A tour of post-punk Liverpool

Echo and the Bunnymen, Open Air Pop festival, Leigh, Lancs, August 1979 Kevin says: 'One day of this three-day festival was entitled Factory meets Zoo Halfway. Organised by Factory and Zoo records and given the catalogue number FAC 15, it was a showcase for the bands on the two labels. It was a bank holiday and there was a transport strike. Very few people managed to make it to Leigh, but the gig has attained legendary status due to the bill: In one afternoon we saw: The Distractions, the Bunnymen, OMD, Lori and the Chameleons, ACR, the Teardrop Explodes and Joy Division. All for two quid.' Photograph: Kevins Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Jayne Casey from Pink Military Stand Alone, shot on the Mersey ferry, Liverpool, January 1980 Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Ian McCulloch sitting in a Manhattan bar, December 1991. Kevin says: 'Ian wasn't very relaxed on this trip. I wanted a reflective shot but it wasn't working. I went back into the empty bar and, while looking at the jukebox, spotted the Bunnymen's greatest hits album Songs to Learn and Sing. I put the whole album on for him and left him alone – listening to his finest moments ...' Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Half Man, Half Biscuit, Prenton Park, Tranmere, November 1985. Kevin says: 'Half Man, Half Biscuit are the missing link between Ken Dodd and Mark E Smith.' Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Julian Cope, the Teardrop Explodes, Granada TV studios, Manchester, June 1982. Kevin says: 'Julian was more excited to be in the studio next door to where Coronation Street was filmed, than being on TV himself. We managed to get on to the deserted Corrie set during a break in rehearsals and Julian took a couple of photos of me 'pulling a pint' behind the Rovers' bar. He also 'borrowed' a couple of scripts that were lying around. Later that evening he entertained himself and anyone in earshot with his impersonations of Eddie Yeats and Hilda Ogden.' Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Margi Clarke of Margox and the Zinc, The Factory at The Russell Club, Manchester, 1978 Photograph: © Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Pete Burns, Dead or Alive, Northwich, Cheshire, March 1981. Kevin says: 'Pete tried to convince me that the black contact lenses he was wearing were made for dogs and that he'd had to bribe a vet to sell them to him.' Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Pete Wylie in his parents' house, Liverpool, September 1980. Kevin says: 'Probably hoping I wouldn't get his copy of Smash Hits in shot.' Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Roger Eagle, The Grapes, Matthew Street, Liverpool, September 1980. Kevin says: 'Roger ran Eric's Club on Matthew Street. He was the conduit for all the disparate musicians wandering around Merseyside in the late 70s. He died 10 years ago in May.' Photograph: Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music

Winston, Liverpool, July 1979. Kevin says: 'Winston was the onstage tape recorder/player for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. This was shot in front of the Liverpool skyline.' Photograph: © Kevin Cummins/guardian.co.uk/music