It is easy to romanticise the past, and few places are more alluring to those with a creative bent than New York in the 1970s and early 80s. Yes, we all know it was crime-ridden and run down but there were all those amazing bands, and Andy Warhol and the Factory, and cheap rents in Greenwich Village!

If you are drawn to this period of New York’s past, and particularly the creativity that flourished then, you will find much to love in Point of View, a new book of photographs from musician and artist Chris Stein, which captures the time in all its gritty, eccentric, and downright cool, glory.

Chris Stein was co-founder of, and the guitarist and songwriter for, Blondie, and it is initially his images of the New York 70s punk scene that leap out of Point of View, especially those featuring Debbie Harry, whose charisma is evident in every shot. Stein and Harry were romantic partners as well as band mates in the 1970s and 80s and while the photographs featured here are personal shots, the duo were not unaware of the promotional potential inherent in them too.