‘Film will always reign supreme, as far as I’m concerned and any true photographer will tell you that.’
Terry O’Neill is one of the world’s most iconic and collected photographers, whose compelling work has spanned over six decades, having photographed a staggering number of famous faces of the 20th century, from the greats of screen and stage to presidents, prime ministers and rock stars. No other living photographer has embraced the span of fame, capturing the icons of our age from Winston Churchill to Nelson Mandela, from Frank Sinatra and Elvis to Amy Winehouse, from Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot to Nicole Kidman, as well as every James Bond from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan.
Having photographed The Beatles and The Rolling Stones when they were still struggling young bands in 1963, pioneered backstage reportage photography with David Bowie, Elton John, The Who, Eric Clapton and Chuck Berry and his images have adorned historic rock albums, movie posters and international magazine covers.
‘I seem to have turned full circle in the past 50 years. In 1960 I was trying to get on a plane, and today I seem to be on one all the time. Fifty years ago I was a jazz drummer playing in London clubs and I wanted to get to New York and play there with the best musicians. I thought the quickest and cheapest way was to get a job at BOAC – now British Airways – as a flight attendant and then I could work the jazz clubs during stopovers. Instead they offered me a job in what they called their technical photographic unit. They gave me a camera and told me to photograph people at Heathrow airport, pictures they could use on posters of happy couples or families re-uniting. I didn’t really know anything about exposure or cameras or anything, I taught myself reading photography magazines!
One day I noticed a little old man asleep in a chair surrounded by African chiefs and their wives in their wonderful national costumes. I didn’t realize it was Rab Butler, the then Home Secretary. Remember this was the days of Empire – one of the most important politicians in the world was taking a nap in an airport. A reporter tapped me on the shoulder and asked to buy my film and the next thing his editor is asking me for more. Within a couple of years I was one of the highest paid photographers on Fleet Street.’
This is how Terry O’Neill’s sublime career began into a lifetime of taking exquisite and ‘casual’, as Terry O’Neill describes them, photographs of famous faces. We were fortunate enough to meet the iconic photographer for a Film’s not Dead interview, shown below!
Information: Terry O’Neill
