Kevin Cummins is the man behind many iconic rock photographs. For twenty years he worked as a photographer for the NME and you could find his pictures on album covers and bedroom walls; today his work is exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. September will see the release of Manchester, Looking for the Light through the Pouring Rain, his ode to his hometown of Manchester and its musicians, who dominated British pop culture for a long period of time: Joy Division, The Fall, Buzzcocks, New Order, The Smiths, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Oasis... The book features writings of Paul Morley among others and interviews with Johnny Marr, Peter Hook and Mark E. Smith, but at the focal point are without a doubt the beautiful pictures by Cummins, still vibrant with the anarchic energy the portrayed artists had back in the days.

• For Loops #1 Cummins photographed murals of musical icons in the outskirts of Kingston (Jamaica).

• www.kevincummins.co.uk
• ‘Manchester was a very industrial city, at the end of the seventies and there was the decline of the coalmines and the beginning of the Thatcher era. So it was a bit of a grim place. I don't think Manchester was very special at all. It was like Leeds, Newcastle, Hull, they were all the bloody same. If I knew what made Manchester become a musical centre I'd be a fuckin' millionaire. I've no idea. My only thought is that we all united to kick Liverpool's arse'- Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order)
• Interesting article Cummins wrote about his time spent with Joy Division, in reference to Control, the movie by his colleague Anton Corbijn.