Exhibition By Veteran Celebrity Photographer, Terry O'Neill Now 80

In today's sad but true RIP news:

"Few people alive today could say they've met the likes of Nelson Mandela, Elvis, Amy Winehouse and The Beatles.

But legendary photographer Terry O'Neill, 80, is lucky enough to have taken pictures of them all over the course of a stellar career spanning almost six decades.

Most famous for his portraits of Elton John in the 1970s, Terry has dedicated much of his life to taking pictures of the rich and famous.

Now a new exhibition offers a glimpse at rarely seen snaps, including one of Paul McCartney playing the piano at Ringo Starr's wedding, and another of Audrey Hepburn reclining beside a pool on the set of Two for the Road in St Tropez in 1967.

Scroll down to see more of the legendary snapper's atmospheric shots of some of the biggest stars of the past century...

World-famous photographer Terry O'Neill is displaying a number of his rare and never seen before pictures, including this one of Paul McCartney at Ringo Starr's wedding in 1981, at a new exhibition

Over the course of his career, which has spanned nearly 60 years, Terry was lucky enough to photograph some of the most famous people in the world - including Nelson Mandela, pictured here on his 90th birthday in 2008

During the 1960s, Terry worked on a number of film sets across the globe, capturing incredibly intimate shots of stars relaxing - including Audrey Hepburn, pictured here by a pool in St Tropez while shooting the 1967 filming Two for the Road. 'When the call came to ask if I wanted to go down to the south of France to work on the new film starring Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn, well, how do you say no to that?' Terry later said of Hepburn in an interview with Iconic Images. 'She really knew how to work with a camera, with a photographer'

Elizabeth Taylor met David Bowie while casting for the film The Blue Bird in 1975. Bowie turned up two hours late for the meeting, leaving Elizabeth fuming. To defuse the situation, Terry started taking photos of the pair, including a series of them sharing a cigarette. Speaking about the pictures with Harper's Bazaar in 2011, he said: 'When I look back at my photographs of her, it’s always this set that I come back to – a young David Bowie in a nervous embrace, Elizabeth in total command... An unlikely meeting, an intoxicating pair; the shots were instantly snapped up all over the world'

In 1972, Terry took this photograph of Hollywood stars Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood in Tuscon, Arizona

Over the years, Terry became close friends with Raquel Welch, taking this photograph of her in 1969. He told Iconic Images: 'My friendship and working relationship with Raquel goes back more than fifty years now. I worked with her when she was starting out and the camera loves her. Well, everyone loves her!'

During Elton John's peak in the 1970s, Terry O'Neill took numerous pictures of the star. He once said of Elton: 'He hated being photographed. The costumes were what he hid behind'

Ava Gardner, pictured in 1968, was close friends with Terry until her death in 1990. Ava helped Terry meet her ex-husband Frank Sinatra by writing him a letter, and the pair worked together for many years. Terry told the Sunday Times: 'Ava was very nice and she wrote me a letter to give to Frank. I don't know what she wrote but whatever it was, it opened up a door for me and I was with him for the next 30 years, off and on'

Pictured: Fellow photographer David Bailey setting up a shot of Jean Shrimpton in 1963. Some of Terry's most famous shots are of Jean, who was considered the face of the swinging 60s

Pictured: Raquel Welch and Farrah Fawcett on the set of Myra Breckinridge in 1970. Raquel had the titular role

Terry photographed Dustin Hoffman during the filming of John and Mary in New York in 1969

Terry has photographed every single James Bond, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. Here, Sean Connery is pictured pretending to hitchhike during the filming of Diamonds of Forever in 1971

Pictured: Elizabeth Taylor in period costume on the set of A Little Night Music in Austria, 1977

In 1964, Liza Minnelli and her mother Judy Garland performed at the London Palladium together (pictured). Speaking about the legendary show with Playbill, Liza said: 'My mother tricked me into doing the show. She asked me to come perform in London with her but I declined. I felt I wasn’t ready, I was too young. But Mama didn’t take no for an answer'

Terry snapped this photo of English heavyweight boxer Henry Cooper back in 1960" - Dailymail.co.uk