Jonathan Turner on the weird and wonderful world of tribute performance
Many of us wish to experience the lives of others. To step out of who we are and become invested in a new, exciting persona. For most this will only ever be a fantasy, but for others, they’ve found a way to make it happen – through the form of tribute performance. Photographer Jonathan Turner joins Them Frames to share his experience of documenting people who temporarily transform themselves into larger than life superstars.
Photography is a great way to open doors. It takes you into parts of life that otherwise would have restricted access. When I saw Turner’s project, Tribute, I saw it as the perfect example of my point.
In what reality does any other person follow the lives of the people who dress up as famous singers and perform to the public? When was the last time you were in someone's bathroom as they masqueraded as Freddie Mercury?
Turner’s take on tribute fascinates me. It makes me ask questions: why photograph them? Who are they? What takes someone down such paths? Questions I never knew I wanted the answers to, until Turner’s stand-out project came my way.
Thankfully he agreed to answer those questions, as well as others relating to the project. This one is a fun one, so enjoy it.
Them Frames: Hey Jonathan! What first attracted you to the idea of doing a project focusing on tribute acts?
Jonathan Turner: The Tribute Project came about when I was doing an MA in Photography some years ago. One of the briefs we were given asked us to produce an image of someone with an alternate persona.
I’d already been doing a project about people involved in Battle Reenactments, so I wanted to develop this idea in a slightly different direction. I’d previously done a portrait of a singer / songwriter local to me in Leeds, and I happened to know that she also did an act as a Tina Turner tribute artist. I thought this would be a good opportunity to make a portrait of someone with an alternate persona.
The shoot was really fun, and the more I looked into it the more I realized this could be very a fun project to do. The idea of a load of people dressing up and performing as other people seemed kind of funny, and I really loved the enthusiasm each of the artists I met had for their chosen act.
The more I got into it the more I realized there was a huge amount of genuine talent in doing this as an activity, and although at its heart it is just light hearted entertainment, I ended up having a great deal of respect for the performers involved.
Them Frames: How did you select your subjects? Are they acts you admire or was anyone fair game in this series?
Jonathan Turner: Anyone was fair game, really. It was one of those things where the more people you meet doing it, the more the word spreads. It’s quite a small community I guess. I did a call out on social media, and also made a Facebook page called Jonathan Turners Tribute Project, and I basically photographed anyone who was up for it. I was surprised how many people were keen to get involved.
Them Frames: You also got out into the field when they performed. What was that experience like? What did you learn the most about the life of a tribute performer?
Jonathan Turner: I really enjoyed the live performances. Most of them were just great entertainment. What did I learn about the life of a Tribute Artist? Don’t take yourself too seriously! Almost all of them had a great sense of humor about what they were doing (apart from Michael Jackson, who took it all incredibly seriously, which of course made it even funnier!)
It was often hard to tell who was having more fun; the audience or the performers. Possibly the best two performers were George Michael, and Freddy Mercury. They were just amazing. Also, the female tribute to Freddy Mercury; “Freda Mercury”; she had an awesome voice.
Most tribute artists are actually really good singer/songwriters in their own right, but the music business is notoriously difficult to make a living from, so they do tribute instead of, or as well as their own material as it’s a good earner (I was quite surprised how much the better ones earn). Many of them also do multiple different acts (tributes), which increases earning potential I guess. There were one or two who were if I’m honest, pretty terrible, but that in itself is also great entertainment!
Also, the names they give themselves are usually very tongue in cheek, like “Iron on Maiden” (Iron Maiden) and Bye Jovi (Bon Jovi) which gives you a good indication of the kind of fun they are having with it.
On the whole you can’t go wrong with tribute. It’s just a whole lot of fun. I mean, how else are you going to see George Michael or Meatloaf down at your small town local pub on a Thursday evening?!
Them Frames: Many of the portraits are taken in home environments: the living area, the kitchen, what was the creative reason for this?
Jonathan Turner: As I mentioned earlier, I’d already done a project about Battle Re-enactors, and people in Living History Groups. I’d deliberately tried to place most of these people against a contemporary background, so as to show them in the context of a hobby or pastime, rather than making it look like they were somehow photographed within their own historical timeframe.
All portraits are about identity, but of course you can’t distil a person's whole identity into a photograph, it’s far too complex for that. But the outer layers can give you a little detail about that person, and so can the context of the background of the photo – work or home environment etc. What was interesting about those portraits was that the contemporary living spaces gave an interesting visual contrast to the historical costumes they were dressed in (and the alternate persona they were temporarily inhabiting).
Them Frames: If you had to pick one song to be the soundtrack of the series, what would it be and why?
Jonathan Turner: It would have to be Queen; We are the Champions! Partly because the Freddy Mercury tribute I photographed was so good, and will always stick with me as a highlight of the project, but also it somehow seems appropriate to these people – they are all champions in their own right.
Them Frames: You put this project together quite some time ago. How do you feel about it in the present moment?
Jonathan Turner: Well, I loved doing that project, and I’ve often thought it needs revisiting, it’s just a matter of limited time (earning a living from photography is a time consuming thing). So, on the one hand I’m very proud of it (although from a technical point of view I think my skills as a photographer have improved somewhat since then) but on the other hand, I’d really like to take it further, and perhaps publish a book eventually. We’ll see…
Them Frames: Finally, please finish the sentence: I need photography in my life because…
Jonathan Turner: I love people, and photography gives me an excuse to meet all kinds of amazing folks that I wouldn’t ordinarily get to meet. A camera is like a passport, it gives me a licence to go anywhere!
You can enjoy more work by Jonathan Turner by visiting his website and Instagram.
