manchester's what's on guide and was a founding contributor to The Face, the style magazine where he won an award for Magazine Cover of the Year. Cummins's photographs have been used extensively in cinema and TV documentaries, including Grant Gee's Joy Division and John Dower's Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop. He worked extensively for the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester when it opened in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. He shoots regularly for the National Theatre in London, most recently for Harper Regan and Mrs. Affleck. A lifelong Manchester City F.C. supporter, Cummins documented City's final season at Maine Road in the book We're Not Really Here. In 2005, British pop artist Peter Blake produced a screen print based on one of Cummins' Joy Division prints.

Publications

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

Awards and honours

In November 2009, Cummins was awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Music Photography award by the music industry website: Record of the Day. In 2015 Cummins was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Arts) by Manchester Metropolitan University.

Collections

Cummins' work is held in the following permanent collections: