Dan Asher is a quietly spoken American who took photos of Marley between 1975 and 1978. After Bob's death, he donated the negatives to illustrate a book by Malika Lee Witney called 'Bob Marley -- Reggae King of the World' (Kingston Publishers, 1982). These negatives were thought to have been destroyed in a fire but were rediscovered only last year in an attic. So these are largely unseen photographs being exhibited for the first time.

He told me that he prefers the black and white prints and "As you can see, he's not always happy in these photographs, but he came alive on stage". The pictures include shots of Bob with Edward Seaga and Michael Manley at the 'One Love Peace Concert' in Kingston, a triptych of a 1977 concert a the Beacon Theatre, New York, at his 'home' at 56 Hope Road in a pensive mood showing his scars from the assassination attempt and Bob taking a big drag called 'Big Toke'. There's a nice simple one of just Bob and his guitar but the one that hits you at the entrance is the 60" x 40", 'Bob at a particularly legendary moment' (see photo with Dan). Dan has now retired from rock photography and now concentrates on subjects such as icebergs, the Aurora Borealis and the homeless.

Jeff Cathrow met up with Marley in 1978 in San Francisco and they became friends. It's from one of his photographs that this exhibition takes its title. Bob telling him "Ya grow some RAS herb, mon! Here tek a picture a' dis, mon!' whereupon he then proceeded to roll a joint. The title he's given the pictures tell their own story such as 'Ya Grow Some RAS 'erb Mon!' and 'Selassie's Ring And Two Sticks of Kali'. But the best ones are 'Gorgon Locks' when he's on stage with his hair in flight and 'Adoration' where Bob is casually sitting with his legs over the side of a chair surrounded by fans backstage after finishing a show with an encore of 'Punky Reggae Party' in July 1978.

The current issue of Mojo has their main feature on Bob and his rise from shantytown to international superstardom with pictures by Kate Simon. She first met him at The Lyceum in London working for Sounds in 1975. Her book is called 'Rebel Music, Bob Marley and Roots Reggae'. She says, "There was no pit like nowadays. Five years later, he was playing Madison Square Garden where nobody could get that close. At the Lyceum show people were on top of him and that made it great for a photographer because you'd see all the beautiful composition opportunities of people with their fist raised crowding round him". The photographs are intimate and so close up. There is one of Simon's dated 1976 in which Marley looks worried like an old man. You can see the pain of 'so much trouble in the world' etched in his face.

You might think you've seen enough iconic photographs of Bob but this exhibition is far better than the well-known images of Marley T-shirts around the corner on Camden Market stalls. Proud Camden is less than 5 minutes walk from Camden Town Tube station. As they say, the man continues, "to transpire categories, classes and creeds and inspire generations, young and old". This exhibition is well worth a visit.

'Tek A Picture A' Dis' - Bob Marley: The Unseen Shots - 60th Birthday Exhibition, Camden Town, London from 4th February - 8th April 2005.

Links
Tek A Picture A' Dis, Proud Camden, 10 Greenland Road, London, NW1 0ND
10am - 7pm Mon-Thurs, 11am - 6pm Fri-Sunday Prices £3 (£2 concessions)
www.proud.co.uk
www.ideageneration.co.uk
Mojo, March 2005 - 'Uprising' by Lloyd Bradley and pictures by Kate Simon