Spike Waltzer - BLONDIE 5 - Giclée Print

Title: BLONDIE 5

Medium: Giclee print on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl 310gsm paper

Sizes Available: A1, A2, A3, A4

Year Taken: Unknown

Year Printed: 2026

About the Artwork

BLONDIE5 captures the immediacy and electricity of the Los Angeles punk era. Taken during the explosive period between 1978 and 1980, the photograph reflects the energy of underground venues and a music scene that reshaped youth culture worldwide.

Printed as a high-quality giclée on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper, the image preserves the grit, contrast, and atmosphere of Spike’s original analogue documentation. This is not nostalgia—it’s a direct visual record of a cultural revolution unfolding in real time.

About the Artist:

Spike is a photographer whose work documents Punk, SKA and New Wave in Los Angeles between 1978–1980. The exhibition and accompanying book present a collection of previously unseen photographs taken in L.A. venues, featuring artists including Blondie, John Lydon & PiL, The Clash, Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, 999, Sham 69, The Undertones, The Go-Go’s, Patti Smith, The Cramps, X, and many more.

Raised in New York, Spike moved to Los Angeles to study photography, where he was introduced to professional celebrity photographers and began working as a paparazzo with Michelson Photos, alongside figures such as Ron Galella. Through his neighbour Don Snowden, a music critic for LA Weekly, Spike was introduced to punk music and first heard The Clash’s second album, Give ’Em Enough Rope, the moment his love of punk began.

Abandoning commercial photography, Spike immersed himself in the anarchist, punk, and queer scenes of Los Angeles and San Francisco, documenting bands, venues, and communities from the inside. His photographs capture the energy, politics, and intimacy of a scene that would go on to shape global music culture.