WEEKEND BIG READ: The man who shot the world

His first photography job was with the Beatles, and since then Terry O’Neill has worked with many of the biggest names in showbiz. As he prepares to return to Cork — his father’s birthplace — for a major exhibition, the legendary snapper tells Alan O’Riordan about life in the fame game.

FOR a photographer who made his name working with some of the most famous names in showbiz history, to say “There’s nobody I want to photograph these days,” is a startling admission.

But as Terry O’Neill sees it, today’s stars aren’t of the same calibre. And when you see some of the portraits in his upcoming Cork exhibition, it’s hard to disagree: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot, Faye Dunaway, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor — the list goes on.