These stunning black-and-white photographs of Liverpool’s Dock Road offer a window at the same time when the city is absolutely different.
The images were rediscovered through photo journalist Rick Matthews, who captured the images in his student years and kept them hidden in dusty boxes in a loft for years.
Mr. Matthews came here through the photographs as he looked at his old photographs of the closure.
The collection of stunning photographs taken when Mr. Matthew was in art school in his early twenties.
They feature moving portraits from the early 1980s: workshop engineers, welders, stevedorers and a team of garage mechanics spraying black cabs before returning to the city streets.
The images also offer an almost unrecognizable view of the city, with ruined street scenes, factory facades and historic shipyard architecture.
All images can be viewed in Mr. Matthews.
He said: “After years of promising myself to create this vital online page that independents are invited to have, without ever coming back, I had time to do so.
“So I dug up all my black-and-white negatives years ago.
“There were thousands of them, however, cutting them off and letting me be distracted by nostalgic memories along the way, I came to this total collection of portraits I took when I started photographing.
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Matthews, 61, explained how he got here to capture those beautiful portraits, saying, “I walked around and asked if I could take some photos of other people while they were working. I will never have the warm kindness and hospitality of those I photographed.
“They weren’t hostile to the camera at all, but they treated me like a welcome guest, proceeding with their daily banter, laughing and joking with me like we’d known each other for years.
“Liverpool is known for its wonderful sense of humor and sense of community, even in the most difficult times and that’s all that touched me.
“The times were at the time because the docks were going through an era of dramatic change, yet everyone I photographed had the generosity of spirit to give their time to a young student like me.
While still in college, Matthews returned to Liverpool to photograph John Lennon’s reminiscenced peace vigil and also posted those photographs on the gallery pages of his website.
Matthews grew up in Chester, but says he felt at home in Liverpool. He said: “I felt like Liverpool was a bit like a one-moment house, and while Dad was working, he would occasionally work out and into town.
“I was fascinated by the dominance of the pier and when I had to do a photography project of a student, I found it very easy to stop by and record what I saw.
When things started to get back to normal, Matthews said he’d like to check dock road to capture the scene changed today.
Impressions of Liverpool’s Rick’s 1980, other photographs and their works are for sale and can be viewed on their website.
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Rick Matthews captured those candid portraits on Liverpools Dock Road in the early 1980s