Oasis photographer Jill Furmanovsky on her “beautiful” new book with Noel Gallagher: “They were just fascinating to work with”

NME: Hello Jill. You follow Oasis’ journey chronologically in the new book. Why was this important?

Jill Furmanovsky: “Yes, the publishers agreed. I’d suggested it, and then they actually really took it to heart. They charted in the book all the shoots, and they were intensive shoots – especially ’95, ’96, ’97. Virtually everything that was happening that was important around that time, I did. But then intermittently from ’97 onwards, I would drop in on them and continue to pick up the story, if you like. Sort of like a documentary, basically.”

The unprecedented access you were given was unique, right?

“The access certainly made a difference, and then they were just fascinating to work with. They were a fantastic subject. Certain behaviours would remind me of the punk era, or if it was stadium rock, it was from the earlier period. I could do live shots, and I could be a photojournalist in those situations. But I could also shoot posed studio-type shots if it was needed, although I always think of myself as a photojournalist. I nevertheless had a studio at that time.

“Although interestingly, I never brought them to the studio. Ever. I always went to them. I’d take the studio to them.”

Did you feel any tension between the brothers early on? 

“Well, it was there from when I met them. I mean, actually, there was very little evidence of it. At one point, I remember saying, ‘How come you guys fight for [photographer] Kevin Cummins’ camera and not mine? I need more fighting!’ It was a joke, but I basically saw more cooperation than anything else.”

What was their chemistry like? 

“The one thing they had absolutely in common was their devotion and enthusiasm for the band. So that united them throughout it all. But yes, there were brotherly tensions from time to time. Bonehead would defuse a lot of those sorts of things, cause he was funny. There was a lot of laughter and hilarity in working with them.

“Also, they had different roles – Noel did all the interviews, PR stuff and looking at pictures. He worked with [graphic designer and creator of the ‘Definitely Maybe’ cover artwork] Brian Cannon. He had a very busy role within Oasis, as well as writing all the songs and playing on stage. He was busy all the time. Liam had a different [role]. Liam was the guy who made the backstage area hilarious; he was more animated backstage than he would be on the stage. He’s not an animated performer.”

Was anything ever off limits, in what you were allowed to shoot?

“Nobody ever said to me, ‘Don’t shoot this’. Never. But then there wasn’t that many situations… [And] where there was tension, it often produced very good results anyway, photographically. But there wasn’t that many of them, really – not what I saw. But then I tended to go to bed early, so I don’t know what happened in the early hours of the morning in hotel corridors.”

Gem Archer attended the book launch at Abbey Road Studios recently. Did you get the chance to catch up? 

“He was really enthusiastic about the book, actually, and Andy Bell [was] the same. Bonehead as well now. Gem was there at the launch, which was amazing because they’d only just got back from Mexico, and they were all pretty jetlagged. So it was very nice of him to come. There were more members of Pink Floyd at that Oasis book launch than there were of Oasis – that was very funny!”

Did you have any idea that a reunion was on the cards?

“I’d actually done a few gigs with the High Flying Birds, and I don’t think it was on the cards then. It certainly wasn’t on the cards in ’23, so we started the book project then.

“[I said], ‘Noel, if you do get together – I’ll be one of the first calls you’ll be making, right?’ He said, ‘Oh, you can come photograph me going to the bookies and putting a huge bet on it’. That was his comment on it, really. When I heard about the reunion, I sent him a text saying, ‘Did you get to the bookies in time?’.”

So the book coincided with this tour by chance?

“I’ve been wanting to do a book for quite some time, because of all the material that had never been seen. It was just a question of what sort of publisher we should get, and Thames & Hudson were the perfect ones in the end because they could do a really beautiful coffee table book – but it wasn’t outrageously expensive. We also did it very fast; we only began it in January. For about four months, I don’t remember seeing any weekends or nights free while we just blasted it.”

The book contains a shot from inside the rehearsal room this year. Did you get any sense of the mood behind the scenes?

“I went to do an empty room. The book was about to go to press – it was in May, and the rehearsals had just begun. It wasn’t on the cards to show the rehearsals at all, at that point. But the room was all set up, and Noel organised all the equipment in a way he liked. So we had this empty room as if to say: ‘This is all being prepared for the next chapter’.

“What’s quite interesting about the book now is that people will be able to link together the whole of the past to the rehearsal room, waiting. And then people know what happened after that. It’s actually rather wonderful. Then, of course, there’ll be books to follow – not by me, but no doubt there’ll be some books of the tour, the documentary, and so on. It will all run together, and they’ll be slightly linked up. It couldn’t have been planned, but it worked out that way.”

You highlighted the importance of the crowd at Oasis’ earlier shows when talking about your joiner image of the massive Knebworth audience in ’96. How did your experience at Wembley this year compare?

“It wasn’t such a surprise for us, because Oasis shows have always been about the audience. Always. There was nothing much to shoot. Even at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, nothing much happened on stage – but behind, people were word-perfect and going wild. And that hasn’t changed throughout, really. They just get that songbook out and blast it. Liam is absolutely charismatic and mesmerising, doing as little as he does. It’s still enormously powerful. And that is the show.

“What they’ve managed to do with this [new] show, with the technology and the screens… it’s quite a phenomena. That demographic of different age groups, as well, is quite a wide range. I went with my 13-year-old granddaughter, and there were plenty of people her age who were word-perfect with the songs. It’s amazing.

“‘Biblical’ is the word they bandy about. ‘Biblical’ seems ridiculous, but actually, when you’ve had two warring brothers that have made up, there is something biblical just about that alone. That, combined with what they’re actually doing… it’s unique.”

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Do you think they’ll release new music?

“Really, I’ve got no idea. I’m the last person to know. I had no idea they were getting back together. Nobody tells me anything [Laughs].”

Can you see the growing friction during their final years, in the photos?

“There was the Heaton Park generator breakdown incident. There was an inebriated and impatient audience waiting for the gig to happen. Noel was told, ‘Don’t leave the stage’. The tension there was reflected, generally, in that period. The pictures of Liam, he was furious. Those pictures are sometimes quite scary – the amount of anger and frustration of that situation, when you add it to that period. There was Wembley in 2009, too [where Oasis again experienced technical difficulties]. Although they were playing beautifully, there’s a lot of tension on the stage, in the images. So it was definitely building up to something.”

What’s a standout moment in the book? 

“There are other pictures that are more artistic, but there’s a picture which was taken on May 2, when Tony Blair became Prime Minister. It was that ‘Rule Britannia’ moment – a ‘Be Here Now’ moment, actually. Noel had written on a chalkboard in a pub in King’s Cross: ‘The best there was, the best there is, the best there ever will be!’. They’re all in hysterics, laughing, and there’s piles of beer and cigarettes on the table.

“I remember it was a key moment. I’d run out of film, and a motorbike messenger had been sent to bring me more. He came in with his helmet on and carrying a bag of film. He walked into this venue where we were shooting, looked around, and Oasis were sitting there! He was completely shocked to see that. And they just all burst out laughing. I got my roll of film, and the guy left.

“It was that period of just having it large. They were really funny people and fantastic company. That was a really joyous day – partly because there was a change of government, but there was a feeling of optimism. Also, [Oasis] were at their height of having a good time. So for me, that picture’s got a lot of joy in it. I like it a lot.”

Do you have a favourite photo from this tour? Liam cuts an iconic figure still with his tamourine resting on his bucket hat. 

“Oasis have had some fantastic stills and video footage going on social media. A team of four youngsters have kind of taken the flame and been doing the most fantastic work. It’s just thrilling to see it.

“My favourite picture, at the time, was taken by the tour manager [Angus Jenner] on his iPhone in Cardiff. Liam has got his arm around Noel as if to say, ‘It’s OK, brother. It’s going to be fine’. When I saw that picture, it actually brought a few tears to my eyes. First of all, I thought, ‘Why haven’t I taken that picture?’. But that was irrelevant. There it was – my God! I’ve got it on my wall – I immediately had to make a print.

“I think this next phase has been really well documented. And thank goodness it’s been recorded so thoroughly, because it is pretty special.”