The photograph of the highly influential band The Smiths, fronted by Morrissey, was taken 20 years ago. In it, the four members of the band are seen outside the Salford Lads Club the shot was used for the inside gatefold of the album The Queen is Dead in 1985. Stephen Wright’s photograph has become the most famous image of The Smiths and Salford Lads Club has been a mecca for devotees of The Smiths ever since, with fans from all over the world visiting the location.

Stephen Wright’s archive of rock and pop photography is a roll call of some of the world’s most famous performers: Madonna, U2, James Brown, Prince, Nina Simone and many more. He also supplied the Strangeways road sign image for The Smiths’ final album Strangeways Here We Come.

In recent years, Stephen Wright’s portfolio has taken on more corporate clients. His work, photographing leading figures such as Tony Blair and the CEOs of important commercial companies, is regarded as creative, sympathetic and highly effective.

Stephen Wright said the acceptance of his most well-known piece of work into the National Portrait Gallery was a high point in a varied career spanning back over 20 years. “When you start out in something like photography you have aspirations, but I never anticipated that one of my photographs would still be being talked about after 20 years, nor that it would ever be on display at the National Portrait Gallery.”

The National Portrait Gallery was founded in 1856 to collect the images of famous British men and women. Today, the collection is the most comprehensive of its kind in the world. Last year more than 1.5 million people visited the National Portrait Gallery.