A Tribute to Terry O'Neill

by Tara Bell


Iconic British photographer, Terry O’Neill died, aged 81, on 16^th November, 2019; he had been suffering from prostate cancer. Spending many decades following influential celebrities, his photographs predominately focused on icons of the ‘swinging sixties’. To give an indication of the impact his legendary pictures induced in many people (myself included), his photography enabled him to receive a CBE at Buckingham Palace in October; he also worked with the Royal Family throughout his career.

At the beginning of his career, while partaking in an early job for a tabloid magazine, he was asked to film a ‘small band’ called the Beatles- which resulted in the famous Abbey Road picture which arguably contributed to the band’s success and global fame. 

Soon after, he found work with many other artists including the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Blur, Amy Winehouse, Audrey Hepburn and David Bowie (whom he called his “creative muse”). This promoted him to soon be known as one of the most influential chroniclers of celebrity culture- capturing key moments of art, sport, politics, film and music.

I found his death particularly sad due to O’Neill’s central focus of music; he photographed many of my favourite artists in an unusually candid way which clearly captured their eccentric and distinctive personalities. 

Many shared the same view; poignant tributes were made across various social media platforms.  Elton John tweeted “O’Neill took the most iconic photographs of me throughout the years, completely capturing my moods… RIP you wonderful man”. Additionally, Ringo Starr tweeted “God bless Terry O’Neill incredible photographer and good friend”.

In celebration of his life, here are some of my favourite moments Terry O’Neill creatively captured through his photography.