In Photos: Chicago Nightclubs in the 1970s

Michael Abramson was a a rarity in 1970s Chicago: a white photographer documenting the black nightclubs in the city’s rough, vibrant South Side. An exhibition of Abramson’s work is at MMX Gallery, London, 21 March-6 May.

All photographs: Michael Abramson/courtesy MMX Gallery

Born in 1948, Abramson earned a master’s in photography from the Illinois Institute of Technology

He was inspired by the mid-century Hungarian-French photographer Brassaï, who documented the nightlife of Paris in a raw, romantic manner