He photographed some of the most popular bands of the era
He photographed some of the most popular bands of the era
Danny Gutmann
04:00, 24 Feb 2026
After moving to Liverpool from southern Italy in his early 20s, Francesco Mellina’s life was transformed after picking up his camera and deciding to go to the iconic Liverpool club Eric’s back in the late 1970s.
However, the 73-year-old’s love of photography had started long before that. He told the ECHO: “From a very young age, I was always fascinated by films and cinematography. During various meetings with people during my travels when I was a young boy, I met various photographers and I got involved and became interested in it.”
After gaining an appreciation for photography during his teenage years, it continued to grow as he travelled around the world after leaving home at 16. But, one thing drew him to Liverpool. He said: “I loved Liverpool before I even got here, mostly because of The Beatles. Once I discovered The Beatles, I knew that I would be living in Liverpool at some point, and so I did. It’s all The Beatles’ fault.”
Arriving in Liverpool aged 22, he began studying at art college and quickly became drawn to the emerging creative scene in the city. He said: “When I was at college, I realised that I’ve always wanted to be part of the creative aspect of life, the arts and culture. It was always my intention to try and make a mark on the cultural landscape of Liverpool. I decided that my photography would be concentrating on taking photographs of bands.”
After nurturing his love of photography during his studies, he explained that it was a stroke of luck that first saw his career in the industry come about. He said: “By sheer coincidence, the famous Eric’s Club on Mathew Street opened. I found out about it a year after it had opened and I started going down there and taking photographs of bands in there. I kind of became the unofficial-official photographer for Eric’s.”
Looking back to his first time in Eric’s, he explained: “It was a bit of a disaster because I’d never been down there so I didn’t know what the lighting conditions would be. I think the very first, if I’m not mistaken, would have been The Human League. I think there was just about one image which was usable but I learned my lesson. From that moment on, I always took a flash with me so that I could make sure that I got an image whenever I photographed bands because it was so dark in there.”
Having built up a significant portfolio of work documenting the city’s flourishing music scene during that time, he then decided to try and take the next step in his career by making regular trips down to the capital. He said: “I started taking photographs regularly and I would develop and print everything myself. Once I realised that I had a decent portfolio, I started going to London trying to get the features editors to take a look at my portfolio and see whether they could give me some work.”
Despite initial rejection, it was as a result of Liverpool’s music scene gaining national recognition and notoriety that he got the break that he had been craving. He said: “It took about 18 months of constant traveling to London and being rejected by everybody. By luck, in the intervening time, the Liverpool bands all broke through. I was in a lucky position because I used to leave my prints with the features editors. The likes of Echo and the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Dead or Alive, OMD, because they were local, I photographed them all. They became popular, then the features editors like the NME realised that they had my prints in their files. They thought, ‘Well, we’ve got these bands already, let’s use Francesco’s photos’. That was really my main big breakthrough. Once the NME published me, then it was easy for me to go to Melody Maker and everybody else because in those days the NME was like the bible of the music papers. If you were accepted by the NME, the chances were that everybody else would follow suit.”
Trying to put a finger on what makes his photography so unique, he said that it is something that has been there since his very first days in the industry. He said: “I think the majority of people, myself included, would say that it is my close proximity to the bands. There is a sense of—as most people say to me—’Francesco, looking at your pictures, we feel like we are in there, we can feel it, the atmosphere.’ I think the most important thing that people say about my photography is the close proximity to the subject. Particularly for the younger generation, it’s very difficult to understand how it would be possible for me to be that close.”
He added: “I think every single photographer has their own way of approaching things. Some do it from a more technical view. I always did it from more of an instinctive view. I just wanted to capture the moment and I always waited and waited and waited. Also, I had to be very mindful that we only had 35 frames in that roll of film. You had to be careful how you took the photo and I always tried to wait for the moment where you capture the money shot. You develop because you get experience, so you know at certain times the light is not right so you wait for the band to warm up before you start getting the action shots. You just develop naturally, but of course it’s a process of doing it again and again. Then, eventually it just becomes second nature to you.”
Looking back over his career photographing some of Liverpool’s most beloved bands including Echo and The Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes as well as the likes of Kraftwerk and The Talking Heads, it gives him “great pleasure” working in Liverpool. He said: “It’s a wonderful feeling because essentially from the very beginning all my motivation was to make a mark on the cultural landscape of Liverpool. I wanted to make money, of course, because I had to, but that was never really the reason. The reason was I wanted to be creative, I wanted to be some kind of artist, and photography was my way of getting my foot in the door.”
He added: “It gives me great pleasure because I know that it gives a lot of other people pleasure when they buy my books and they see the photos and it takes them back to that moment. The amount of people that come up to me and say, ‘Oh Francesco, thank you, I’m in the crowd in that photo of the Bunnymen, I’m in the crowd in the photo of The Cramps’. It’s a great feeling when people tell you that.”
An exhibition of Francesco’s work is on display at Cafe Tabac on Bold Street in Liverpool until June 30.
Ensure our latest news and what’s on headlines always appear at the top of your Google search by making us a preferred source. Click here to activate or add us as a preferred source in your Google search settings.
