Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1961, Twink's photographic career
began when he started taking pictures of motorcross and motorcycle trials
to raise the money to buy himself a motorbike.
From 1977 to 1982, working as a freelance photographer, Twink captured all
the energy, excitement and excesses of Britain's punk and new wave scenes.
His images of The Jam, The Boomtown Rats, Sham 69, The Stranglers - and
many other bands - appeared in countless music magazines and publications.
In 1981, Twink was approached by The Jam's drummer Rick Buckler to work
officially for the band. Twink's photographs appeared on the cover of The
Jam's platinum-selling final studio album The Gift. After photographing The
Jam for press and promotional activity in their final, most successful
year, Twink put his camera down for two decades.
A sufferer of bi-polar disorder, Twink's main occupation now is as an
ambassador for mental health awareness in the press and media, using his
photography to de-stigmatise mental health issues. In 2002, Twink succeeded
the comedian Spike Milligan as Patron of MDF The BiPolar Organisation and
now takes photographs for its quarterly magazine, Pendulum.
Four years after setting up the popular website in 2002, Twink held his first ever exhibition of The Jam photographs at the Mushroom Works gallery in Ouseburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.