![\"Oasis.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Oasis-new-book-5.jpg\")
Oasis. 6 July 2002, Finsbury Park, London, UK. CREDIT: \u00a9 Jill Furmanovsky<\/p>\nNME: Hello Jill. You follow Oasis\u2019 journey chronologically in the new book. Why was this important?<\/p>\n
Jill Furmanovsky: \u201cYes, the publishers agreed. I\u2019d suggested it, and then they actually really took it to heart. They charted in the book all the shoots, and they were intensive shoots \u2013 especially \u201995, \u201996, \u201997. Virtually everything that was happening that was important around that time, I did. But then intermittently from \u201997 onwards, I would drop in on them and continue to pick up the story, if you like. Sort of like a documentary, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n
The unprecedented access you were given was unique, right?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough interestingly, I never brought them to the studio. Ever. I always went to them. I\u2019d take the studio to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oasis. 6 July 2002, Finsbury Park, London, UK. CREDIT: \u00a9 Jill Furmanovsky<\/p>\n
Did you feel any tension between the brothers early on?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it was there from when I met them. I mean, actually, there was very little evidence of it. At one point, I remember saying, \u2018How come you guys fight for [photographer] Kevin Cummins\u2019 camera and not mine? I need more fighting!\u2019 It was a joke, but I basically saw more cooperation than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
What was their chemistry like?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, they had different roles \u2013 Noel did all the interviews, PR stuff and looking at pictures. He worked with [graphic designer and creator of the \u2018Definitely Maybe\u2019 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<\/a> 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\u2019s not an animated performer.\u201d<\/p>\n Was anything ever off limits, in what you were allowed to shoot?<\/p>\n \u201cNobody ever said to me, \u2018Don\u2019t shoot this\u2019. Never. But then there wasn\u2019t that many situations\u2026 [And] where there was tension, it often produced very good results anyway, photographically. But there wasn\u2019t that many of them, really \u2013 not what I saw. But then I tended to go to bed early, so I don\u2019t know what happened in the early hours of the morning in hotel corridors.\u201d<\/p>\n Gem Archer attended the book launch at Abbey Road Studios recently. Did you get the chance to catch up?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was really enthusiastic about the book, actually, and Andy Bell<\/a> [was] the same. Bonehead as well now. Gem was there at the launch, which was amazing because they\u2019d 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<\/a> at that Oasis book launch than there were of Oasis \u2013 that was very funny!\u201d<\/p>\n Did you have any idea that a reunion was on the cards?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d actually done a few gigs with the High Flying Birds<\/a>, and I don\u2019t think it was on the cards then. It certainly wasn\u2019t on the cards in \u201923, so we started the book project then.<\/p>\n \u201c[I said], \u2018Noel, if you do get together \u2013 I\u2019ll be one of the first calls you\u2019ll be making, right?\u2019 He said, \u2018Oh, you can come photograph me going to the bookies and putting a huge bet on it\u2019. That was his comment on it, really. When I heard about the reunion, I sent him a text saying, \u2018Did you get to the bookies in time?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n So the book coincided with this tour by chance?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve 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 \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t outrageously expensive. We also did it very fast; we only began it in January. For about four months, I don\u2019t remember seeing any weekends or nights free while we just blasted it.\u201d<\/p>\n The book contains a shot from inside the rehearsal room this year. Did you get any sense of the mood behind the scenes?<\/p>\n \u201cI went to do an empty room. The book was about to go to press \u2013 it was in May, and the rehearsals had just begun. It wasn\u2019t 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: \u2018This is all being prepared for the next chapter\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s 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\u2019s actually rather wonderful. Then, of course, there\u2019ll be books to follow \u2013 not by me, but no doubt there\u2019ll be some books of the tour<\/a>, the documentary<\/a>, and so on. It will all run together, and they\u2019ll be slightly linked up. It couldn\u2019t have been planned, but it worked out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n You highlighted the importance of the crowd at Oasis\u2019 earlier shows when talking about your joiner image of the massive Knebworth audience in \u201996. How did your experience at Wembley this year compare?<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t 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 \u2013 but behind, people were word-perfect and going wild. And that hasn\u2019t 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\u2019s still enormously powerful. And that is the show.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they\u2019ve managed to do with this [new] show, with the technology and the screens\u2026 it\u2019s 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\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Biblical\u2019 is the word they bandy about. \u2018Biblical\u2019 seems ridiculous, but actually, when you\u2019ve had two warring brothers that have made up, there is something biblical just about that alone. That, combined with what they\u2019re actually doing\u2026 it\u2019s unique.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you think they\u2019ll release new music?<\/p>\n \u201cReally, I\u2019ve got no idea. I\u2019m the last person to know. I had no idea they were getting back together. Nobody tells me anything [Laughs].\u201d<\/p>\n Can you see the growing friction during their final years, in the photos?<\/p>\n \u201cThere was the Heaton Park generator breakdown incident<\/a>. There was an inebriated and impatient audience waiting for the gig to happen. Noel was told, \u2018Don\u2019t leave the stage\u2019. The tension there was reflected, generally, in that period. The pictures of Liam, he was furious. Those pictures are sometimes quite scary \u2013 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<\/a>]. Although they were playing beautifully, there\u2019s a lot of tension on the stage, in the images. So it was definitely building up to something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n What\u2019s a standout moment in the book?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are other pictures that are more artistic, but there\u2019s a picture which was taken on May 2,\u00a0when Tony Blair became Prime Minister. It was that \u2018Rule Britannia\u2019 moment \u2013 a \u2018Be Here Now\u2019 moment, actually. Noel had written on a chalkboard in a pub in King\u2019s Cross: \u2018The best there was, the best there is, the best there ever will be!\u2019. They\u2019re all in hysterics, laughing, and there\u2019s piles of beer and cigarettes on the table.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember it was a key moment. I\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was that period of just having it large. They were really funny people and fantastic company. That was a really joyous day \u2013 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\u2019s got a lot of joy in it. I like it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a favourite photo from this tour? Liam cuts an iconic figure still with his tamourine resting on his bucket hat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOasis 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\u2019s just thrilling to see it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy 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, \u2018It\u2019s OK, brother. It\u2019s going to be fine\u2019. When I saw that picture, it actually brought a few tears to my eyes. First of all, I thought, \u2018Why haven\u2019t I taken that picture?\u2019. But that was irrelevant. There it was \u2013 my God! I\u2019ve got it on my wall \u2013 I immediately had to make a print.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this next phase has been really well documented. And thank goodness it\u2019s been recorded so thoroughly, because it is pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NME: Hello Jill. You follow Oasis\u2019 journey chronologically in the new book. Why was this important? Jill Furmanovsky:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,27056,460,134,1770],"class_list":{"0":"post-217494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-britpop","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-indie"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Oasis'](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Oasis-new-book-8.jpg\")
Oasis\u2019 Liam Gallagher. 31 January-2 February 1995, San Francisco, California, USA. CREDIT: \u00a9 Jill Furmanovsky<\/p>\n![\"October](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/OasisNoel-Jill-new-book.jpg\")
October 2023, Noel and Jill in Jill\u2019s Studio, London, UK. CREDIT: \u00a9 Jill Furmanovsk<\/p>\n![\"Oasis.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Oasis-new-book-9.jpg\")
Oasis. 25 November 1997, Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands. CREDIT: \u00a9 Jill Furmanovsky<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Oasis-new-book-10.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Oasis-new-book-11.jpg\")
Liam Gallagher. 22 December 1995, Creation Party, London, UK. CREDIT: \u00a9 Jill Furmanovsk<\/p>\n