Noel Gallagher made a surprise appearance at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards on Thursday night (03.10.24) to present Jill Furmanovsky with the prestigious ICON Award.
The 57-year-old guitarist made a rare public appearance since announcing in August that he was reforming Oasis with estranged brother Liam Gallagher, putting an end to their 15-year long feud.
Noel was on hand at the legendary studio in London to give Jill her accolade and described the music photographer – who has shot Oasis on numerous occasions – as a “dear friend” who he is honoured to have worked with for three decades.
He said: “She is a very, very dear friend of mine. It’s been an honour to be associated with her for 30 years. I can only say that she’s as lovely as she seems, she’s one of my best friends and I adore her. Congratulations on your award and come up here and give me a hug.”
Jill duly obliged and stepped on stage to warmly embrace the ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ singer.
Furmanovsky – who was photographed with Noel on stage by Carsten Windhorst – told the audience she was “overwhelmed” to receive the special award and was very surprised that Noel was on hand to give her the statuette.
During her illustrious career, which has spanned over 50 years, Jill has captured some of the world’s biggest stars on camera, including Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Blondie, Kate Bush, Billie Eilish and more.
On the night, there were video tributes to Jill and her work from Nile Rodgers, Debbie Harry, David Gilmour, Siouxsie Sioux and Sting.
The ceremony was hosted by Edith Bowman and included live performances from Maverick Sabre’s YOURS collective, JNR Williams and Aziya.
Other winners included Tom Pallant who received the Music Moment of the Year prize for his work shooting Blur, while Francis Mancini received the Live Music Award.
The 2024 competition saw a remarkable rise in submissions, with entries increasing by over 50 percent from last year. Showcasing a range of global talent, over 22,000 images from 28 different countries were submitted, across six open categories.
The MPAs judging panel was led by founding judge and renowned British photographer Rankin.
After the ceremony, Noel headed to the Chiltern Firehouse 10th anniversary party in London with his new girlfriend Sally Mash.
The rock icon and Sally have been dating for around a year following his split from second wife Sara MacDonald back in 2022 after 12 years of marriage.
Abbey Road Music Photography Awards open categories full list of winners:
Undiscovered Photographer of the Year (Supported by adidas)
Andreia Lemos [Amyl and the Sniffers]
Music Moment of the Year (Supported by Outernet London and voted for by the public)
Tom Pallant [Blur]
Live Music Award
Francis Mancini [Darren Styles]
Underground Scenes Award
Lemphek [Hui Zu Chen Hongmin]
Making Music Award
Lauren Harris [Joesef]
Jazz: The Rebirth of Cool
Adrien H. Tillmann [Billy Harper]
ICON Award
Jill Furmanovsky
INVITED CATEGORIES
Editorial
Alexa Viscius [bnny]
Portrait
Bolade Banjo [Popcaan]