As a renowned photographer she’s worked with some of the biggest names in the business, from Bruce Springsteen to the Foo Fighters and The Rolling Stones.
Yet for snapper Sharon Latham, its her bond with Noel Gallagher that has proved to be one of the most special – having spent years touring the world with the singer and his band High Flying Birds.
Speaking exclusively to at the launch of her photography exhibit – A New World Blazing – which features new and unseen images of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Sharon revealed that the pair met due to their shared love of football.
Sharon was working as Senior Club Photographer for Manchester City FC and would often cross paths with superfan Noel and his brother Liam.
So when her 10-year tenure at the club came to an end she revealed a shocked Noel asked her what her next step would be, only for Sharon to end up going on tour with him.
Speaking at the launch of her photography exhibit – A New World Blazing – which features new images of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Sharon Latham discussed her bond with the star
Sharon’s bond with Noel has proved to be one of the most special – having spent years touring the world with the singer and his band
‘I said “I’ll just come on tour with you” and he went “ok”‘, Sharon recalled. ‘It was genuinely a throw away comment!’
Yet the position stuck and Sharon found herself going on tour with the band.
Sharon later found out that Noel had a habit of being impulsive, having hired bassist Russell Pritchard on a whim after Russ called him out of the blue and asked if he wanted a bass player in his band.
His laidback attitude is no act, as Sharon shared: ‘He is by far one of the coolest people. It’s not an arrogant cool, it’s just cool…
‘He’s a human being. You’ll go out for dinner and it’s not like sitting with “Noel Gallagher superstar rock star”, it’s having a laugh, a bottle of beer and eating food.’
Revealing that Noel is also incredibly generous, she recalled the time they were on tour in alongside U2 and he hired her a campervan so she could explore the country.
‘Some of the places we went to in were spectacular,’ she explained. ‘I said to him I didn’t want to fly and he’s like, “What are you talking about?” Because the gigs – we’d be going from Sydney to Melbourne – they were far away places.
‘But I said no, I’ll just get a campervan, just see the world a bit. So he hired me a campervan and I travelled all over .’
Sharon said: ‘He’s a human being. You’ll go out for dinner and i t’s not like sitting with “Noel Gallagher superstar rock star”, it’s having a laugh, a bottle of beer and eating food’
His laidback attitude is no act, as Sharon shared: ‘He is by far one of the coolest people. It’s not an arrogant cool, it’s just cool… (pictured together on stage at Noel’s book launch in 2018)
Sharon also spoke about his dedication to his fans, revealing every show was performed with passion
Sharon’s new photography exhibit – A New World Blazing – features new and unseen images of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Sharon has also worked photographing Oasis gigs and is excited to see the band’s reunion tour
While they’ve worked in close quarters for years, Sharon is careful not to overstep and knows exactly when she needs to give Noel his space.
She explained: ‘There’s not been many moments but I remember him doing an acoustic sound check once – and I always covered sound checks – but he’d come out on the stage early and and and was just singing.
‘He just sort of looked at me and I thought, “Ah, he doesn’t doesn’t want me. It must be a song that he’s working on or something. So I just moved.
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‘It’s because I know him now. I get it.’
Sharon also spoke about his dedication to his fans, revealing every show was performed with passion.
Sharon recalled one gig in Denmark at a ‘really weird festival in the middle of nowhere’, which took place inside what appeared to be a circus tent.
‘He came on stage like he was playing Glastonbury!’, she mused. ‘With sunglasses on and it was pitch black. So what he could see? I don’t know!’
Sharon has also worked photographing Oasis gigs and is excited to see the band’s reunion tour.
She mused: ‘The whole world is excited about it!
‘When I shoot with the High Flying Birds, I always find it bizarre because I look at the crowd when he’s singing, there’s these 15 and 16 year old kids that are singing songs back at him that were out in the Nineties.
‘They know about him because their mum and dad have listened. So it’s another generation. Don’t you think that’s incredible?
‘There’s a time and a place for things isn’t there culture and in life, and there’s times and moments that we all experience. This reunion tour is going to be another one for that generation.’
Sharon said: ‘There’s a time and a place for things isn’t there culture and in life, and there’s times and moments that we all experience. This reunion tour is going to be another one for that generation’
Revealing that Noel is also incredibly generous, she recalled the time they were on tour in alongside U2 and he hired her a campervan so she could explore the country
Pictured above: One of the many photographs Sharon captured of Noel
Commenting on the reunion tour, she mused: ‘The whole world is excited about it!’
Sharon first developed an interest in cameras as a child, spending time with her dad – a keen amateur photographer – before he died when she was eight years old (Noel pictured above by Sharon)
While they’ve worked in close quarters for years, Sharon is careful not to overstep and knows exactly when she needs to give Noel his space
While many Oasis fans had given up all hope of the warring brothers ever reuniting, Sharon knows all too well how it feels to defy the odds.
She first developed an interest in cameras as a child, spending time with her dad – a keen amateur photographer – before he died when she was eight years old.
‘When he died, it was the only connection I had,’ Sharon explained. ‘And it was the only thing I really loved, I was alright at it.
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‘And then life happened. I had three kids. I got married when I was 18. I wanted to do photography as a living, but couldn’t find any way of doing it with children and working, and it just it just seemed like a pie in the sky.
‘So for me, it was my hobby and my passion, and I loved it. And then, after my second divorce, I realised that if I was going to do something with my life – the kids were older – it wanted to be this.
‘So my two passions of music and photography was all I wanted to do, so I ended up packing up everything to go and live in Liverpool.’
While in Liverpool she ended up getting involved with a non league football team and started establishing herself as a sports photographer.
Yet tragedy struck when she was caught up in a horrendous car crash that broke her back and caused temporary paralysis.
‘I spent a year completely depressed in hospital,’ she explained. ‘It was horrendous.
‘Long story short, I managed to get back to health, but I lost everything to do with photography. I just had no confidence and I didn’t think I was going to ever pick a camera up again.’
Yet a friend encouraged her to get back into photography and after offering her services at a festival she ended up meeting the chief communications manager at Manchester City FC, who offered her the job at the club that led to her meeting with Noel.
The snaps range from edgy abstract shots to behind the scenes moments
Speaking about the exhibit, Noel shared: ‘What are the pictures saying? They are saying: We – NGHFB – have the best job in the world. To work, play, travel and party with these people is an absolute pleasure’
The creative relationship Sharon formed with Noel inspired her new exhibit A New World Blazing
Sharon explained that she met the chief communications manager at Manchester City FC, who offered her the job at the club that led to her meeting with Noel
Noel said: ‘I’m so happy that Big Shaz was there to capture these moments. Down the years I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best photographers in the world and I would put Sharon right up there’
The creative relationship Sharon formed with Noel inspired her new exhibit, which documents live performances as well as rare and intimate glimpses behind the scenes with Noel
A New World Blazing can be seen at the Gibson Garage London for the next six months. The gallery is open Monday to Saturday 10am – 7pm and on Sunday 12-6pm
The creative relationship Sharon formed with Noel inspired her new exhibit A New World Blazing, which documents live performances as well as rare and intimate glimpses behind the scenes with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
Speaking about the exhibit, Noel shared: ‘What are the pictures saying? They are saying: We – NGHFB – have the best job in the world. To work, play, travel and party with these people is an absolute pleasure.
‘I’m so happy that Big Shaz was there to capture these moments. Down the years I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best photographers in the world and I would put Sharon right up there.’
A New World Blazing can be seen at the Gibson Garage London for the next six months. The gallery is open Monday to Saturday 10am – 7pm and on Sunday 12-6pm