Street photographer Chris Porsz spent hours walking around the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the U.K in the late 1970s and ’80s, taking candid shots of punks and policemen, siblings and sweethearts, traders and teenagers.
More than three decades later, Chris has reconstructed a handful of his favourite photos from his collection. He spent the last seven years tracking down the people in his pictures and persuading them to pose once again.
His hard work paid off and he has published his photos in a book named Reunions, which came out in November 2016.
“This book has been nearly 40 years in the making and I believe the project is totally unique. I don’t think anyone else has tracked down so many strangers and recreated photos in this way before,” said Chris.
1. Dog And Tina (1985 And 2015)
Punks Tina Tarr and her partner Dog were pictured near the Cathedral in Peterborough when Tina was 18. The couple left the city in the 1990s and went travelling. They have twins, but are no longer together. Tina now lives in Dorset and makes willow products and hosts weaving workshops. Dog does hedge laying and gardening and lives in South West Wales. “I remember the photo being taken, it was a brilliant time. I had various styles of punk hair for quite a few years,” said Tina. Dog added: “They were good times, I still had hair then.”
2. Five Boys Running (1987 And 2016)
Andy, who has been married for 21 years and has a daughter, said: “I remember playing the arcade game Phoenix, which involved birds hatching out of eggs.” Andy went into the Army after leaving school and drove trucks in the Transport Corps. He left in 1987 and has been working for the Royal Mail in Werrington, near Peterborough, ever since. Richard is now an electrician in Peterborough and is married with two boys. He said: “There were only about 70 of us in our school year and we were all really close. They were happy times.” Tony James works as a stone cutter and has two children; Aaron works at Ikea and is married with three boys. Devinder moved to Yorkshire in 1986 and is married with two boys and works for the Housing Association. They’ve organised a school reunion and plan to keep in touch.
3. Metal Mickey (1980 And 2016)
Steve Osborn was known as Metal Mickey in the 1980s as he broke both his legs several times in a series of motor biking accidents and had plates and bolts put in them. He said: “I even carried on riding my bike with my leg in a cast!.” Steve, who now uses walking sticks to get around, lives in Spalding, Lincolnshire and is married. He had four children, but his son died in 2012. Steve plays the guitar with different bands and has raised more than £20,000 for the National Association of Bikers with a Disability.
4. Jewellery Assistant (1990 And 2015)
Vicki Gracey (nee Frost) worked as a sales assistant at a jewellery store in Queensgate Shopping Centre for two years. Vicki has since had jobs behind bars, in retail, hairdressing and restaurants and currently deals with tenancy sustainability. She still lives in the city and is married with two children. “I’m a people person and I’ve always had jobs which involve working with the public,” she said.
5. Pink Mohican (1985 And 2016)
Punk Badger Farcue can still remember winning the Pizza Eating Competition in Cathedral Square. The contest was organized by Stefan Malajny, who ran the Papa Luigi pizza restaurant. Stefan said: “I remember Badger managed to eat his pizza in about two minutes, which was very fast.” Badger was 20 at the time of the contest and worked as a laborer, building dry stone walls. He said: “My friends encouraged me to enter and we had to try and eat a 12-inch cheese and tomato pizza as quickly as possible. I won and got a round of applause and front page of the local paper.” Badger, who has five children, moved to Somerset in 1991 and now tarmacs roads.
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