Harry Goodwin

Harry Goodwin (21 July 1924 – 23 September 2013 ) was a British photographer, known for his images of pop musicians and sports personalities. He was the resident photographer of the BBC Television programme Top of the Pops from its inception in 1964 until 1973.

Career Born in Fallowfield, Manchester, After being drafted into the RAF in 1943, Goodwin's initial photography experience was loading cameras in reconnaissance planes flying over Japanese Territory in Burma. When his unit moved to Kuala Lumpur he borrowed the equipment to take photographs of the local girls to sell to his comrades. In the 1960s a job as a scene-shifter at the BBC's Manchester Studios gave him the opportunity to shoot television personalities. His pictures were used as backdrops for non-appearing artists and the chart rundown. He continued until 1973, missing only six shows in that time, In 2007 Yoko Ono opened a permanent exhibit of Goodwin's photographs at the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool.

Trained as a boxer as a young man, Goodwin had a lifelong affinity for sports and boxing in particular. He gained accreditation with the British Boxing Board of Control photographing many champions including Muhammad Ali. The 1999 Icons of Pop exhibit included his photographs of Sandie Shaw and Tom Jones. In 2003, after John Lennon had been voted No. 10 (by national vote) from "one hundred Britons", a Goodwin portrait of Lennon was selected for inclusion in the NPG/BBC publication Great Britons: The great debate. The 2006 exhibit Beatles on the Balcony featured Goodwin's work.

In 2004 the Museum of Lancashire in Preston mounted an exhibit Legends: The Photographs of Harry Goodwin. The exhibit moved to Lancaster City Museum in 2005, and returned to Preston in 2007.

In 2008, a Victoria and Albert Museum exhibit about the costumes of The Supremes included his photographs, as did an accompanying book. before travelling on to Birmingham and Bristol.

In December 2009, Goodwin was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Lord Mayor of Manchester.

In 2010, the Victoria and Albert Museum mounted a major exhibit of his photographs My Generation: The Glory Years of British Rock – Photographs from Top of the Pops 1964–1973, and again published an accompanying book.

In 2012, the University of Salford mounted an exhibition of Goodwin's photographs in their Clifford Whitworth Library, after he donated an archive of his work to the university.

Death

In 2013, Goodwin became unwell and was admitted to Trafford General Hospital. While there he received calls from Paul McCartney, Alex Ferguson, and Barry Gibb. Goodwin died in September 2013, aged 89.

Books The Story of The Supremes, (Daryl Easlea) V&A Publishing (2008). My Generation: The Glory Years of British Rock (w/Alywn W. Turner) V&A Publishing (2010),