Some might say it's long overdue, but Oasis has officially announced the band is getting back together after 15 years of separation.
This morning Oasis announced their reunion tour along with the first official photograph of the Gallagher brothers taken together since the band broke up in 2009, and the response has been nothing short of biblical!
Oasis unveiled their master plan and announced the domestic leg of the new tour titled Oasis Live '25, with a long run of shows in the UK & Ireland, with plans for the band to head overseas afterward. As a huge fan of the band, I am extremely excited about this news, and this was helped all the more by the incredible portrait taken by photographer Simon Emmett.
Simon Emmett is a celebrity photographer based in the UK and has captured a whos who of A-list celebrities including Jude Law, Usain Bolt, and Adele, but the new portrait of the brothers may go down as his most iconic.
The image (above) showcases Noel and Liam in a black and white portrait standing side by side with a hard look directly into the camera. A timeless image taken against a white backdrop harkens back to the striking portraits by David Bailey and Richard Avedon, looks as though it is shot on film.
The caption to the image on Simon Emmett's Instagram post states, "Honoured to be asked to capture this moment. Massive thanks to all involved #oasis".
At first glance, and given the hostility between the two in recent years, many viewers have questioned if the image is in fact a composite. But we know – not only judging by the caption on the PR release – but from this story in the Telegraph – that it is not. In fact I'd go so far as to say that, from the grain, the image was Definitely Maybe shot on film – and indeed we can now confirm that it was, on Ilford Delta 400, so not the Photoshop composite that some online sceptics had been suggesting (there must be a Stand by Me joke somewhere here).
That reaction was understandable – a quick inspection – and Liam's shiny jacket – does make the pair seem to have different contrast, but on closer inspection the skin clearly matches.
Nevertheless, the image is already stratospheric and will no doubt be one of the most standout images of the year if not the next decade. The weight of the story adds another dimension to this image and must have played a huge factor in determining how to shoot the new promo portrait. In my opinion, Simon Emmett has captured it to perfection, and it certainly will Live Forever.
You may be interested in our guides to the best camera for portraits and the best lenses for portraits.
