“His personality made him special, as well as his ability to put people at ease”: K!’s Paul Harries on curating an Ashley Maile exhibition at Bloodstock

As well as featuring headline slots from Opeth, Architects and Amon Amarth, this weekend’s Bloodstock Open Air will play host to the work of late Kerrang! photographer Ashley Maile.

The exhibition has been curated by fellow K! luminary Paul Harries, whose work will also be on display, and is due to feature Ashley’s iconic shots of Bloodstock alumni, including Ghost, Satyricon and Devin Townsend, as well as rock and metal giants Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica and Slash. Upon learning of Ashley’s death in 2013, the Guns N’ Roses guitarist tweeted, "Rock n’ Roll has lost a great photographer, person, friend, Ashley Maile. RIP man, we’re going to miss u very much."

An exhibition of Ashley’s work, Ashley Maile: Photographer, was organised by his partner Caroline Fish, K!’s former Art Editor, in 2014. “When Ashley was on his deathbed, about an hour before he died, the last thing he asked me to do was to have an exhibition of his work for him, which I did the following year,” explains Caroline. “But I know he would be so thrilled to have his work shown again, especially at a place where people love his photography. Ashley was a music fan as well as a photographer, so it meant a lot to him to represent the bands he loved, which showed in his pictures. Bloodstock being full-on metal meant it was somewhere he felt really at home.”

We caught up with Paul, who relaunched his friend’s online print store last year, to discuss his relationship with Ashley, what made him and his pictures special, and why it’s vital that his work continues to be discovered by new generations of music fans and aspiring snappers alike.

When did you and Ashley first cross paths?
“The first time I met Ashley was in 2006, when he came over from Canada, where he was from, to shoot at Download that year. I’d seen his name a few times in the magazine before then; he was in Vancouver, so it was fairly easy for him to travel into the U.S., so he’d been doing stuff for K! stateside. The night before 2006, we all met up in the hotel nearby and we met in the bar. At that point, we’d both made the switch from film to digital, so we were talking a lot about the advantages and the challenges of that. Working with digital is obviously far more computer-based, so there were a lot of opportunities to sit down with our laptops and look through one another’s pictures, which we always enjoyed doing.”

What made Ashley and his work special?
“He was also a great laugh because he was a very funny man. Being a photographer isn’t necessarily a lonely job, but you’re on your own a lot, so it’s nice to work alongside other photographers that have the same attitude and sense of humour as you. His personality made him special, as well as his ability to put people at ease. Setting aside the camera and lighting bits, you have to be good with people. Sometimes you have to be able to get people to relax when you’re shooting them, and others to encourage them to perform somewhat, which he was brilliant at. As well as photography, we were both passionate about the bands we were shooting. There were some differences, though – he enjoyed shooting Nickelback because he was quite chummy with them – and I didn’t! (laughs)”

When there are articles about Ashley, they’re usually accompanied by a picture of him that was taken by you, where he looks in his element – camera in hand, shooting at a festival. What’s the story behind that picture?
“That was in the pit at Download 2006, when we first met. They split photographers up to go and cover different bands during the course of a weekend, so there were only two bands we shot together that weekend – Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold. Given that it’s light in the background of the shot, though, I’m pretty sure it was Avenged. I actually took that picture because Caroline was sweet on him. He was a real rockstar-looking guy.”

How did this exhibition at Bloodstock come about?
“I’d be helping put Ashley’s website together and organising any print sales of his work. At the beginning of the year I had the idea about exhibiting Ashley’s work at Bloodstock. I know Vicky [Hungerford, Bloodstock Director], as I’ve exhibited there before, and she loved the idea. There are 19 pictures of Ashley’s that I’ve selected for the exhibition, but the number that end up being used will depend on the space, as there will be other photographs and artworks on display. Among the photos are ones of Angus Young, Dimebag Darrell, Slash, Chris Cornell, Dave Grohl, Biffy Clyro, Devin Townsend, Keith Flint, Slayer, Zakk Wylde, Lamb Of God, and Ghost, which includes a very early shoot, and others from Ashley’s final shoot.”

Which of the pictures are you particularly fond of?
“The picture of Simon [Neil] from Biffy with the angel wings is one I really love. Every now and then you see a picture by another photographer and you think, ‘I wish I’d taken that!’ Caroline also art directed a lot of these shoots, including the Biffy one, and it was Caroline who came up with the concept for it, so it’s great to see examples of how they worked together so brilliantly. I also love the picture of Randy [Blythe] from Lamb Of God, caught jumping in mid-air, as it has so much energy and intensity to it.”

Why, for you, is an exhibition like this so important?
“Ashley took iconic pictures of so many incredible bands, and captured them with the enthusiasm of someone who loved the music just as much as the people looking at these pictures years later. He captured legendary artists, bands at the peak of their powers, and bands as they were just about to break through. It’s important that Ashley’s work and his name lives on, so his pictures can continue to fire imaginations. Music fans get to see incredible examples of their heroes, while anyone looking to become a music photographer can get some inspiration from a man who absolutely loved what he did.”

And you’ll also be exhibiting some of your work, too…
“There will be a picture of Sam Carter from Architects, who are headlining Bloodstock this year, as well as Evanescence’s Amy Lee, Chester Bennington, Ghost, Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke – and a live Nirvana shot, to show how old I am! I’ll be at Bloodstock on the Saturday [August 10] to chat about Ashley’s images and my own.”

How do you think Ashley would have felt about his work being exhibited like this?
“When Ashley was very ill, it was one of his final wishes that he have an exhibition of his work, which Caroline did [Ashley Maile: Photographer in 2014], so he’d be chuffed to have another exhibition of his work, especially at a festival. There will be postcards available at the exhibition, which have a QR code for anyone wanting to buy any of the pictures. As well as the pictures you can see at Bloodstock, Ashley’s website has loads of other great stuff, including pictures of My Chemical Romance, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold. There are a couple of years' worth of hard drives that I’m due to go through, so there will be even more pictures to go up on Ashley’s site soon.”

Check out Ashley and Paul's galleries at Bloodstock at Catton Park in Derbyshire from August 8 – 11.

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