Early Life
Dean Chakley's first years were spent on a farm in Essex where his parents were Labourers. At the age of seven the family moved to Southend-on-Sea where he eventually attended Fairfax High School for boys, in Westcliff-on-Sea.
It was the 1980s, the time of the mod revival. He describes himself as having been “...a hardened mod, totally into scooters, dressing flamboyantly, in cravats and so on.”
Towards the late 1980s Acid House coincided with his discovery of photography, although initially after leaving school his interest had been in Fashion, especially the type influenced by music. He trained for and became a bespoke trouser maker for a couple of years but on realising the debt involved in setting up shop, he decided to become a Civil Servant and remained working as one for seven years.
During this time, the Civil Service sent him on an A-Level course in Photography, since it was applicable to his work there. This in turn led to a Photography degree at Blackpool and The Fylde College, during which he started shooting for Dazed & Confused magazine.
On completing his degree course he moved to London and assisted two notable photographers, Malcolm Venville and afterwards Seamus Ryan, whom he assisted full-time for a period of about 9 months.
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