Pre order the book from here

Kevin Cummins will be talking about his book at louder Than Words festival in Manchester on Saturday Nov 15th. Tickets and info here.

Kevin Cummings photos defined Manchester in punk and post punk but he didn’t stop there- working on the NME he was a key photographer in the next few decades as his shots of the Manic Street Preachers prove.

Featuring some of the finest photos of the photogenic band these pictures tell the story of a band with a strong identity and a strong rhetoric and are some of the finest rock n roll shots ever taken.

Published by Faber the book is out soon.

Faber told us the following…

In the early nineties, a group of fiercely political young men from the Welsh valleys exploded onto a British music scene. It was the legendary photographer Kevin Cummins who captured James, Sean, Richey and Nicky in their most uncompromising, glam-fixated early years.

Assassinated Beauty is a unique record of a band on a mission to reclaim rock ‘n roll through literature, image and thrilling guitar pop. Working at the NME and already famous for his association with the classic images of Joy Division, The Smiths and Stone Roses, Cummins was the ideal photographer to capture the essence of a band who understood and manipulated androgynous and decadent imagery.

These photographs document the period just before the release of Generation Terrorists (1992) up to Holy Bible (1995) and the subsequent disappearance of guitarist and lyricist, Richie Edwards. A revealing mix of studio shots and never-seen-before behind the scenes photographs and the ultimate portrait of one of the last great British rock n roll bands.

– See more at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/assassinated-beauty/9780571312139#sthash.5fiE1bTR.dpuf