Mick Ratman

PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOGRAPHER

Mick Ratman began his exploration of London's burgeoning music scene in the early 60's while still at school in Dulwich. Lying about his age and sneaking into such seminal swinging nightclubs as The Scene, Studio 51, The Flamingo, and the Marquee, he was soon a young fixture in the places where the beat boom was really exploding. The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Animals, The Yardbirds, The Spencer Davis group, these were the bands of the time and it was at the Stones legendary Sunday afternoon sessions at Studio51 that Mick first began taking his camera along to capture the look that accompanied the sound.

It was at the Marquee, at the invitation of the then manager Mr Gee that he was first given official sanction for his snapping, gaining access to the numerous groups appearing at London's cutting edge club.

At this time he was invited to shoot as a freelance photographer at the legendary Ready Steady Go, the television music show that defined a decade. Here Mick's lens focused not only on the great British bands, but also the visiting American Motown and soul acts; The Righteous Brothers, Wilson Picket, Otis Redding, the magnificent artists who would inspire a life-long love of soul, blues and jazz. The photos from that era, candid and raw but full of energy have rarely been seen, but capture perfectly the spirit of the age.

Mick and his camera were there for Dylan's mythical photo call at the Savoy, and it was then that Bob took a shine to his jacket and swapped it for one of his own. He was present at the Uxbridge Folk Blues Festival and the Richmond Festival when the cream of British r'n'b bands jammed together. Mick and his camera were around for many of the great moments of the first flowering of London rock, always an enthusiast rather than a hardened professional, eventually his profession shifted to moving pictures.

As a Film Location Manager hunting down great visuals all over the world and as a 1st assistant director working with the likes of Lester Bookbinder, David Bailey, Barry Lategan and Barney Edwards.