[Interview & Photo] 2017.11 Fault Magazine

LIAM GALLAGHER - EXCLUSIVE FAULT MAGAZINE ISSUE 27 COVERSHOOT AND INTERVIEW PREVIEW

06/11/2017 | IN NO NAME JIMMY | BY FAULT MAGAZINE

Liam Gallagher

As you were. As you are.

Words: Adina Ilie

Photography: Jack Alexander

Menswear Editor: Kristine Kilty

Grooming: Natalya Chew

FAULT Magazine is proud to present our Issue 27 cover story with non-other than Liam Gallagher. With a career spanning over 25 years and a myriad of stories to tell, we sat down to discuss the ups and downs of his career and get to know Liam Gallagher as he was and as he is. Enjoy.

FAULT: Do you recall the first 24 hours after Noel quit the band? What was going through your mind at that point?

Liam Gallagher: Oh fuck. That very moment I just went– right, there have been certain powers at play. It wasn’t too big an argument; we’ve had worse arguments. What went down was something that was pre-planned.

FAULT: What was the lead up to that point that makes you so sure that it was pre-planned?

Liam Gallagher: Lots of things. A lot of sneaky little meetings. People might say that it’s paranoia. But you can never be too paranoid in life. I kind of knew he was going to map it at some point. It was going to happen at V or it was going to happen at Reading. It only got postponed until Paris. I knew he was going to jump ship at some point. And that’s what made me feel that my paranoia was right. Or maybe I’m clairvoyant; I’ve got 6 senses.

FAULT: Did you feel Noel’s absence while writing this record?

Liam Gallagher: Yeah – because I don’t want to be solo. I don’t want to do it on my own. I’m not a guitar player or a prolific songwriter. I can write a few songs every now and again but I miss being in a band. I miss my brother the way he was back then. I miss singing those great songs that we all made great.

FAULT: Were you disappointed that your former bandmates did not reach out to you in times of crisis? Are you resentful in any way?

Liam Gallagher: My older brother has always been there. I thought I’d at least get a call from Noel, but there was no call. I thought I’d get a call from my other manager, but nothing from them fucking cunts. But then I met Debbie and she’s been there all the way. A lot of my mates are gone; I don’t really have anyone in London and that is fine. The universe is my mate.

Liam Gallagher: “I’ve been through a lot of shit, but it was shit that I caused. When you cause shit – you man up and fucking deal with it. Sometimes you have to fucking man up to your shit.”

FAULT: Did you ever feel that you were done? That you hit your peak in ’96 in Knebworth and then it was all downhill from there?

Liam Gallagher: I feel like I’ve maintained it without turning into the traps of the business. I’m still outspoken, I’m still wearing my heart on my sleeve and if people like it that’s fine. If you don’t then you don’t. I’m not a ‘yes man’.

FAULT: Did you ever see yourself hitting the top once more by yourself?

Liam Gallagher: The night Oasis split I felt absolutely disappointed and then I felt exactly the opposite when my album went number 1. In this day and age, rock’n’roll has got cobwebs on it. I never actually saw myself hitting the top once more. But if you truly believe, things will happen. I’ve been good to rock’n’roll and I reckon rock’n’roll will be good to me. It saved me twice.

FAULT: Hollywood is ablaze with accusations of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein. Have you seen similar occurrences in the music industry?

Liam Gallagher: : Not really, but you know it’s there. The shady little fuckers at the top. It’s not even with just men and women, it’s men and men too. All these pop bands – you hear about it with Take That but I’ve never witnessed any of it. Nobody would come near us. We were caught up in our own bubble. We weren’t hanging about with the record company. We’d go to the awards show and they’d be there, but we’d just get off and do our own thing. And I certainly didn’t see any weird shit.

FAULT: What changes do you reckon we should make to keep things safe for both men and women alike?

Liam Gallagher: That’s a big tough question. Obviously get rid of all the shit bags. Obviously, if everyone took care of their shit – everything would be cool. We all live together under one sky at the end of the day. Everyone just needs to cool the fuck out.

FAULT: Do you think Liam Gallagher has the power to get people to go back to the roots of rock’n’roll?

Liam Gallagher: I’ve got a lot of fans out there and I always have. My oldest kid is 18 and my friends have kids about the same age – so they’re going to bring them to the shows. That’s a good thing. All you can do is make good music and do good gigs. Do good interviews and try to sell it how it is. Stay honest to what you are and don’t get carried away with all the show business shit. That’s all that I can do. I’m definitely not the savior of music, I’m the savior of me.

Liam Gallagher: “I don’t get involved with the industry and the business side of it. I let my manager do that. That’s the problem with music today – it’s got no fucking soul. I get being business minded, but it can overpower. You forget about the fucking music.”

Find out who else will appear in the issue here

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How to Photograph Liam Gallagher

By Jessica Bloom ― 09.11.2017

Bring him to a warehouse, dress him in a cape and put on the Stones.

There are rock stars, and there’s Liam Gallagher. He’s in a league of his own, even when he’s just making a cup of tea backstage. But how do you photograph an icon? He’s the singular voice that inspired teens around the world to pick up their first acoustic guitar and pluck “Wonderwall.” And also the voice that’s quick with a tasty insult—on his press tour for his newly released solo album As You Were, he dismissed the entire ocean with, “…fuck the sea. I ain’t going in that. Fuck that, mate. That ain’t meant for us. That’s meant for the sharks, and the jellyfish, tadpoles and stuff.” And that’s nothing compared to the digs he’s made toward his brother since Oasis split up.

When photographer Jack Alexander told us that he was shooting Gallagher for Fault Magazine, we were a bit scared for him. There are always challenges when you’re shooting a celebrity, from meddling publicists to restrictive guardrails, plus you have to find a new way to shoot someone who’s well documented. Gallagher, for example, has been in front of cameras since the early 90s and likely has more on-set hours than 26-year-old Alexander.

But Alexander hustled for this gig, and his talent is showcased in the images he captured of Gallagher. The London-based portrait photographer has an impressive portfolio that includes Katy Perry, DMAs, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Charli XCX, among others. His ultra clean and sharp pictures mix editorial with photojournalism—plus, something about his work seems undeniably British, as if he could shoot the next Burberry campaign.

We called up Alexander to hear more about his experience photographing Liam Gallagher and got some great advice that can be applied to almost any celebrity shoot. We also found out what music Gallagher wanted to listen to, and how he feels about wearing capes.

1. Build your credibility and contacts

“When I moved to London, I started reaching out to people on Twitter. I didn’t really understand the industry and how it all worked—I just figured Twitter was a direct way to connect with people. I contacted musicians that everyone knows, but maybe haven’t done anything for awhile. My aim was just to get some names that I could then use to email magazines and say, ‘Hey, listen, I shot this person and that person, and I’m looking to expand.’

"I also went to the magazine section in one of the big department stores, and made notes about the editorial teams. I got those people’s contact information and just fired out emails, hoping that somebody would take me on. From there, I started working on my first magazine, and quickly found that the industry in London was actually really small. The important people that you meet on set—stylists, makeup artists, people like that—they’ll help you land more jobs, if you’re good to work with.

"That’s how we booked Liam Gallagher—I’d worked with his PR reps before. They look after the DMAs, who I photographed, and have stayed in touch. I felt comfortable enough to pitch them the idea of putting Gallagher on the cover of Fault, and luckily they were keen.”

2. Catch the vibe

“Celebrities spend a lot of time working on their image, and if you’re doing a press shoot, it needs to be on brand. With Liam, for example, he’s very rock ‘n’ roll. He doesn’t want to do happy, smiley stuff. It has to be very Liam.

"If it’s an editorial magazine shoot, you can get a bit more creative—dress the musician in something they wouldn’t normally wear. We always put together a mood board for the musician’s team to review. That way, they have the chance to say, ‘We’re not sure about this,’ or ask for specific images of the clothing.”

3. Find a location

“I usually do photo shoots at hotels with really nice suites, but this time I wanted something a little bit less clean, and with more of an edge. I pulled reference images together, the type of place I wanted to use and the types of shots I wanted to shoot. It was clear that I needed an industrial setting, a warehouse, so we found a place in London that’s several floors high and booked it.”

4. It’s ok to ask for what you want

“He was actually really nice, really friendly. He shook everyone’s hand on set, just very easy and open and approachable. He was fine with everything I asked of him. He said he wasn’t much of a smiler, but everything else was fine.

"In one of the shots, he’s wearing a cape, a massive, oversized Dior cape, and I told him I needed a bit more movement and energy. He was up for it, he was into the cape, and started suggesting shots saying, ‘Why don’t we try this? This’ll look cool. What about over here?’ It was great and we wrapped in an hour and a half, which is pretty quick considering we had eight looks.”

5. Be a friend, not a fan

“A lot of my energy goes into the preparation. I always try to do research about the person that I’m working with. If it’s a musician, I’ll listen to their music, if I don’t know it already, or if it’s an actor, I’ll try and watch something that they’ve been in. If you show that you have an interest in what you’re doing, and you’re not just there because you’re being paid to be there, or because you’re going to get the glory of photographing them, it makes a difference in the end product.

"Celebrities will open up a little bit more if you treat them as a friend, rather than behaving like a fan. You can see in their face that they’re more comfortable, and that’s when you start to get the shots, I think.”

6. Let him choose the music

“If you can play music, that always helps. I normally get my subject to choose the music because it’ll help them ease up a little bit. Liam requested the Rolling Stones; that was the soundtrack for our shoot.”

Put it on your portfolio

“It’s so easy for things to get lost on social media, or it becomes more about you than the work. You need a place where people can clearly see the pictures. When you’re building your portfolio, you’re not focused on how many likes an image from followers. Social media doesn’t always determine if an image is portfolio-worthy.

"I just think it’s the basic minimum requirement to have a website where people can see what you’re all about. I don’t think social media replaces it. I think social media should be an extension of your website. Considering how affordable most websites are these days, there’s not really an excuse to not have one.”

See more of Jack Alexander’s work at jackalexanderphotography.co.uk, built using Format.

How I Shot a Magazine Cover with Liam Gallagher

by Jack Alexander

November 13, 2017

In September I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of a couple of hours of Liam Gallagher’s time to shoot a magazine cover and 12-page spread. Here’s a detailed breakdown of my thought process, creative ideas and how the shoot was executed on the day.

Equipment list

For this shoot I used the following equipment:

Nikon D500
Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens
Nikon 24-120 f4 lens
Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight
Continuous lights purchased from eBay (discussed later)
Other ambient light already in place at the venue (discussed later)

Booked the Job. Need to Start Planning.

“Where do I start?” That was my initial thought after getting the shoot confirmed back in July. How do you go about photographing a man who has done hundreds, if not thousands of photoshoots in his career spanning over 25 years? Oasis was formed the year I was born – he’d seen and done it all by the time I ever picked up a camera.

The campaign leading up to the release of his debut solo album, As You Were, was already in full swing throughout the summer. I kept a close eye on other cover spreads that had come out featuring Liam, and noticed he had most recently done a big feature with British GQ. These particular images were shot within a luxury penthouse suite, largely bright and neutral in colour. Instantly, I knew I had to do something different – opposite, even.

I have a soft spot for gritty, grimy locations… particularly dank and dark warehouses. Unfortunately for me, it’s rare to have either the budget or the pull of such a name in order to wrangle a legitimate warehouse space. But if there was ever a time to try my luck, it was now.

I managed to locate a place through the suggestion of the magazine editor – a warehouse in East London called Islington Metal Works. It spans several floors and includes everything from a virtually-abandoned attic, to a gig space used on a weekly basis. In other words, it had the variety that a magazine cover shoot needs from its location; it’s always best to have options since so many factors are being brought together and it can really differ on the day to what you had envisioned. Composition, lighting, styling, and the opinions of varying members of the team mean it’s essential to have a variety of choices for the backdrops of your shots.

As with any shoot that involves a celebrity client, a mood board is required to demonstrate both the shoot concept and the styling direction. Musicians and actors have a creative team around them whose job it is to establish a particular image – and brand – for the talent. Although magazine editorial teams are often left in full creative control, it’s imperative for the musician’s team to see that the concept and clothing choices aren’t going to damage the public image of their client by going really off-brand or doing anything that could be perceived as being too risqué, fleshy, or seedy.

By this stage we had the location confirmed, so I included visual references of where we’d be shooting when curating my individual shot breakdown. I planned for at least five set-ups, adding in images to the board that demonstrated whereabouts within the venue we’d be shooting, as well as giving an indication of the mood, color, and the sorts of "poses" or stances I was aiming for. I then consulted with my stylist to make sure my concept matched her styling board, before sending it over to Liam’s team for approval. Privately, I began to make more detailed notes on individual shot breakdowns that I had in mind.

Liam is, by all counts, someone who can get away with just standing there and still looking effortlessly full of character. Really, I didn’t want or feel the need to deviate away from his usual image, but rather I wanted to build on it. He’s not someone that requires much molding.

Upon visiting the venue in advance, it became apparent there was zero natural light available. I had originally envisioned some moody shots with window light, even including some references on the initial concept board we sent over to his team before I worked on the shot breakdowns.

I was still open to using a multitude of different lighting set-ups but ultimately settled on using my Nikon SB-700 flashgun. Our shoot fell on what is known as a press day - not unusual – and meant Liam was hopping to and from other press commitments all day. We had a slot of between one and a half and two hours to complete this – ample time to fit a shoot in, sure, but also realistically a time period that can pass rapidly. I didn’t feel confident a lighting set-up that involved light stands would be practical given the time restriction. The versatility that a flashgun allows means I could navigate around the venue, and around Liam, without having to stop repeatedly to adjust and move lights. With the location spanning across several floors, it could easily have become messy and slow-paced.

I used the flashgun for most of the set-ups, including this article’s featured photo. Wearing a huge Dior cape, we decided a bit of movement would work better. Liam really liked this outfit (“really fucking cool mate”) and was really into the movement. Walking towards me, I had him keep his arms out, lifting and lowering his hands. The practicality of the flashgun meant I could keep moving and could capture the motion. I used to be terrified of flash – I didn’t understand it. But honestly, this shoot and this particular type of shot wouldn’t have been possible without being shot this way. I recommend taking the plunge and doing some test shoots to practice shooting flash if you’re unfamiliar.

For the cover shot, I scrapped the flashgun in favor of seeking an image with a bit more of an atmosphere. As part of the previous set-up, I’d used a continuous strip light that was part of the venue and decided it would form quite a nice light if used to illuminate Liam’s face. I turned him 180 degrees and had him this time sit facing the light. The light filled with face and jacket quite softly in comparison to the harsh nature of a flashgun. After a few practice shots, I also added one continuous light, placed diagonally on the side and back of him, to illuminate his face from the side. It’s only subtle in the grand scheme of things but just helps to separate him from the background, and make it pop a little more. That light was part of a cheap set-up I bought from eBay. Overall, the venue’s strip light (by no means professional photography lighting equipment) created a nice yellow hue which I accentuated slightly in post-production.

The venue’s lighting also came in handy for a later set-up, too. Shooting in the part of the venue that hosts gigs, I used the spotlights they normally reserve for gig lighting to light Liam for this one. That included a white light with a discreet cool tint to it, as well as an amber light which ended up lining one side of his face to make the portrait more interesting. Again, these were inexpensive spotlights used by a small-capacity gig venue that essentially served as make-do continuous lights and color gels. It’s not something I could plan for, but something I observed when talking to Liam as we were going over clothing selections earlier at the shoot.

Working with Liam

On the day, Liam was really involved in the shoot. Of course, any rock and roll frontman has a reputation that proceeds him. Days earlier, I’d watched a tongue-in-cheek viral video of him talking about the Oasis heyday, and how he used to have four people making his cups of tea. It was funny and really showed off his sense of humor, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that wondered if he expected similar (something) at the shoot!

He was uber-professional. When he arrived on set, he made sure he’d spoken to everyone on set and shook their hand. I asked him for his music request and we played The Rolling Stones. As we began taking photos, he said, “I’m not much of a smiler, but anything else goes.” That worked for me!

We got through eight outfits in total – possibly a record considering we shot it all in under 90 minutes. He got involved in the creative, even suggesting some of the shot ideas. I proceeded to travel straight home and back the images up at least seven times (joking, not joking).

After the Shoot

I ended up with over 70 final, PR-approved selects – again, possibly the most I’ve ever had from one shoot! It’s almost a shame there’s only eight or nine making it into the final spread.

On reflection: there were certain decisions that had to be made spontaneously on the day. For example, we had planned to shoot some of the looks outside, and also in the venue’s courtyard – a naturally lit area that is filled with cobbles and large railway doors. Ultimately, in reviewing the first few shots on the back of the camera whilst on set, the team and I decided any pictures taken with natural light would only deviate from the story – it was shaping up to be quite dark and contrasty. We scrapped those locations and incorporated the shots and set-ups we’d scheduled there into other, darker parts of the warehouse instead.

In order to edit the images, I used Photoshop to enhance the contrast and colors. Both of the below tend to produce results I like.

The Finished Product

The shoot runs as the front cover and 12-page spread inside FAULT Magazine Issue 27, releasing on November 27th. If you’d like to see more of the issue and read extracts from Liam’s interview, you can find all that good stuff here.

Find Liam on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His debut solo album “As You Were” is out now.

More of my work is available on Instagram.

I hope you find this article helpful, somewhat. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments!