Dean Chalkley

©Dean Chalkley x Florian Bel / Sunday Best Recordings

Dean got together with Florian Bel to make a new promo for Kitty Liv.

Followers of Deans work will know that in the past he has worked with Kitty many times; from photographic sessions with Kitty and her siblings Daisy & Lewis, inviting Kitty Daisy & Lewis to play at the Royal Albert Hall as part of an exhibition Dean staged, to in more recent times as being part of the New Perspectives / Phono48 visual-sonic art project Dean created.

Sweet Dreams is the first release Kitty has made since signing to Sunday Best Recordings the track is a sultry sounding groove. Kitty is focusing on her own solo artistry as well as collaborating with several other musicians within her orbit, she has many great songs lined up for release so an album is on the horizon but currently Sweet Dreams is a great opener to this new chapter in Kitty's music, live dates both nationally and internationally are emerging, you can keep up to date here.  

Dean has also photographed Kiity Liv recently, images will be filtering out into the press and social media.

On Wednesday 8th November Doc'nRoll festival in partnership with the UAL Subcultures Interest Group will present a screening of Dean's new short film GOOD FOR THE SOUL. Taking place in the London College of Communication the entire evenings schedule is given over to short films that revolve around subcultural topics. It is a sell out show, a total of five films will be presented Dean's film being the final, after the screening Dean and other people involved in the film will take part in a Q&A session hosted by Anne-Marie McGregor.

Here is a little more information about the film...GOOD FOR THE SOUL sets a blistering pace, a celebration of the joy of dancing to Northern Soul. This modern, vibrant and dynamic short film taps into the emotional and cathartic nature of the music. A high powered firecracker of a film that will turn your heartbeat up! The film was created for and exclusively screened within the ’50 Years On The Soul Stays Strong’ exhibition, this exclusive screening at the Doc’n Roll festival will be the first screening outside of that exhibition space. 

Recently Dean has been a guest on two radio shows, click on the images above to visit the Noble & Heath Radio Show on Soho Radio and Rupert Orton's: Pink Lemonade on Totally Wired Radio. Both of the programmes were recorded around the time when '50 Years On The Soul Stays Strong' was on in Wigan. 

©Dean Chalkley/Young Vic

The YOUNG VIC Theatre presents THE HOMECOMING a modern classic written by Harold Pinter. 

Set In a small house in East London during the 1960s the play focuses on a family of men Max, Sam, Lenny, Joey who are butchers and boxers. The plot unfolds when academic son Teddy returns home from America, with a wife his family have never met, a strange power struggle ensues. This is an edgy play, though written in 1964 by Pinter this piece is as bold today as ever.

The 2023 adaptation is directed by Matthew Dunster and stars an excellent cast of actors including Jared Harris, Joe Cole and Lisa Diveney.

THE HOMECOMING opens on the 27th November 2023 - 27th January 2024.

Dean made the photographs that appear on the plays instantly classic poster working closely with an art director he has collaborated with several times in the past, Emilie Chen.

©Dean Chalkley/ Big AC Records

‘Feelin’ Kinda Lucky’ is the first single from Nick Corbin & The Hang Ups, recorded direct to tape at Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ Durham Sound Studio in Kentish Town.

Dean went along to the recording session and photographed Nick, the band and Lewis Durham as they worked on the songs. The collaboration Nick has with his touring band known as the Hang Ups brings a raw edge to proceedings; a recording that captures all the energy of live performance but in the studio. The result is an uplifting and positive track, Nick says “‘Feelin’ Kinda Lucky’ is about waking up and feeling as though all is right in the world. You don’t know why or how but you carry that energy and satisfaction through the day. We tried to capture that with the musical arrangement too - there are these breaks throughout that build anticipation about the next section, culminating in a raucous outro, where we intentionally sped up, taking advantage of the freedom the analogue recording process gave us” “I had recorded at Durham Sound with Phono 48 a couple of years before and knew we could get a sound reminiscent of the Muscle Shoals studio, particularly with the rhythm section. Combining that with a few other Soul, Jazz and even Americana influences from the other guys in the band has given us a really refreshing mix of old and new – we hope people will find it an uplifting song to listen to!” ‘Feelin’ Kinda Lucky’ is the first of two new recordings which will sit either side of a limited edition 45, now available to pre-order from www.bigacrecords.com. 

Noble & Heath made their Soho Radio show a Northern Soul special to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Wigan Casino and it's legendary All-Nighters.

Emma Noble & Sophie Heath are joined on their show by guests Will Foot from the Deptford Northern Soul Club and in the second hour Dean arrives to talk about the Wigan '50 Years On The Soul Stays Strong' exhibition and other elements from the events programme that mark the anniversary of this highly influential club.

Click HERE for the show.

Dean has several works in the 50 YEARS ON THE SOUL STAYS STRONG exhibition including the original YOUNG SOULS Film and photographic project, SOUL-A-TROPE installation, a new film GOOD FOR THE SOUL and YOUNG SOULS 2023 (a series of photographs featuring people from the younger generation in the Northern Soul scene right now). 

Dean says 'I feel very honoured to have been asked to contribute to the exhibition. I've loved Northern Soul for decades now, so to be able to present this work here is so incredibly special to me.' 

The 50th Anniversary of the Wigan Casino programme of events has been organised by Wigan Council, Turnpike and Open Eye Galleries. They highlight the importance and influence of the Wigan Casino and the continued love of Northern Soul. Throughout the programme there is great variety including exhibitions, talks and a theatre production. For details click on these two links HERE and HERE.

William Titleys 'Time Machine' installation is also present in the show, it is pictured in the top left image in this panel of four. 

©Dean Chalkley

To mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the legendary Wigan Casino, a programme of events are planned in the town to explore what this iconic Northern Soul club meant to people then and its continued impact on the culture of today.

The Museum of Wigan Life are displaying artefacts including clothes, personal photographs, records, patches. There are a number of talks planned with Russ Winstanley founder of the Wigan Casino All-Nighters back in 1973, a unique panel event with Richard Searling, Tim Ashabende, Gary Rushbrook, Tim Brown, Ian Wills and Dr Paul Sadot talking about their experiences of Wigan Casino and the Northern Soul movement, Stuart Cosgrove is also present a talk called ‘Soul Music and Social Change’.

There will be two exhibitions in this busy programme presented in different locations around Wigan. 

‘Last Night At The Casino’ will be an outdoor public space exhibition featuring evocative images by photographer Francesco Mellina. ‘50 Years On The Soul Stays Strong’ is an exhibition in a location close to the original site of the Casino and focuses on the different perspectives and impact Northern Soul continues to have. Dean is contributing to this exhibition with large scale printed images and projected film from his archive, he will be unveiling new fresh work for the show too. Artist William Titley and the Wigan & Leigh College will also be featuring in this forward looking part of the programme.

There is a theatrical aspect in the programme, a one-off performance of 'Northern Soul' a new play written by Jim Cartwright and Directed by Nick Bagnall, which pays tribute to the legendary music and dance venue.

For details of all the events click HERE 

Skills Hub is an initiative created by Abbey Road Studios aimed at aspiring music photographers, providing a platform for new talent to learn from industry professionals and develop their creative and technical skills. Through a series of features photographers will have access to guidance, knowledge and tips from the best in the business.

Dean was approached by Abbey Road to write a feature for the Skills Hub it can be viewed here. 

On the 5th of July Dean was a guest speaker on one of the series of panel talks that took place throughout the day at Abbey Road, an exceptional day with all of the panels focused around different topics connected to the world of music photography. You can see them all here , Dean appears on the first panel which starts at 13mins 6sec into the timeline.

©Dean Chalkley 

Earlier this year Tony Christie was diagnosed with early onset Dementia. Tony has given an exclusive interview to the online publication 'Dementia Help', in the article the famous singer talks over how he will continue to carry on with his music and how he is remaining positive in the face of the diagnosis. He reflects on his life and explains his involvement in the campaign Music for Dementia.

Dementia Help is a free publication drawing awareness to the condition, offering support and insightful information on aspects of caring for loved ones.

Tony recently got together with some of his musical friends including Nile Rodgers, Sting Graham Goldman and Graeme Pleeth to record a version of the classic track ' Thank You For Being A Friend' it was in tribute and in aid of the Music For Dementia charity.

Music has been scientifically proven to have positive effects on mood and anxiety as well as some success in bringing back memories and feelings.

Click here to get the magazine.