Photo exhibit on the wild late 70’s punk scene in Toronto, NYC and the UK coming to Oshawa

The punk scene in Toronto, New York and the UK of the late 70s will come to life at the Biltmore Theatre in downtown Oshawa Saturday for This Ain’t Hollywood, a photo exhibit from former band and club manager Ralph Alphonso, who documented the punk explosion of 1976-79.

This Ain’t Hollywood is the first punk photography exhibition in Oshawa on the wild and crazy scene created by artists such as Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Diodes, Ramones, Bif Naked, Teenage Head, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Richard Hell, Stranglers, Mo-Dettes, The Curse, Viletones, Barracudas, The Jam, Clash, B-Girls, The Nerves, Chelsea and many more.

In addition to managing the Diodes and the Crash ‘n’ Burn Club (Canada’s first punk club, built by and run by the bands); Alfonso was an important writer/photographer; covering the nascent scenes in New York, Toronto and the UK for publications like Cheap Thrills (Toronto), New York Rocker and BOMP! (USA), Shades (Toronto) and others.

Ralph Alfonso

“It was 50 years ago that Punk magazine serendipitously gave this music a moniker and The Ramones spread the gospel worldwide, as hundreds of bands formed after every one of their concerts,” Alfonso said. “All this to say, I was actually there and I took some photos and wrote about it, ran a club, managed a band, pissed off a major label, and then it was all over and I disappeared into the music industry labyrinth, all my negatives sitting in a box for eons, only to be rediscovered a few years ago.”

“I’m still finding amazing images I didn’t realize I had.”

Many of the photos that will be on display (and available for sale) at the Biltmore Saturday were shown at an exhibit at the former Manantler Brewery in Bowmanville before the pandemic (the brewery was doing a special beer release for the Diodes) and Alfonso said some of the new images discovered since then include colour shots of Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and the Viletones.

“Old school punk is having a moment,” Alfonso noted, citing the 50th anniversary of punk (the Ramones 1976 debut as ground zero) and exhibitions happening in New York and London.

Toronto also had had a series of Punk Talks organized by Liz Worth (Alfonso was featured in one of them) which were all sold out and attended by mostly younger folks, he added. Exclaim is also coming out with a 50 years of punk article written by Worth and illustrated by Alfonso and others and there are some new books coming out as well.

Alfonso is having a bit of a moment himself, and it’s not just punk. His ‘multiverse identities’ are being rediscovered as well, with his early 70s comics zines scheduled to be featured in a new book about Canadian small press comics and zines and his 90s beatnik zine (RALPH Coffee Jazz and Poetry) and CDs has also been re-discovered.

“I’ve also started to perform again and my punk photography is suddenly back on the radar.”

He’s also working on a book on his old interviews and photos and he’s bringing out his graphic designer skills to work on a new re-issue of the first Teenage Head album.

“It’s all a bit overwhelming to be honest but a lot of fun.”

The doors open at the Biltmore Saturday for This Ain’t Hollywood at 2 p.m., with show happening on the mezzanine level until 6 p.m.

Admission is free.

After Oshawa, Alfonso is taking the show on the road to Niagara Falls (June 28), London (July 5), Moncton (Aug. 1) and Ottawa (Aug 15), with plans to hit Japan next year.

Iggy Pop