Aug 7, 2020
Paul Zone turned 13 years old in 1970, he was already attending the Fillmore East, Electric Circus and Rock Concert venues in Manhattan with his older brothers Miki Zone and Mandy Zone. With a “no-camera” policy for concertgoers, Paul would put his camera down his pants and sneak photos from his seat of Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Iggy & The Stooges and T. Rex among others.
Through out the mid 1970s Paul continued photographing mostly his friends that were just forming their bands during the transition from Glam Rock to Punk Rock, artists like Blondie, Ramones, Patti Smith, Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers, Talking Heads and Suicide. He photographed them in their homes, on the streets, at parties, inside and outside the clubs, on stage, backstage and in the bathrooms of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City.
Paul was also creating music at the same time he was taking photographs. Paul and his two brothers had their own band called The Fast who recorded two acclaimed LPs and toured across the USA. Paul was also the resident DJ at Max’s Kansas City.
In the 1980s, brother Mandy formed his own band Ozone. Paul & Miki formed the pop electronic duo Man 2 Man. Man 2 Man scored chart hit singles Male Stripper, I Need A Man, At The Gym, Energy Is Eurobeat & Who Knows What Evil?.
Paul’s pictorial biography book PLAYGROUND: Growing Up In The New York Underground is a comprehensive assemblage of his personal images never before released anywhere of the 1970s New York Punk & Glam eras.