A BEAUTIFUL BELLWETHER: A TRIBUTE TO CLAUDIA BELL, 1952-2022
A Beautiful Bellwether: A Tribute to Claudia Bell, 1952-2022
(Claudia Bell, New Haven, CT, 1983. Courtesy of the John Lawler Archives.)
I first got to know Claudia Bell through her husband Craig after having worked together on various music-related projects over the years, including some radio show appearances together and a couple of concerts I put on in my hometown of Birmingham, AL with post-punk legends X_____X and Canadian psych-punks Simply Saucer, both of whom Craig was playing bass with at the time. I had followed his career as a young music writer going all the way back to his early days as one of the prime movers in Cleveland, Ohio’s underground music scene in the mid-1970s with bands like Rocket from the Tombs and Mirrors— an era and group of artistic misfits that loomed large in my musical universe at the time— and had the great fortune of photographing him during the first reformed Rocket from the Tombs tour at Nashville’s famed Exit/In in 2003. That early encounter made for a nice introduction and segue into our later endeavors over a decade later, and helped spawn a friendship that carries on to this day. A wealth of information about so many of the subcultural activities of the 1970s and 80s that I dearly loved and was fascinated by going back to my teenage years, I always looked forward to conversing with him about a range of topics, and to hear about whatever he might be up to music related or otherwise.
Having remained in Craig’s close orbit for almost a decade now, with the eventual introduction of social media to our relationship, it wasn’t long before I connected with his lovely wife, known to all who loved her as simply “Claude,” who I quickly took a liking to given her immense and endearing musical knowledge— and sharing so many deeply personal artistic touchstones— all of which led to some great internet-based repartee and camaraderie on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Having recognized yet another kindred soul from Craig’s always intriguing creative universe, it was wonderful to finally connect with his better half and gain yet another window into his life away from the records I knew he played on. But it wasn’t just her love of great music that caught my attention. Having periodically posted some of the stunning photographs she had taken over the course of her career as a concert photographer and journalist from her one-time home of New Haven, Connecticut, one couldn’t help but notice her discerning eye and taste when it came to capturing not just the moment, but some of the greatest acts of the modern era during some of their most interesting periods of development, particularly when it came to revolutionary figures from the punk and new wave explosions of the late-1970s and early-1980s. From incredible snapshots of the Ramones, Devo, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The Police, and Suicide (on their infamously hostile tour opening for The Cars in 1980 following the release of their sophomore LP produced by Rick Ocasek), to even younger upstarts like U2 and the Psychedelic Furs, Claude repeatedly had her camera trained on some of the brightest lights of independent rock from the time period and brilliantly captured their essence in a way only someone finely attuned to the intrinsic dynamics of rock performance could. But it wasn’t just the newcomers she so expertly documented as they burst onto the scene. Having been fortunate enough to photograph iconic figures like The Who, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Blue Öyster Cult, and David Johansen from the New York Dolls— to name just a few— Claude’s innate ability to align her lenses with magic happening on stage made her one of New Haven’s key behind-the-scenes forces, coupling ace music writing with breathtaking imagery to go along with it.
But beyond today’s more well-known names, Bell also made sure to document what was going on in the local scene with equal insight and fervor, providing frozen moments in time of bands and people who would never quite make it out of Connecticut or the surrounding area, yet played an influential role and left an indelible mark on those around them from a small yet vibrant community of artists. Having been a part of that scene herself as a member and bass player for two of Craig’s post-Cleveland outfits in the form of The Bell System and The Plan, Claude was one of those rare birds who simultaneously lived both inside and outside of the music she cared so much about, giving her a unique awareness of how and why it all came together in the first place. As one of the subjects alongside Craig featured in the 2009 documentary about the New Haven punk scene of the late-70s and early-1980s called It Happened But Nobody Noticed (named after an seminal comp of bands from the scene of the same name put out on Craig’s Gustav Records in 1982), the film featured both her music and photographs, highlighting the immense contribution she made as a mover and shaker in helping document and foster those around her, while also participating in the music being made as an artist herself. A beautiful bellwether who often lead (not so) quietly from behind, Claude was a classic example of someone who’s impact could be felt in ways people may not have fully noticed or appreciated in the mainstream culture happening around her, yet made an enormous historical contribution to the subculture she was immersed in, helping cheer other people on and pushing them to greater artistic heights by helping write about and preserve their creative endeavors.
And it was the same for me as well. Having always been supportive of my own writing, photographs, videos and radio shows as I got to know her over her later years, she was always one to offer encouragement and a kind word, and was someone I looked forward to interacting with for any reason whatsoever, even if from afar. Having learned about her cancer diagnosis over the course of the pandemic, like so many others that knew her, I was heartbroken to hear about her passing this past year, both for her family and Craig, but also because the world lost one of the great unknown legends to the counterculture at large, and someone who’s work still deserves a wider audience beyond just those in southern Connecticut.
And I know she will be dearly missed by all.
With that in mind, I wanted to take a moment to present some of her amazing photographs of bands and artists, both known and unknown, hyper-local and worldwide, who she expertly captured with her camera, journalistic sensibilities, and critically sharp eye, as a tribute to her indelible creative spirit. And even though this is just a small selection of her overall work, I hope it gives people a sense of the range of artists she covered over the course of her career, and will hopefully inspire further inquiry for those beyond just New Haven, as there is a wealth of images yet to be appreciated and discovered.
I also asked her husband Craig to provide his own loving tribute to his wife, which is included below, alongside information about an upcoming memorial to Claude happening on Jan. 22 at Cafe 9 in New Haven. Craig’s words speak for themselves, but also for many others, as they provide a window into just how much she contributed to the world around her.
May she forever rest in peace, with a bass guitar and camera around her shoulders, out there in the great beyond.
Lee Shook
The Audiovore
Jan. 18, 2023
(Devo backstage at Stage West, West Hartford, CT, July 18, 1980. Photo by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of the John Lawler Archives.)
(Pictured left to right: U2’s Bono live at Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT, May 27, 1981; Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth and Adrian Belew live at Stage West, West Hartford, CT, Nov. 5, 1980; The Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler live at Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT, 1981; Photos by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of the John Lawler Archives.)
(David Bowie live at the Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, July 16, 1983. Photos by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of John Lawler Archives.)
(Elvis Costello live at Jai Alai, Bridgeport, CT, Aug. 5, 1983. Photo by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of the John Lawler Archives.)
(Suicide opening for The Cars at Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, Nov. 13, 1980. Photo by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of the John Lawler Archives.)
(Glowing review of Suicide’s opening set for The Cars at the Hartford Civic Center from New London’s The Day newspaper by local music critic Carol Brown.)
A Tribute to Claudia Bell
I met Claudia in 1980. She had come to Ron’s Place, the punk rock club that was the center of our universe during the few years it existed in New Haven, Connecticut. She was there to see our band, Saucers, and write something about us in the magazine she wrote for at that time. She introduced herself as Claudia Chapman. We became friends, and within a year she was around more, as the next band I was in included her boyfriend Mike Barone. By that time Claude had taken a job with the weekly entertainment newspaper chain in Southern Connecticut, first as an ad manager, and soon added photography and writing to her resume. Her photos of national acts would go on to accompany hers and others articles in the paper while she also began a weekly column noting both touring acts and local club listings, as well as news about the music scene in New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport and elsewhere in the region. At one time, the editors were planning on dropping her column until a rush of letters to the paper, including one from me, changed their mind. Her open mind and love of music made her a great ambassador for the local music scene in Southern Connecticut for nearly a decade.
As I got to know her better, I learned she grew up as Claudia Skinner, the only child of a family of grocers in a small town in Indiana. She married out of high school and after graduation from Ball State University with English and Journalism degrees, settled into school teaching near her hometown of Wolcottville where she had two daughters. She soon was traveling to nearby cities to see rock acts and would bring along a camera to record her experiences, and began developing a keen interest in photography, music, and writing. She self-published multiple issues of a Led Zeppelin fanzine, Pure Blues, in the mid-1970s out of Indiana. She also started writing for a magazine called Imagine, in Connecticut, after answering their classified ad looking for rock music writers. In 1980, she divorced and moved to Connecticut to start over. She wrote for Imagine and found work in Waterbury, Connecticut at a record store.
The band Mike and I were in, The Plan, was frustrated in trying to find a bass player who would fit with us until I suggested that Claude take the job. She had been hanging around rehearsals since the beginning and had heard all the songs, so I thought it would be a natural fit. The only thing was, could she play? Claude put that fear to rest almost immediately and soon joined us just in time to debut at the largest club in the area, as well as head into the studio to record our first (and unfortunately, only) single at the end of 1982. A later version of the band, now called The Bell System, would record a track for a radio-only compilation a couple years later, but that was our only output from those years until YouTube came along and videos from The Plan and The Bell System were eventually posted. Some tracks recorded by Claudia, Kerry Miller, and myself in 1988 as The Rhythm Methodists were released on aka Darwin Layne, a compilation album released in 2014.
Claudia and Mike broke up in the mid-80s, and I had earlier divorced. Claudia and I soon were a couple and we married in June of 1986. By 1988 Claudia found herself out of work as the newspaper was having difficulty and laid off many of its senior staff. She soon found a job at a property management company and quickly became extremely proficient on a number of new computer programs that the office used. This new skill would come in handy very shortly.
Our band ran out of gas, as most bands do, and I was not in the best shape to continue the path I was going on. I worked for the local railroad and suggested we have a change of scenery. Claude agreed with me and I soon found a position within Amtrak in Indianapolis, Indiana. We moved west and settled in to a new life in a new place. Claudia used her newly learned computer skills to land a job with a book publisher in Indianapolis while I learned how dirty you can get working on locomotives. Claude worked on many books over the 20+ years she spent in the publishing business as a layout technician and proofreader/editor. She would do freelance work editing books, laying out projects and helping authors with their manuscripts. Once I began making music again she designed and laid out all the artwork for my records with Saucers, The Down-fi, and my solo work. She also helped others with their artwork. She also worked to clean up her old negatives with the techniques she learned in digital photography.
Claudia Bell passed away on August 14, 2022 at her home in Indianapolis after a two-year struggle with cancer. She was an extraordinary person who gave so much to others and left us so much to remember her by. I was so touched to see all the tributes to Claudia posted on social media. The wonderful stories told by friends for all phases of her life, including school friends from her childhood, up to the countless people she encountered in the publishing, music, and photography worlds. She used her skills to help so many others live their dreams.
We are having a celebration of life for Claudia on January 22, 2023 at Café Nine in New Haven, Connecticut at 2PM EST. There will be a display of her photography and some music by her bandmates, myself, Forrest Harlow, and Mike Barone, along with special guests.
There will be tributes to Claude.
There will be beer, music, and pizza.
She wouldn’t want it any other way.
Craig Bell – 1/2023
(The Bell System performing their song “‘62 Hawk” live on WPKN-FM in Bridgeport, CT, July 1985, featuring Claudia Bell on bass.)
(Trailer for the 2009 documentary It Happened But Nobody Noticed on the New Haven punk and new wave scene.)
(Baby Strange live at Ron’s Place, New Haven, CT, 1981. Photo by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of John Lawler Archives.)
(The Poodle Boys live at Oxford Ale House, New Haven, CT, 1980. Photo by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of John Lawler Archives.)
(The Shivers live at Oxford Ale House, New Haven, CT, 1980. Photo by Claudia Bell. Courtesy of John Lawler Archives.)
