Photographs by David Gleave that capture the bands, musicians and gigs of Northern England in the 2010s

From his first images made of Vini Reilly at his house in Didsbury (Tony Wilson's first signing to Manchester's iconic label, Factory Records), right up to the present day, the exhibition at Cass Art on Oldham Street will cover the last six years of his work.

Featured previously on Creative Boom, Gleave first picked up a camera in 2016, when he discovered a passion for photography. He was the guitar player with Manchester band The Naughty Boys (who had a cult following from 1978 until 1988) and, as a consequence, a lot of his images are of bands and musicians.

"I was sitting playing the guitar with Vini," Gleave tells Creative Boom. "He was crossed legged and barefoot on the floor as he does playing a Spanish guitar and there was light coming through a French window. I had a new camera, an entry-level Nikon and Vini – who is also a keen photographer – posed for me while I experimented with aperture and shutter speed. The pictures came out great. Vini loved them, and so did I. That was it, I was hooked."

Around the same time, Gleave spotted photographs by Manchester photographer Samuel Coulthurst – a city legend who captured the streets of Ancoats and Salford in the last two decades of the 19th century. "As I looked at the people 100 years later, I saw that he had managed to somehow keep them alive forever with the camera. From that moment I wanted to go out and find my own people to preserve forever in time," he adds.

Kicking off on Friday 7 February at Cass Art on Oldham Street, other bands and musicians to expect include those from all over the UK: Blossoms, Cabbage, The Blinders, Twisted Wheel, and the Dust Junkies. There will also be formal studio portraits, street portraits and travel and street photography from around the world.

Discover more of David Gleave's work at www.davidgleavephoto.com. Or follow him on Instagram.