Yes, it’s high-time I got this good ship up and running again so here’s to the inevitable eye candy of 2011 – and if you’d like to commission me, please do drop me a line. I can be found at matt.farrington@gmail.com day or night, and check out some of my latest work on the brand new site www.mattfarrington-smith.co.uk. Go on, just a little click, steady as she goes. Matt x

On a balmy September evening MSN took over London’s trendy Movida nightclub. Why you might ask? Because we felt like it… because we can, or because this night was to play host to four exclusive performances far from the prying eyes of the general public and tabloid’s flash-bulbs.

The bill was lined with the cream of up-and-coming talent; indie noiseniks ‘The Maccabees’, the retro-stomp of ‘VV Brown’, freestyling electro from ‘Frankmusik’ and a super-sexy, sassy performance by the ‘Sugababes’.  Little did we realise this night would be memorable for another reason, the Sugababes promptly split up a few days later, so Xclusives marked the last performance in their (then) current lineup.

David Ford @ Bloomsbury Theatre

It was with some trepidation that I entered the lofty expanse of the Bloomsbury Theatre on this cold autumnal Saturday night. Over the years, Ford’s music has provided me with a suitcase full of memories and his lonely laments offer a somewhat rose-tinted, kaleidoscopic soundtrack to my life. ‘To Hell With The World’, a song which unahamedly made me weep like a baby at the heavenly Union Chapel gig, only a year shy, failed to upset my steady camera hand. ‘Song For The Road’, a song too which drags me right back to my formulative London years, only served to remind me that Mr Ford’s songwriting trancends love – these are anthems for life.

Performing to an almost sell-out crowd (no mean feat considering the gig had zero promotion), performing songs from his beloved back-catalogue and using the space as a soundboard for songs from the as-yet untitled third album. The one-two suckerpunch of ‘Requiem’ and ‘Call To Arms’ was masteful, ‘Surfing Guantanamo Bay’ is a snarling, rockier Ford, like kicking your woman in the teeth after one too many sambucas. Raw and edgy.

Now, I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen ‘State Of The Union’, but tonight’s rendition could have been the first time. It was an amazing and effortless performance…

The closing moments will forever be etched in my memory. As the lights rose on the stage for the last time, Ford treated us to a stripped down, acoustic and vulnerable ‘Til The Day’, his band left to pack away instruments that lay scattered, like empty shells, depleted, after a great war. Ford left the stage to a standing ovation, leaving us all wondering just why the hell this man isn’t bigger.

Matt out x

David Ford @ Bloomsbury Theatre

David Ford @ Bloomsbury Theatre

David Ford @ Bloomsbury Theatre

David Ford @ Bloomsbury Theatre

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Fantastic synth pop band with dashingly good-looks and toe tapping tunes.

The beautiful Karis and Nick posed for my lens on a cold January evening in London’s East End, we forsake all creature comforts for our art…

Folk-noir darlings ‘Delirium Tremens’ were invited specially to play the infamous 33 Portland Place in London. Tickets were changing hands at an eye-watering £100 per head.

The High Society played their biggest gig to date at Camden’s legendary KOKO venue. We hung out during sound-check and did a pre-show shoot before a gaggle of indie kids poured through the doors. Here are the photos from the shoot, and live shots taken from the side of the stage.

David Ford’s biggest show in the UK for 2008 saw him perform to a sell-out crowd at London’s beautiful Union Chapel. The atmosphere was truly electric. These shots were taken running up the vestibule area.

We gathered in the small confines of Under Solo for a very intimate solo gig. I was so close I could have touched him.