Exhibition offers a backstage pass on the promotion of live rock and metal performances

The work that goes into making heavy rock and metal music gigs happen is often hidden and taken-for-granted. Whether this is producing gig posters and flyers, working to help establish venues and clubs, liaising with artists, or dealing with (sometimes outlandish!) rider requests, the work of metal music promoters has been largely unheralded.

Now a new exhibition - Promoting Metal on Merseyside – offers a behind the scenes look at the fascinating world of concert promotion both past and present.

The exhibition was born out of the Metal on Merseyside project, which was co-founded by LJMU’s Dr Nedim Hassan, a senior lecturer in Media, Culture, Communication. Nedim worked with several stakeholders and LJMU postgraduate research student, Robbie Griffin, to curate the first exhibition from the project which aims to shed light on the work of those who are frequently the lifeblood of metal music behind the scenes.

Focusing on the work of promoters operating within Merseyside, the exhibition showcases event production-related artefacts that span the early 1990s to now.

Highlights include:

• The opportunity to discover Liverpool’s long-lost venues and past gigs from grassroots artists to international artists like Korn and Pantera.
• A chance to see artefacts that chronicle the rise of the Krazyhouse, one of the most important rock clubs in northern England for more than a decade.
• Materials that illuminate the work that goes on behind the scenes to make rock and metal events happen – a combination of physical artefacts and filmed interviews will give guests an intimate account of the people at the heart of creating local scenes.

From the genre’s inception, live performance has been integral to heavy metal music. Concerts have been a crucial means of creating strong bonds between fans and artists. The exhibition captures broad historical shifts in how gig and club events are produced – from paper tickets (sometimes with rare artist signatures scrawled on them) and flyers, to stamps kits and digital flyers. The diverse range of ephemera on display chronicles promoters’ creativity and ingenuity, while illuminating the vast amount of gig venues that have come and gone within the Merseyside area.

Speaking after the exhibition launch in July, Nedim said: “This exhibition represents a major step towards one of the key aims of the overall Metal on Merseyside project. Curating and documenting the Merseyside metal scene is a way to recognise its importance to the region both past and present.”

While the Spoken Metal Show’s Mark Cooper said at the event: “All of these posters, flyers, tickets and merchandise represent the unsung people that made metal happen in our scene and are an integral part of its history.”  

Promoting Metal on Merseyside is being hosted by Dark Earth Records in Wallasey, Merseyside, until 30 November 2024. Dark Earth is the only specialist heavy metal record shop in the north of England and is unique in the UK in its ability to feature exhibitions in its gallery that embrace all aspects of heavy metal culture.

Please see @DarkEarthRecords (Instagram and Facebook) for opening times.

Exhibition photos courtesy of James Brady.