Oasis: Trying to find a way out of nowhere

(Hardback)

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Jill Furmanovsky's unparalleled work with Oasis stretches from the end of 1994 - when the band's debut album, Definitely Maybe, became the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history at the time - to their last tense shows in 2009, which culminated in their split. Jill was given unprecedented access to countless worldwide performances and many recording sessions. In this beautiful volume, overseen and edited by Noel Gallagher, award-winner Furmanovsky presents classic highlights and unseen images from her complete Oasis archive, which she describes as her best body of work, as well as insightful observations taken from notes she made at the time.

Organized chronologically, the book depicts more than 500 photographs, contact sheets and sequenced film strips of the band on stage, backstage, on the road, in the studio and behind the scenes. Jill captured the drama of the band's lifestyle during the 1990s when, as she said, 'they were on a comet, hanging on for dear life'. The access she was given allowed closeness, and she was able to document the competitive and at times volatile relationship between Noel and Liam Gallagher up to their split in 2009, creating a poignant visual diary that is more than the sum of its parts. In this book she extends the visual story to 2025*, capturing the band in rehearsal for the upcoming reunion tour.

Accompanying the images is illuminating commentary by Noel Gallagher, who relates the inside stories of the events pictured in many of the shoots and demonstrates an honest and touching relationship between band and photographer. Three essays by music journalists provide context to the band's story, and an introduction by Jill celebrates the supreme significance of Oasis in her 50+ years photographing musicians.

Reviews

'Its been an honour to have been associated with her for 30 years' - Noel Gallagher
'The iconic images by Furmanovsky capture the glorious madness of it all' - Rolling Stone
'If you look at her Oasis photographs it is one of the great essays in the history of photography' - Gail Buckland, author, curator, photo-historian

Author Bio

Jill Furmanovsky has photographed legendary rock musicians for more than 50 years, including Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Blondie, The Clash, The Ramones, The Pretenders, Joy Division, Leonard Cohen, Amy Winehouse and Oasis. In 2024 she received a Lifetime Achievement award from Amateur Photography magazine; the Legend of the year award from So.Co for Image of Music Awards; and the Abbey Road ICON award.


Noel Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Oasis, the band that defined the era of Cool Britannia. In August 1994 Oasis's first album, Definitely Maybe, entered the UK charts at number one and received widespread critical and commercial success, as did their next two albums, (What's the Story) Morning Glory (1995) and Be Here Now (1997). The band split in 2009 but are reforming for a worldwide tour in 2025.