Photographer Mark McEvoy’s new book, London Underground 1992–1995, offers a unique window into late-night life on the Tube before mobile phones and headphones were ubiquitous. The collection features candid shots of kissing couples, playful punk rockers, revellers, and weary commuters, all captured on the last trains leaving central London between midnight and 1am.
A Window into a Different World
McEvoy, now 59 and living in Margate, Kent, spent almost three years on the project, stepping on and off Friday and Saturday night last trains. He recalls the inspiration came during a late-night journey from Brixton at about 11pm: “I looked around the train at this different demographic of people — various ages, sexes and cultures — and there was so much energy. There were lots of young people, some holding beers and laughing and I thought, ‘wow, this is really interesting’ — it was like a little window into a different world. I knew it would make a great project.”
His images, now published in the week London Underground marks 10 years of the night Tube, show a time before smartphones. McEvoy notes: “These images might be thirty plus years old but they still resonate and over time have taken on a new significance. They capture little moments in people’s lives. Travellers having a great time, having a terrible time, falling in love. It doesn't matter if you don’t live in London and have never been on the Tube — I think we can all recognise ourselves in the pictures because of the diversity of people and experiences they contain.”
Candid Moments and Hostile Reactions
Initially nervous about how subjects would react, McEvoy says: “Sometimes people could be hostile and tell me to get lost. Some just didn’t like it — they felt as if I was somehow taking something from them — or I’d get dirty looks.” Once he explained his project, however, many changed their minds: “I was surprised at how many people who had initially said no changed their mind. They would often pose for a picture and then go back to whatever they were initially doing but I’d carry on shooting — and that’s how I captured the more candid images.”
His favourite shot is of a kissing couple. “I got on the train and they were all lovey dovey and romantic, but also a little drunk. I said, ‘do you mind if I take your picture for this project — just ignore me and go back to what you were doing’. And then they just start kissing.” Another image shows a man in shades who moved to London from Miami after being caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. McEvoy recalls: “He looked so cool and was from the States but got caught in the cross-fire from a drive-by shooting in Miami. That was one of the reasons he moved to London, but he told me he had started to feel the same kind of tension here.”
Nostalgia and the Digital Age
McEvoy, a musician and violinist with the Canterbury Symphony Orchestra, notes the nostalgia in the images: “Look at the way people are dressed and the fact that they’re reading newspapers. And nobody is wearing headphones. It reminds us of what life used to be like. And it's amazing how, even in 35 years, things can look and feel so different.”
Asked if he could repeat the project today, McEvoy is uncertain: “It might be both easier and harder. On the one hand we are all much more used to having our photos taken but on the other everyone is much more aware of how they look — I think there could be a lot more pouting!”
Mark McEvoy — London Underground 1992–1995 is available from Cafe Royal Books priced £6.70.
