Hamish MacBain & Ted Kessler On 'A Sound So Very Loud: The Inside Story Of Every Song Oasis Recorded'

 

Oasis books are like buses, you wait for one for ages then about 19 come along at once. Such is the euphoria felt across the UK and beyond that every couple of weeks it seems there's a new Oasis book coming out at the moment. This book; 'A Sound So Very Loud, The Inside Story of Every Song Oasis Recorded' caught my attention early on when it went on pre-sale.

Ahead of the books release on Thursday we spoke to Hamish MacBain and Ted Kessler about the book, Oasis and more, read our review of the book here.

Producing a book is a long and intensive process and I surmise you and Hamish must be excited all of your hard work has finally seen the book in print.

Hamish: I would say that while it’s true that in most cases producing a book is a long and intensive process, in the case of ‘A Sound So Very Loud’ it was more the latter x 10. Nobody believes us when we say we were planning this book before the reunion, but we were: after bumping into each other in the pub before Liam’s o2 Arena Definitely Maybe shows and getting so excited about having heard a bunch of drunk, beautiful kids singing ‘Cloudburst’ on the tube on the way there. Then obviously when the news broke, we knew we were going to have to get a move on, cue a three-month period locked away when everyone was partying at the end of 2024. I actually wrote the ‘Sunday Morning Call’ entry on Christmas morning!

Ted: I’ve written two other books and devised/edited another one, and I’d say this has been by far the least stressful of the lot. It’s been such an enjoyable way to spend a bleak mid-winter – which is when we wrote it – largely because the story is so rich, rewarding and funny, and sharing the work with Hamish has made it all seem lighter. It’s good to be able to WhatsApp or phone or meet for a pint with the person you’re writing a book with, rather than just gnashing your teeth alone. And now the book is out in the full blast of summer, just six months later, it’s beautiful to see it in full bloom, just as the long-lost band you’ve writing about is ready to lift off again…but I imagine it’s bit like when your kids leave home. It's bittersweet. I’m actually going to miss the working routine with Hamish hugely.

What can readers expect to find in it? So much has been written about Oasis, why is this book different from all the other books out this year?

Hamish: The obvious reference point is ‘Revolution in The Head’, the book which goes through every song the Beatles recorded. Now, the mainstream press narrative may be that everyone stopped caring after Be Here Now but to me that’s absolute bollocks: I meet people all the time of all ages who only want to talk about the genius of ‘Let’s All Make Believe’ or ‘Pass Me Down The Wine’ or whatever it may be. Ted and I love all the eras of Oasis and feel that a lot of other people do too. This is a book for them, mainly.

Ted: The music often gets left behind in the telling of the Oasis story. Instead, it’s their one-liners, their chaos, all the rest. We love all that, too, of course, but it’s the music that they’ve made throughout their career that is selling out stadiums over the next year or so, not the off-stage shenanigans, and so we wanted to use those songs as a device for telling their story – from the start of their recording career to the end. It’s interesting that we can quickly tell from reading the book’s reviews who actually has an interest in Oasis records, as those people seem to love the book. Reviewers who’ve negative preconceived ideas about the band, who perhaps think Oasis peaked with Morning Glory, who think they were loutish or whatever, those reviewers are convinced that we’re pretending to like Oasis across their career. That’s projection. We genuinely love Oasis, from start to finish. I hope that comes over. I’m not sure every other book is written by people on board for the whole story.   

What is the most interesting discovery you made while researching and writing the book?  

Hamish: I mean it didn’t make the book in the end, but when I was researching the ‘Be Here Now’ tour I remembered going to the date at Sheffield Arena in September 1997 and happened to be texting the friend I went with that night. He reminded me that the boxer Prince Naseem came onstage as a special guest during ‘Acquiesce’. Because he’s not a musician he just stood there, and Liam was shadowboxing him during Noel’s bits. Not a good idea, Liam! 

Ted: I feel uneasy answering this question for a website with such committed O heads reading, as I’m sure many things that were news to me will have readers rolling their eyes at my ignorance. But the thing that made me happiest wasn’t actually an Oasis fact. It was when Noel told Hamish during an NME interview for Definitely Maybe’s tenth anniversary that he wished he’d been 15 when it came out as that’s the perfect age for that album. Hamish then had the great pleasure of informing Noel that he’d been 15 when Definitely Maybe came out, switching him on to a lifetime of Oasis devotion. It’s a rare treat making Noel Gallagher jealous of you.

Every song the band recorded is covered in the book. What was the hardest song to find information about?

Hamish: There’s certain B-sides from the very early noughties that I think are so overlooked because I guess they weren’t ever in contention to be played live and interviewers weren’t asking about them. Things like ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Idler’s Dream’, both of which I love. But then they became some of the most fun to write about in some ways…

Ted: There were a few late-period B-sides that are not hugely documented, but, as Hamish says, these became enjoyable to write about as you just had to use your noddle and think laterally. 

You have a long professional association Oasis, and some of them individually. Were any of them involved? And have you had any feedback from any of them?

Hamish: No, and we didn’t even want to ask because we assumed they’re too busy preparing for World Domination Part 2! We’ve both interviewed them dozens of times and found just so much stuff that didn’t make the cut in the final articles. For example, I’d completely forgotten about this interview I did with Liam about his favourite albums ever, and he starts talking about lyric writing and how he does it and stuff like that. 

Ted: I think an official Oasis book would be a very different book. There’s a brilliant book to be written with their input, but I did love the freedom of not having their approval (or otherwise) for everything this time. I sent some pages early after we’d finished to Debbie Gwyther, just to let her know we were doing it, and she said she was into it and thought fans would be too. That’s good enough for me! We got the Liam quote comparing us to Dudley Moore and Peter Cook soon afterwards.

I’ve read the book and it is so well researched, what resources did you use to write it? 

Hamish: Oh god, so many… I am blessed-slash-cursed with a Rainman-like ability to remember Oasis interviews from my youth, so I spent a lot of time tracking down old copies of long gone magazines like Select and Melody Maker when my brain somehow remembered something Noel had said about ‘Hey Now’ or something like that.

Just hours and hours and hours watching old YouTube clips and a few great afternoons spent in the British Library going back through all the ridiculous tabloid stories like “WILDMAN LIAM JUMPS OVER POWER CABLES ON TOP OF MOVING TOURBUS”

And gotta say this wouldn’t have been the book it is without people like your good self and James at the Oasis Podcast and the Live Forever forum massive…

Ted: My sources were the same as Hamish mostly. I have every NME and Melody Maker on file which is helpful. I have a bunch of old Q, Mojo and so forth about them, too, plus my own interviews with them over the decades, from 1994 to 2023, which was the last time I interviewed Liam. Twenty-nine years of interviewing Gallaghers! And in that time, Liam and his brother are still the undefeated champion interviewees in any field, none better. The fan sites – particularly yours, Oasis Podcast, the Live Forever forum – were really vital, as was Reddit (though not to be taken literally always), Behind The Curtain podcast, James Hargreaves, etc etc. Read all the books: Supersonic is by the best resource for those early years, along with Paulo Hewitt’s book. I don’t want to forget anyone but trust me – we read you too.

What was the first Oasis song you remember hearing and why did it draw you to the band?

Hamish: I had the ‘Mutha Of Creation’ cassette that came free with NME in February 1994 which had a demo of Cigarettes & Alcohol’ on it which I played a lot. But it was the live performance of ‘Supersonic’ on The Word - where Liam is wearing a bomber jacket and waving a Super8 camera around - that I was truly sucked in. I turned 15 years old five days after it happened and it just blew my mind in a way that bands like, say, Nirvana had not. I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate why: I just knew this was my trip.   

Soon after that, I taped their set off Radio 1 at a thing called Sound City and played that recording over and over until the cassette wore out. I still have the case somewhere: Liam didn’t introduce the first two songs, so the track list I’ve written on it reads:

Somebody Else 

Lasagne

Live Forever

Cigarettes & Alcohol

Supersonic

Ted: I was working in the NME office in November 1993 when Johnny Hopkins, the junior PR at Creation, came in with a big mailer full of white labels of this band he was going to work on. It was a song called Columbia by this band named Oasis. At the time, PRs would come in on Tuesdays to pick up the new NME issue hot off the press and deliver their newest, best music to you at the same time. My memory might be conflating two Johnny Hopkins visits into one, but I’m sure he also gave me a compilation by Felt that day too, which I was initially more excited about. We played Columbia in the office and thought it pretty good on first listen, but it was a very busy, chatty office. A couple of weeks later, I went to interview the Charlatans at their studio and Tim Burgess put the white label on proper speakers: the penny dropped in a very, very big way that night. We played it on repeat.

In March of the next year, we got the Supersonic single in on pre-release cassettes and, Jesus, I never really recovered from that. Still haven’t.

Do you think the band will ever record new music or do you think this is "A lap of honour" as Noel Gallagher has stated?

Hamish: I think only two people in the world know the answer to that question. And even they probably don’t. Once they feel the outpouring of love from the crowds… that can change anybody’s mind. Add to that, every time I’ve seen Noel solo over the years, he’s always played pretty much the whole of whichever album was the most recent. ‘Council Skies’ was amazing. He’s clearly not even close to being done as a songwriter, and who knows? Maybe he’ll write one soon where he thinks, “You know who’d be great singing this…?”

Ted: I think it’ll become obvious one way or the other after they’ve played a good portion of gigs together again. Liam Gallagher does sound good singing Noel Gallagher songs, though.

Are you going to any of Oasis' gigs this summer?

Hamish: I will be at the first night in Cardiff - I’ve waited long enough! - and a Wembley night and then as many as I can get to after that. I would love to see them at River Plate in Buenos Aires, because whenever you watch anyone play there on YouTube (go have a look at AC/DC) it just looks absolutely crazy. 

Ted: I’m going to the two Hamish are going to and then praying to the gods of rock for more down the line. Would love to travel far afield to see them – I’ve noticed Hamish has said Buenos Aires. That sounds good!

Do you have any other projects coming up?

Hamish: Not sure, I’m still in a bit of a daze that I’ve got to write a book about Oasis and that people are responding to it well… It’s been a pretty intensive few months, so in a way I don’t think I’ve had time to process the fact that I’m actually going to see Oasis live again: basically just planning to immerse myself in that moment and think about the future later.

Ted: I co-run a music newsletter, The New Cue, that publishes twice a week, which I’ve tried to do maintain my workload for during most of the time while writing this book, even if my colleague Niall might dispute that (he did carry a load of it for weeks in the deepest, darkest winter months). So, I’m going to try to do that with a bit more focus, while also publishing two books through a small imprint we’re launching in the autumn. And in the meantime, I’ll think of the next book to write.

Hamish and I also had some Oasis pub quizzes we wanted to host, partly as promo for the book but also because we think it’ll be a hoot. We’ve got them set-up with Sounds Familiar who run really fun, loud quiz nights: it’ll be an excuse to go to a pub and sing Oasis at top volume for two hours, which sounds good. Maybe we’ll get them up and running in a pub near you in the autumn/winter when you’re missing singing along to Oasis with your pals. It’d be nice to maintain the Dudley Moore and Peter Cook routine for a bit longer.

Finally, if you had to pick three Oasis tracks for the band's setlist this summer what would they be and why?

Hamish: As I’m sure you and everyone who reads this has, I’ve been talking about this for months. As I see it they’ve got about an hour and half’s worth of stuff that they just HAVE to play, but I really, really hope that they chuck in a couple of curveballs in as well. I felt such joy watching Noel at Alexandra Palace last summer, him introducing ‘Going Nowhere’ with something like “I appreciate most of you won’t have heard this before” and then having it sung back to him by everyone young and old in the audience. So that. 

I think the version of ‘Headshrinker’ on Liam’s ‘Down By The River Thames’ album is outrageously good. You can hear what Bonehead adds to the sound on that so I’m made up that he’s involved and tunes like this are where you’ll notice him most. 

And speaking of Bonehead, every time I go on TikTok I seem to be besieged by teenagers doing their own versions of ‘Bonehead’s Bank Holiday’. That is probably beyond the realms of possibility, but I live in hope of seeing a stadium singing “Dontcha knooow” back at him!

Ted: I’m a lot more route-one than Hamish. So:

Supersonic – I don’t think I could watch Oasis without hearing them play it.

Live Forever – in case Liam dedicates it to his missing teeth in Cardiff again.

I’d like a really 1964, R&B mod version of High Horse Lady, too. I can hear that song played like that in my head only.

The book is out on July 3rd 2025 and is available from here and here.

Andy Bell On His Album 'The View From Halfway Down', Ride, Oasis And More

Ahead of the release of his debut solo album 'The View From Halfway Down' on October 9th, Andy Bell spoke with Stop Crying Your Heart Out about the new release, as well as his time in Oasis and his future plans with Ride.

Read on to discover Andy's thoughts on the now famous 'River Plate' gig during the band's last ever tour, which song he'd most like to hear at a Liam gig, working with Gem Archer on his new record and much more!

You recently announced your first-ever solo album. What can fans expect from it?  

It’s a first step, short and sweet. There’s no big statement to it. It was just going to be a single or an EP but I couldn’t decide what songs to put it on and it just became simpler to put eight songs on it and call it an album.

You said in the press release for the album that you had always wanted to release a solo album, why has it taken you so long to finally release one?  

I'm not sure -  I guess I’m easily distracted.

The first single from the album 'Love Comes In Waves' has had some great responses from the media and fans. Are you looking forward to them listening to the album in full?

I’ve been blown away by the response to 'Love Comes In Waves', it’s been way more than I expected. Yeah, I’m buzzing for people to hear the album, although I have to warn people, the rest of the songs are not like seven more singles! It’s varied, there’s quieter ones on there too, and a few instrumental tracks.

How does working on a solo album stand up compared to working with members of a band?

It’s kind of lonelier, getting into the nitty gritty of making it. Working with Gem on the recordings was nice and easy. That was the easy bit, then I had to finish it. That was the hard bit, finishing it on my own. But overall, it’s good just being able to create something that feels personal, you get to make the exact music you want to hear, nobody else, just you. So that’s why it’s been so cool to see the reaction to 'Love Comes In Waves'.

Gem Archer has produced the album. Does he play on it? And what's he like to work with as a producer?

He doesn’t play on these tracks, although that sounds like I didn’t want him to! I always love hearing Gem play, he’s a brilliant guitarist. But this was about getting some ideas down that were very minimal and bare at the time. I had this structure in mind of keeping it really basic, and he is great at getting good sounds. That is as much of a skill as his musicianship. I went to his studio a couple of days a week, for a month or so, putting down one or two songs each time. At the time, it was going to be just drums, bass, one guitar and my voice, and the guitar playing was mostly folky fingerpicking style. I did some piano there as well. But it was all kept quite sparse at that point. I did maybe fifteen or twenty songs, I haven’t added it all up. But if this album goes well I have the bones of the next one ready too.

Can you tell us what is your favourite song on the album?  

'Cherry Cola'

With the current Covid crisis I imagine it will be hard to tour the album like normal, have you got any plans on doing any solo gigs in the future?

I’m not against it, but I’ve had no offers yet. Actually, that’s a lie, I have had one offer and you’ve reminded me to reply!

If you hadn't made it in the music industry, what other career path would you have taken?

Failed musician.

Who were your musical role models whilst growing up and how did they inspire you?

The Beatles mainly. When I was born, they had hardly broken up. I was ten when John Lennon died and that kicked it all off in a big way. They showed all the films at Christmas every year. My Dad used to take me to record fairs at Oxford Town Hall at the age of eleven or twelve, and I’d buy Beatles albums with pocket money I’d saved up. When the Smiths came out, I was 13/14. Johnny Marr was my guitar teacher. I can’t read music but I could pick stuff up from hearing it and I spent all my time playing the guitar to Smiths records.

You had your own show on Boogaloo Radio last year that had some superb guests on it. Is it something you would do again, and who would be the ultimate guest you would like to interview and why?

I just liked chatting and sitting playing tunes in the pub with a Guinness in one hand! I had some time off from touring and stuff and I spent six months doing that - well not six months in the pub, just one day a week, haha. It was cool, I don’t have an ultimate guest in mind, the best ones were getting a mate in and finding out things you didn’t know about them.

What album have you listened to the most this year?

Sonic Boom 'All Things Being Equal' He has a great saying “Vote every day by your way of life” The album is ace. He’s been a musical influence in my life since I was 17.

You played some absolutely phenomenal gigs with Oasis, what one would you like to see released officially and why?

River Plate Stadium on the last tour was off the scale. I don’t know about releasing it, but if you’re asking about a gig where we tore the roof off, that was it. I know stadiums don’t have roofs but you know what I mean. It was just a moment between us and our audience.

L

You recorded during your time in Oasis with Death In Vegas what were those sessions like? What songs did you record? What did they sound like and more importantly do recordings of them exist?  

The sessions were at Sawmills, in Cornwall, this studio you can only reach by boat, unless you walk along these train tracks and you get to the local pub. It’s quite a mad place. 'Definitely Maybe' had been done there. Ride had been there in 1993 as well, we were in right after Verve did 'A Storm In Heaven'. When we went there with Death In Vegas, we didn’t get anything that ended up getting released, I don’t think, but that’s what happens sometimes. Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.

What was your favourite Oasis album that you played on?

Don’t Believe The Truth

One of my highlights from Oasis' sets on the Don't Believe The Truth tour was 'Turn Up The Sun', what was it like to see thousands of people bouncing and singing to a song that you wrote?

Thanks. It was great what that song became, when the band got hold of it. In demo form it was like a La’s b-side, I turned up for rehearsals one day and they were playing it, Liam was singing, it sounded absolutely immense. And then yeah, seeing the crowds bouncing to it was incredible. The tune that broke barriers!

It's been great to see Liam play a few Beady Eye tracks in his solo sets, what song from his solo material do you like and why?

If I was at a Liam gig, the song I’d be waiting for would be 'Once'. That tune makes the hairs on my arms stand up.

What's next for Ride? Are you guys planning on recording again soon?

Yes, we’ll be getting in the studio over the winter.

‘The View From Halfway Down’ is out 9th October on Sonic Cathedral details and various formats can be found here.

You can follow Andy on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and sign up to his mailing list here.

Edit: Today Andy posted the video for I Was Alone watch it below.

Gareth Halliday On The Artwork He Did For 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' 'Who Built The Moon?' And More

Gareth Halliday is the man who created the beautiful artwork for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 'Who Built The Moon?' album that was released in November last year.

He has been collecting vintage printed media and ephemera for over 20 years, and is fascinated with the otherworldly qualities of images from a forgotten time or place. His collage and Photo-montage work tries to exert control over the saturation of images we are confronted with daily; playing with relationships between scale and perception and disparate pop culture associations. Often these works end up as subversive commentary on the society we live in.

Gareth has been a part of several group exhibitions across Europe and had his first solo exhibition with Lazarides at The Outsiders in 2014. He has sold work worldwide.

In 2016 Gareth collaborated with Adidas Originals on the relaunch campaign for the much loved Adidas Gazelle 1991 version.

The artwork for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 'Who Built The Moon?' was recently featured at www.redhouseoriginals.com in an exhibition called 'Be Here Now: Today Is Just A Day Dream' which features artwork from Brian Cannon, Astrid Kirchherr, Peter Blake, Storm Thorgeson, Gered Mankowitz, Pete McKee, Horace Panter and Ian Skelly.

Q: How did you get into making you're beautiful collages?

A: They definitely have not always been beautiful that’s for sure. I went to art school in the mid-to-late nineties and I guess looking back there was a big melting pot of styles and ideas from the past colliding with the present in music, fashion and art.

For me collage felt like a relevant style to express my ideas with, where I could combine found imagery with my paintings and photos. Also most of my favourite album artwork has elements of collage art in them, from The Beatles’ Revolver through to Punk and the present day.

There are a lot of great albums which use collage in the design of the cover art, I guess because it’s quite abstract, fragmented and suggestive, more often than not like the music it represents.

It’s a very accessible medium to express with. It’s very much a DIY approach of making something from nothing. Anyone can do it.

Q: Is it true that you used to be Noel Gallagher's postman?  

A: No, but I do deliver close to one of his homes just outside of London apparently.

Q: How did you go about getting him to see your artwork?

A: Noel saw one of my collages called 'Choppy Waters' in Damon Albarn's studio when they were recording together on the Gorillaz 'Humanz' album (2017). He contacted me from there and brought a few prints, not long after Noel asked if I’d be interested in doing some artwork for an upcoming project. Obviously I said yes.

Q: 'Who Built The Moon?' is the first album cover you designed, are there any more musicians you would like to work with.

A: I loved creating the artwork for 'Who Built The Moon?'. There was a lot to work from, and a lot of creative freedom as well. For me music and artwork have always gone hand in hand.

I probably get most of my ideas and inspiration from it, whether that be conscious or not, but I listen to a lot of music most days.

I’ll be ambitious…to list a few……. Primal Scream, Nick Cave, Tame Impala, Anna Calvi,  PIL, Flying Lotus, Roger Walters, David Gilmour, Damien Jurado, Damon Albarn, Hookworms, Beck, Tricky, Bjork, Brian Eno, PJ Harvey, Underworld, Chemical Brothers, David Holmes, New Order, Orbital…..  The Rolling Stones?

Failing that if Susan Boyle has a space rock opera she needs some artwork for, I’d be happy to try and help. I’m open to working with anyone if it felt like it would work.

Q: What is you're favourite album/single artwork and why?

I don’t have a favourite as such. I’m too indecisive. I’m a bit of a music lover so there are loads of favourites. I’m going to go with Primal Scream’s 'Vanishing Point' because it’s a pivotal work which influenced me a great deal when it was released in 1997 when I was eighteen. The album artwork which is all collage and fragmented imagery, including the singles, perfectly conveys the music which was massively experimental and a fusion of different styles and genres. I discovered a whole world of music and artists from the influences on the album. I still love listening to it quite regularly. 

It turns out a great deal of the album artwork I’ve really been into (Primal Scream’s 'XTRMTR' & 'Evil Heat', The Prodigy, Stereolab, Broadcast and CAN) for the last 20 years have been designed my Julian House. He went on to design the artwork for 'Dig Out Your Soul' by Oasis too. I’ve always loved that punk infused style that you can get with collage art.

Q: Were you a fan of Oasis? 

I was fifteen when 'Definitely Maybe' came out which was a great age to get into Oasis. I brought a guitar and wanted to be in a band and all that, I was influenced by them, who wasn’t? Once I got into music and art which was around 1993 that was it! My plans for a football career got thrown out the window along with my school work.

Q: What is you're favourite Oasis album/single artwork and why? 

'Definitely Maybe' is my favourite album artwork. It’s probably the nostalgia for an era when albums felt more momentous and the joy of discovering a great record for the first time.

It’s one of my all time favourite albums and I love the back cover with Noel holding the globe in his hand, very prophetic for what was to come for the band!

Q: What is your favourite track from 'Who Built The Moon?' and why?

My favourite track is 'The Man Who Built the Moon'. I listened to the record for about six months before it was released, so my favourite changed all the time. I choose this track though because it’s just a dark sweeping cinematic epic of a tune which I believe gave me most insight into the visuals for the artwork. The cover idea is what I envisioned from listening to this song a lot…. Or ‘It’s A Beautiful World’, I couldn’t get enough of that song either. 

Q: Have you seen the band on tour yet? if so what did you think of the songs live?

I’ve see them 3 times. I thought they were great! I got a real buzz out of seeing them live. The band looked like they were enjoying themselves and it was mind blowing seeing the artwork as the backdrop too. I loved it!

Q: You collaborated with Adidas Originals on the relaunch campaign for the Adidas Gazelle 1991 version. How did that come about? And are there any plans to work with them again in the future?

Basically I got contacted by a media agency in London with a brief based around the ideas of Adidas wanting artists who work with collage to design imagery for the backdrop of the Gazelle Silhouette, based on the city they live in. I had two weeks to come up with the work, so I did what I could and Adidas were happy with the work, I think. I would love to work with them again.


Q: Do you have any projects coming up you can talk about?

The artwork for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 'Who Built The Moon?' was recently featured at www.redhouseoriginals.com in an exhibition called 'Be Here Now: Today Is Just A Daydream' which features artwork from Brian Cannon, Astrid Kirchherr, Peter Blake, Storm Thorgeson, Gered Mankowitz, Pete McKee, Horace Panter, Ian Skelly. It was incredible to see the work next to Brian Cannon’s, that put a smile on my face for weeks.

Other than that I’m in the early stages of creating new artwork as the last 14 months I’ve been enjoying coming home to my daughter and wife who’s been on maternity leave. She’s back to work now and my girl has started nursery, so I’m getting back into the swing of designing on top of the day job as a postie.

Could you please give a brief description on the concept and the thinking behind the artwork for the albums and a few tracks.

Who Built The Moon? (Album Cover)

I think we were getting close to the deadline or over it and my wife was 8 months pregnant. Although I had produced quite a large body of work, nothing was standing out as the album cover. So I had a final meeting at Ignition where I presented more artwork and it wasn’t until I was packing up that I found a mock up of the cover design in my folder. I left it with the office not thinking much of it and a few days later got a message saying “this is the one!”

We had to re-shoot the woman on the front and fortunately Noel’s wife Sara agreed to model for it. I had a call from the photographer David asking for direction on the shoot. At this point my wife had been in labour for 2 days and we hadn’t slept for over 48 hours. I was sitting next to my wife on the phone saying something along the lines of “imagine a woman from Sergio Leone’s ‘Once Upon A Time in America’ walking into the distance of an alien planet where all is not what it seems”, that’s the vibe we’re after.” I was grabbing the gas and air from my wife at this point.

I’ve described a large part of the concept for the cover in a question above, but I think it worked out well. I like the fact that it’s got Noel’s wife in the artwork, as well as a contribution from my wife in the form of the flying birds, it’s her photography work. Also the sky is originally from a photograph I took out of a car window as we were approaching Belfast Airport. (My wife is from Northern Ireland) Anyway I like the fact it’s a Northern Irish sky as a lot of the album was created in Belfast with David Holmes.

Fort Knox

This track was quite late to the album I think. In many ways it tied a few loose ends in the artwork and pulled it all together in the process.

'Fort Knox' has always been primarily a U.S gold vault designed to withstand any kind of attack.

With this in mind and the alarm kicking off, to me this was a break in-out, setting up a powerful atmosphere and statement of intent to the album.

The figure walking towards the distance, with what looks like a bag in his right hand is suggesting he might’ve done a ‘job’ on Fort Knox and he’s about to meet the second figure which could be his partner in crime or lover or both.

It’s a reference to a Bonnie and Clyde vibe. It’s suggestive, open to interpretation, but trying to capture the beginning of a journey I guess.

I took the photograph of a sunrise in Mauritius the previous year. I couldn’t sleep so went for a walk on the beach. It was about 6 am, no one in sight and there was this really beautiful, enigmatic sunrise. Easily the best I’ve ever seen.

Holy Mountain

From what I can remember I created this one quite early on. It was the first artwork which felt like it was delving into another world. As research I remember watching Alejandro Jodorowsky’'s 1976 film 'Holy Mountain' which blew my head off.

The song is really up tempo and that’s quite hard to translate into one image. I would like to think that the woman in the middle ground that’s approaching the car will end up teleported into another dimension across to the party at 'Holy Mountain' in this old banger of a Tardis. Or imply that at least.

The imagery in the film and the lyrics to Noel’s Holy Mountain definitely had an impact on the more psychedelic artwork that would become the gatefold and picture disc.

It's A Beautiful World

I never knew what Charlotte was saying in this song until it was released, but I always felt that the song was about a beautiful apocalypse, which I think she was getting at in her chorus.

It’s a celebration of life and love on the dawn of… well the end of earth basically!

A narrative of when we’re faced with the inevitable and of our own doing, all we can do is be blasé about it because that’s how we’ve become over time, desensitised, even to our own demise haha.

She Taught Me How To Fly


I wasn’t very keen on this image to begin with and kept trying to make changes to it until I got told off.

I can see now that it’s the simplistic, vintage feel to it which makes it work and Noel was right ha!

There’s a Japanese design feel to it and I guess the message is quite simple…

While my wife was pregnant we would listen to it a lot as it was her favourite. Also she put up with me being a constant pain in the arse and I guess she taught me how to fly! Pass the sick bucket!

If Love Is The Law

Really I guess the artwork was built from the lyrics, just trying to paint a story of the song. Here are some key lyrics which did this…..

”I’m standing on the edge of night in a lonesome town, where love has been and gone, I’m waiting for the storm to come back and take me down”

“Memories, Forever set in stone, when all is said and done, they’re just like the falling leaves, that you gather in your head, when the sun’s about to set”

All the artwork for the whole album relate to the lyrics, well they should do after the amount of times I listened to then. It was a really enjoyable experience and hopefully I helped the man to build the moon.

Special thanks to Gareth for taking the time to do the Q&A with the site, check out more of his fabulous work here.

Alberta Cross Talk New Music, Oasis And More

Alberta Cross will be familiar to Oasis fans after supporting the band on their last UK tour. Their slots at Cardiff and Bournemouth went down a storm and gained the band new fans across the board.

On 3rd September, the group release their new album Songs of Patience which will be preceded with a new single Magnolia on 7" and download from 30th July.



The band were kind enough to answer some questions on new music, Oasis and everything in between!

Where are you guys from?

I grew up in Walthamstow in North East London, and Petter is from Uppsala, which is just outside of Stockholm in Sweden.

How did you first get into music?

There was always music playing in my house when I was growing up. Both my parents are big fans, and I also have two older sisters whose life pretty much revolved around music. I've loved it for as long as I can remember.

Who's in the band? and how did you meet up?

The band is Petter and me. We met in a bar in Shoreditch (East London) - my friends were running it, so I pretty much lived there. My mate introduced me to Petter, as the band he had at the time was looking for a bass player. I was in that band for a few months before we started Alberta Cross.

You have spent a lot of time playing and recording in different countries, where do you consider home and which place has had the biggest influence on you?

It's strange you know, I feel that both London and New York are home. When I get back to London, though, I feel like that's where I belong.

I would say that growing up in London has had the biggest influence on me. I love touring all over and seeing so many beautiful and inspiring places, but I grew up at a time when there was so much amazing British music coming out that it was a very inspiring place to be.

What style of music best describes what you do?

This is always one of the hardest questions I get asked. I always think other people have a better idea than I do, as I never really think about it. It's such a mish mash of so many different styles that it's hard to slot it into one category.

What are the bands plans for the rest of the year?

We are currently halfway through a tour of the US and about to head to Europe to do a bunch of festivals including Reading and Leeds in England. After that, we'll come back over here and do a tour in Canada.























What bands are you listening to at the moment? Any tips for readers of Stop Crying Your Heart Out?

We are currently touring with a band called Everest. They are pretty amazing and are a really top bunch of lads. They have a new record out called Ownerless that I strongly suggest checking out.

Also, a band called Dead Confederate. Fantastic band that we have toured with both in the UK and US. I love everything they have done and they are amazing live.



How did the support slots with Oasis come about?

The A&R rep at our label in the UK is a friend of Noel's and gave him a copy of our first EP (The Thief and the Heartbreaker). Noel got back a couple of weeks later saying it was one of the best records he had heard for a while and that he would love us to join them for a few of their arena dates.

Did you enjoy the gigs with Oasis?

It was class!! I think we felt very privileged to be opening for them. They were great blokes and really made us feel welcome. The fans would take a couple of songs to warm in to us, but by the end of the set we were getting a great reaction from them.



Were you fans of Oasis? If so when did you first hear of them?

I have pretty much really liked them since I saw them play Ilford Island back in June 1994. Every club I was going to and every radio station I was listening to was playing Supersonic from the moment it came out. It was very clear they were gonna be a great band to see live and that they were. The gig was wicked!

Finally what are your favourite Oasis tracks and why?

It's very hard to say, as there are so many great songs, but I'm a big fan of the early stuff since it reminds me of a very exciting period of growing up in London. Songs like, Live Forever, Slide Away, Some Might Say and Champagne Supernova are a few of my faves.

Songs of Patience track listing:
01. Magnolia
02. Create Of Gold
03. Lay Down
04. Come on Maker
05. Wasteland
06. Ophelia On My Mind
07. I Believe In Everything
08. Money For The Weekend
09. Life Without Warning
10. Bonfires

For more details on the band please visit www.albertacross.net

I would like to say thanks to Terry for taking the time to answer some questions.

Details of an exclusive strictly limited 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' CD or vinyl singles collectors box can be found here.

Tony McCarroll Interview

Last month we asked you to submit your questions for Tony McCarroll and were inundated with responses. Tony was one of the founding members of ‘Rain’, the band who would later become Oasis.

During his time with the band, he played on what was at the time the fastest selling debut album of all time 'Definitely Maybe' and the Some Might Say single which would become part of the biggest selling album of the 90’s; What’s The Story (Morning Glory). His distinctive way of playing helped create a unique sound for the band in their early years and songs like Supersonic, Bring It On Down and Live Forever are all instantly recognisable from his signature style.

After leaving Oasis, Tony continued to play drums, he founded he band Raika with his brothers and to this day continues to hold drum clinics for young musicians. In 2010 he released his the book ‘Oasis: The Truth’, telling the story of his time in the band. The book is a first hand account of Oasis becoming the biggest band in the country from their humble beginnings in Manchester and has received critical acclaim from both fans and journalists.

Hi Tony how’s things?

Things are good right now. The book has been a massive success and critically acclaimed across the nation and beyond, which feels rewarding in its own right. It has also lifted a huge weight from my shoulders which explains the feeling good bit.

I've read your book and enjoyed it, when did you come up with the idea to release it?

I’m glad you enjoyed it. I really feel I’ve aired my grievances and the response from people has been overwhelming.

The idea came about a couple of years ago, pre the band splitting. Noel was on his rounds promoting an album and once more it was me as the ‘stooge’. I just decided that it was time to set the record straight. The book has a humorous thread running through it which really seems to have struck a chord with people.

Have you had any feedback from the members of the band about the book?

Funnily enough I bumped into Bonehead just before the book release. He was as peachy as ever and wished me well. Apparently Noel has read it and actually really enjoyed it. It seems he found most of it hilarious. It’s good to see him taking that perspective. Everyone mellows with age or in Noel’s case, starts to thaw. Only joking!

How do you think most Oasis fans feel today about your contribution to the band and your early departure? Was your book also addressed to them, or have you always felt their affection and respect throughout the years, before and after you left the band?
Like all group fans they are broke down into two groups. Those that like you and then those that don’t. It is what it is. I’m lucky in the sense I rarely meet a fan that I don’t get on with. I’m an amicable fella. Life is about having respect and if you do so more often than not it is returned.

There are rumours of the book being turned into a movie. Is this true? And who would you like to play you?
A production company has spoken to me about filming the book. They are going to approach Noel for the rights to the music. I guess we’ll see how much Noel likes the book when he replies.

I was thinking maybe Leonardo Di Caprio all wigged up for me and definitely Craig Cash for Bonehead.

Is it true that you first picked up the drum sticks when you were five, and that it was recorded and broadcast by the BBC for it's flagship childrens television show Playschool?
Yes it is. You can ask me mam. If anyone reading works for the Beeb and has access to the programme archives maybe they could dig it out. It would be great to see that again.

The first member of Oasis you met was Guigsy, how did you first bump into him?

We met through football as kids. They really were good years. The only concerns we had revolved around having enough money to get to the match at the weekend with ten fags in your back bin. Anything else was a bonus! There was only so many stories I could fit into the book but those days could fill a book on their own.

Is it true that you both use to go to both Manchester United and City games together?

That would be physically impossible. Unless it was derby day.

You were in a band called 'Pleasure And Pain' what type of music did you play?

I think you might find that was Bonehead’s first band, not mine. I believe it was a Sado Masochistic act which explains the name.

A few years after that you met Bonehead after Guigsy introduced him to you, what were your first impressions of him?
I thought he was the funniest geezer I’d ever met. A laugh a minute and a fine musician to boot! I was fortunate enough to share a room with Bonehead on every tour…Definitely the most exciting room and always last to bed! Captain Mayhem!

Guigsy invited you to join the Rain with him, Bonehead and Chris. Who came up the name of the band?

Some uninspired soul, probably staring out of any window on any day in Manchester.

Are there any early recordings of the band pre-Gallagher lying around?
I dunno. Best man to ask for that is BigUn (Paul Ashbee). He collected all sorts at the beginning like a regular little magpie. I think Noel even checks his own recollections with BigUn just to be sure!

When did you first meet Liam and what were your first impressions of him?

My first impressions were poor. I just couldn’t get the walk right. I’m no Mike Yarwood.

I first met Liam in Errwood Park when he would have been about twelve. Liam has always had what is now labelled as the ‘X’ Factor. Liam was always a leader and had a strong personality. He was a top fella then and remains so to this day.

When Liam auditioned for the band, what songs did he sing at the audition? And how quick did he change the name to Oasis?

When Liam auditioned in my house I don’t think he even sang. He didn’t have too. We were a couple of months in before he came up with the idea to change the name.

It seemed right. After Huts departure The Rain had effectively stopped.

You played a number of gigs in Oasis before Noel later joined, what songs did he have already written when he joined?

Nothing that you might recognise. A lot of the early stuff was borne out of jamming and then the lyrics added afterwards. Tracks like ‘Strange-Thing’ or ‘Colour My Life’ etc can be heard on YouTube.

You were discovered by Alan McGee in Glasgow, how much of Definitely Maybe was prepared by then.
A very specific question. I wish I had a very specific answer for you! Only one or two tracks at most.

What were your first impressions of Creation? Was it as wild as it has been reported?
We were ushered by Alan McGee onto a rollercoaster of champagne, chemicals and cash. We were five working class lads from Manchester without a pot to pish in. Creation knew how to feed us and also how to feed the media. I think they knew our antics and behaviour could propel us to stardom. They had also heard ‘Definitely Maybe’!

How much creative input do you feel you had on Oasis' drumming? Was it simply Noel saying "this is how I want the drums to sound, so do that."
It varied. On occasion Noel would have a definite sound that he would want recreating but at other times we would simply jam away and Noel would write around that. A great example of this is ‘Supersonic’. That was myself and Bonehead sound checking and then Noel picking up the vibe. I am very proud that the very first offering from Oasis as a band to the British public was the drum beat I had created in a little studio in Liverpool. It still sends shivers down my spine!

What is your favourite post-McCarroll Oasis song?
It’s got to be ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.

How's your relationship with the rest of the band nowadays?
I haven’t spoke to Noel or Guigs since I left the band. I did bump into Noel at a Manchester City game recently but he fled as soon as he spotted me, which was a shame. I’d like to think we had both mellowed with time. Bonehead is still a musical genius and we catch up every now and then. I last spoke to Liam at a Real People concert and as usual we had a proper roar. Liam is a good guy.

If Noel and Liam ever decided to do a re-union tour with the original members of Oasis would you be interested?

I suppose they would have to convince each other first.

What is your favorite Oasis Song and why?

Easy. Live Forever. I imagine it will go down in the annals as our signature tune and rightly so. I love the intro with the big drum sound. At concerts you would hear people singing out loud along to the beat! There’s not many songs where that happens. When we recorded the song Owen Morris turned up the drums which infuriated Noel but in the end Owen got his own way and turned up the drums on most of the tracks whilst mixing. Even Noel eventually admitted it was the right decision.



What are your favourite drums on an Oasis track?

I used to love performing tracks like ‘Bring it on down’ or even’ Headshrinker’

Who do you rate as the best drummer out of Alan White, Zak Starsky and Chris Sharrock?
I think they’re all great drummers but I do love Zak’s creative side. He doesn’t do the obvious and has taken the band in a different direction! Dare I say that he reminds me of his ever so famous Dad and the way he used to approach recordings.

Is it true that you were in the audience at the V Festival for the last ever Oasis gig?
Yes. There was a group of twenty of us who visit the festival annually. I thought that evening that the Oasis performance was particularly good! There are only two people in the world who attended Oasis’ first and last gigs. That’s Liam and my good self!! I reckon that will make a great question in a pub quiz!



What's the most memorable moment you had with the band?

Glastonbury 1994.

Who were you closest to within the band?
Bonehead and Liam. We were the ‘mischievous’ set within the band. Noel was busy swooning with female music biz reporters or being interviewed and Guigs spent most of his time reading about which direction to shave your facial hair or watching cricket. That left the way free for us to leave a trail of destruction and broken hearts up and down the country.

Did you listen to Oasis' later albums after leaving the group? If so, what is your opinion of them?

Yeah of course I listen closely. Can’t say I’ve actually bought one though. The first albums were fantastic but I kind of lost interest after that until ‘Dig Out Your Soul. Some of the in between bits were almost predictable but that may be because I was very familiar with Noel and the way he wrote.

Do you think your book will encourage other former members of the band to release one?

I hope so. I would most look forward to Liam’s recollections. Noel has bared his soul for all to see for the last couple of decades or so where as Liam has shrouded himself in mystery. It would be good for the British public to see that their perception of Liam as a hooligan and yob isn’t strictly true.

Do you still play the drums on a regular basis?

I’ll never stop. The drums were my first real passion in life and I still enjoy them to this day. If a drummer ever stops drumming it all goes wrong! A drummer thing!

You said in your book you are involved in drumming workshops. who is it for? and how did you get involved in it?
My workshops take place in Ireland for local youngsters. I have always enjoyed teaching and being able to develop talent. Getting young people to focus on something creative is important to me and can prove extremely beneficial to them.

What happened to your band Rakia, and did you ever record anything?

I was in Rakia with my two brothers, Ged and Adi. Ged is a much in demand session musician who constantly put off tours and work to dedicate himself to Raika. When this became no longer practical the band had no choice but to split. There are a few shaky demo’s floating around with some early offerings on them.

If you had the chance to join an exciting band now, would you still feel passionate about going back to the music business full time or is it something that you are just not interested anymore at this time in your life?
Never say never.

If you could of joined another band past or present, what band would you have picked?
Probably Led Zeppelin. A curly John Bonham!

Finally why should people read your book?
They should read my book if they are interested in Oasis, Noel Gallagher, Manchester, football, drinking, Ireland, robots, love, drummers, drug deals, Liam Gallagher, tramps, riots, the mafia and Kurt Cobain’s coat.

Tony's book ‘Oasis: The Truth’ is widely available from the usual stockist, click here for a closer look.

We’d like to thank Tony for taking the time to answer questions from the fans and to all of you who submitted questions.

Visit my newly launched Beady Eye fan site www.standingontheedgeofthenoise.com by clicking here.

Michael Spencer Jones Talks Oasis

We recently brought you an exclusive Q&A with Brian Cannon, who designed some of Oasis’ most memorable sleeve designs and this month, Michael Spencer Jones, the man behind the lens of those iconic shots has discussed some of his favourite pieces which are now available in a limited edition 198 page box set. As much as Oasis were influenced by the music of the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, Michael was equally inspired by their artwork. Both parties created something completely unique whilst referencing these bands and many others like them and the result was a perfect symmetry between music and artwork on records still considered the most defining of their era.

After starting out working in advertising, assisting renowned photographer Stak Aivaloitis on some of the iconic Benson Hedges campaigns, Michael Spencer Jones turned his attentions to Rock ‘N’ Roll. Against the flow of industry traffic to London, Michael moved to Manchester, working with bands such as The Verve and The Stone Roses, earning one of his first commissions shooting the latter’s legendary performance at Spike Island. Two years later in 1992, Michael was introduced to Oasis and over the next 5 years would be on hand to capture their ‘golden years’ as they made their ascent to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.

The new portfolio boxset features hand signed photographs of all the Oasis artwork created by Michael in his time working with the band. Strictly limited to only 250 copies, the set recollects the group’s history from the early stages of the group to the peak of their popularity.




















Supersonic

The shot was taken at Monnow Valley studios in Wales where they had started recording Definitely Maybe. The idea was to have a cluttered studio environment with amps and cables strewn everywhere. Liam was only 21 at the time and already looked like a fully formed rock star so I decided to have him at the front of the shot.

I thought it would be a nice twist if I had my tungsten lights in view, the idea being to put Oasis firmly in the ‘spotlight’ for their debut single. I cross-processed the film which gives the shot its bluey tint.




















Shakermaker

The cover was a dali-esque type concept. I’ve always really been into the surrealists such as Magritte and Dali and I liked the idea that hard objects can take the form of soft ones. The idea was that if you played Oasis music loud enough the contents of your room would melt.

The shot was taken in the corner of my apartment in Manchester which had become an improvised studio. I went around all the junk shops in Manchester buying various plastic objects which I then melted on my front porch with an industrial blow torch not too dissimilar from a World War 2 flame thrower! It was really funny seeing the reaction of my neighbours, they just couldn’t figure out what was going off.


















Live Forever

When it came to do the photography for Live Forever nobody had any ideas on what was to go on the cover. My first thoughts were that it should feature a scene from everyday life; people walking in a street, or a group of people standing at a bus shelter in the rain maybe; something ordinary. This process of ‘writers block’ went on for several weeks until the band asked me if I had anything in my archive which would be appropriate.

I remembered a photograph that I'd taken a few years earlier of John Lennon’s childhood home in Liverpool that had an ethereal and mysterious quality. The photograph seemed to work on two levels: firstly it was a picture of an ordinary suburban semi which reflected some of the song's lyrical content and secondly when you considered that the greatest artist of the 20th century had grown up in the house the picture took on a far more powerful quality. Noel loved the picture and the sentiment behind it as soon as he saw it. So in many ways it was one of the easiest covers I worked on because the picture had already been taken.




















Definitely Maybe

The initial idea for Definitely Maybe came from the back cover to A Collection of Beatles Oldies which was a group photograph of The Beatles gathered round a small table in a Japanese hotel room. Oasis had decided that a similar group photograph should be taken in Bonehead’s front living room. I’d already heard the album many times and knew that it was a great challenge to create an image suitable for the cover. I was therefore horrified when I went to recce the room and saw how small and uninspiring the room was.

The band had assumed that I would take the photograph looking into the room with the bay window as a source of illumination – in other words the opposite direction to how it finally appeared on the cover. To me the bay window was the most interesting feature of the room and so I decided to take the unusual step of shooting into the light of the bay window. I then lit the room accordingly to avoid the band appearing as silhouettes.

The size of the room was made to look bigger by using a wide angle lens but this created a problem with the floor. The stripped flooring (which I believe Bonehead had done himself) had been transformed into this huge ‘desert’ expanse which overwhelmed and dominated the shot. The empty space and what to do with it became a real problem. A week before the shoot I had visited the Egyptology section at The Manchester Science Museum and as a result, the whole notion of lying in a preserved state and the way the Egyptians honoured and represented their past kings was very much fresh in my mind. The idea then occurred to me to have Liam lying outstretched and motionless on the floor with his head towards the camera and with his eyes closed; a rock icon ‘lying in a state’ or indeed some other transcendental state but not of this world.

This would create a first for an album cover but more importantly would solve my problem of what to do with the empty space and the stripped flooring. On the face of it asking the lead singer to adopt this pose for his debut album cover was a bizarre request and so I was relieved when Liam agreed to do it. I know many other singers who would have refused. This along with the spinning globe was the catalyst to the whole shot. Definitely Maybe has to be one of the best covers I did for Oasis and I know the band themselves were really pleased with it.




















Cigarettes & Alcohol

I shot the sleeve to Cigarettes & Alcohol at the Halcyon Hotel in London which was a favourite haunt of actors and musicians. The band had just returned from a controversial visit to Sweden where they had been given a ‘free lift’ back to the airport by the Swedish authorities after a number of reported incidents. When they arrived at the hotel they were in very high spirits.

The idea was basically to do a rock’n’roll type scene which mirrored the elements in the song. It was a great and memorable evening; Noel did an impromptu acoustic set for those of us still left in the room in the early hours. There were numerous complaints from the other residents and a four figure room service bill! Tim Abbott is the guy at the front of the shot who had been one of the directors at Creation Records. I shot it on fast grainy b/w film and later hand toned the image blue.




















Whatever

The original plan was to shoot the sleeve in the vast open spaces of the Arizona desert. Noel had wanted a vast landscape to evoke a sense of freedom. It was a very simple brief and was to be a relatively straight forward shot. I flew out to the states to photograph the band but after only a few days in Los Angeles the band had the infamous fall-out at the Whisky-a -go-go and Noel disappeared.

At the time it was very serious because the US tour had to be called off and for a while Noel was on the missing persons list. I went back to the UK feeling really disappointed but after two weeks news came through that Oasis had patched things up and the release was still to go ahead. Noel suggested doing the shot in Salisbury Plain but in the end I took the photograph on the Derbyshire moors close to where I had grown up in Sheffield.




















Some Might Say

This shot was basically a visual interpretation of the lyrics. Noel had wanted to have the photograph set at a working train station but I thought it would make for a more interesting and surreal shot if the station was disused with a set of characters waiting for a train that would never arrive.

The platform could act as the stage. I must have spent 2 weeks reccying the shot all around England, in the end a neighbour who I had been chatting to about the shot suggested Cromford station near Matlock in Derbyshire. I checked it out and it was the ideal location. I shot it on black and white film and spent a week or so hand painting the photograph with watercolours and a brush to create more of a surrealist effect.




















Roll With It

The original idea came from a dream that Noel had where he saw hundreds of TV’s floating down a river. This idea developed to TV’s in the sea and then TV’s on the beach. As Alan White, their new drummer, had just joined the band it was decided the cover would be a band shot so it became the band watching TV’s on the beach. They had wanted to wear Duffel coats which I thought was a nice visual pun and very much Oasis.

The shot which I wanted on the cover was the one that went onto the CD disc itself which in my opinion was a far better shot than the one that appeared on the sleeve. In the end record company messed up with the barcodes and initial sales were not registered thus affecting its chart position, furthermore and quite astonishingly, a batch of CD’s were pressed and distributed with the wrong music on! The pressing plant had put some obscure reggae artist onto the Oasis CD by mistake and so instead of hearing ‘Roll With It’ you heard African reggae music.

I can remember playing my copy and thinking ‘hang about, this doesn’t sound like Oasis’. I’m not quite sure how many copies were pressed like this but I’m sure they’re now highly collectable.




















(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?

Noel had described the recent music Oasis had been recording as riot music, and so that was taken as a green light to develop concepts about rioting and anarchy. So early on in the creative process there were one or two discussions about a Molotov cocktail featuring in some way on the cover, however that theme was quickly shelved when we heard tracks like Wonderwall and Cast No Shadow.

After many meetings about the artwork and what was to feature on the cover, it was finally agreed that we would have an early morning street scene with two men walking towards each other. I wanted the shot to be ambiguous and without any moral perspective. Unlike film, the power of the still image comes from its inherent weakness to portray the truth or to tell a narrative; we don’t know if the characters know each other, whether they are good or bad, friendly or hostile, whether they are going to stop and talk to each other or who they are?

It’s a brief narrative rooted in a very ambiguous moment and is for those reasons one of my favourite Oasis covers.




















Wonderwall

I had originally shot Liam for the front cover of Wonderwall in Primrose Hill, London but Noel had accidentally stumbled across us doing the shoot on his way to Creation Records. I can remember a bloke jumping out of a black cab and yelling at us through the railings of the park. I thought it was an Oasis fan heckling us so I ignored all the shouting and continued with the shoot.

The shouting continued so I finally decided to go and tell this bloke to leave us alone and then realized to my astonishment that the bloke was in fact Noel Gallagher. He explained that Wonderwall was ‘a f**king love song!’ and that no way was ‘our kid’ appearing on the cover. The shoot was quickly aborted and in the end I re-shot it the following day with a girl from Creation Records called Anita Heyert. I used the same black and white infra-red effect on this cover as I did on Live Forever.





















Don’t Look Back In Anger

For the cover of Don’t Look Back In Anger Noel had decided to pay homage to an incident which had happened at Abbey Road studios in 1968. It was inspired by a story about Ringo Starr walking out on the Beatles because he felt that he was not wanted. He was eventually persuaded to come back into the band and on his return George Martin, the Beatles producer, had decided to deck his entire drum kit out in flowers as a statement of love and gratitude. Noel thought this sentiment would make an interesting idea for a cover and so suggested we had the bands equipment covered in thousands of red, white and blue flowers, the colours of the Union Jack.

It was originally going to be an overhead shot and I had a scaffolding tower erected but I then decided to shoot it at eye level so that the bass drum with its Union Jack swirl could feature more prominently in the shot. The white piano was a reference to John Lennon. I had Creation Records import 5,000 carnations, of those 3,500 were white and of those 3,500, half were dyed blue as blue carnations do not grow naturally. A real privilege to have done this cover as it is one of the greatest pop songs ever.




















D’You Know What I Mean?

I shot the cover to D’you Know What I Mean? in an alleyway in Wigan, Lancashire next to a boxing club. An extremely difficult shoot to execute simply because of the number of people involved. Initially there was no shape to the photograph, and the band melted into the crowd and almost became invisible. The light was also very poor which did not help matters.

The photograph eventually came together when I positioned a young woman holding her baby alongside a girl in her school blazer in front of the band. This seemed to give the shot the extra depth and shape it needed. The sun briefly came out and I knew this would be the shot that would end up on the cover. The single, although not political, was released just prior to the 1997 general election. After 18 years of Conservative government there was definitely a sense that this was a rallying call for change. It certainly went through my mind when I was taking the shot. It turned out to be one of my favourite photographs of the band.




















Be Here Now

Originally the cover was to feature 4 separate photos each with a separate band member. To overcome the mathematical problem that there were five people in the band Liam would have a cameo presence in all of the shots. Noel wanted to be photographed up a tree playing guitar, Alan White in some east end pub, Guigsy on a beach in St. Lucia and Bonehead wanted to be photographed relaxing by a swimming pool at night with a rolls Royce submerged in it as an homage to Keith Moon. However, concerns grew that 4 separate images on a CD cover would have little impact and the idea was dropped.

All was not lost as it became apparent that of all the ideas put forward by the band Bonehead’s idea of a Rolls Royce in a swimming pool was by far the best. Many locations were considered including Clivedon where the Profumo scandal of the 1960’s had taken place. Eventually Stocks Hotel in Hertfordshire, the former home to the Playboy magnate, Victor Lowness was chosen as it had a swimming pool directly in front of the house. The shoot was fraught with difficulties. Firstly, Stocks Hotel was a hotel open to the public and as word got out the hotel came under siege. Secondly far too much alcohol was consumed on set and so by evening time the shoot had become chaotic, also one of the generators blew. In the end a shot from the daytime session was chosen although the shots I took at the night-time session are very interesting.




















All Around The World


With any conceptual photograph there is always an initial idea or trigger which forms the basis for the inspiration. With All Around The World the initial inspiration came from a photograph taken from the top of a beach side hotel in Florida where Beatles fans had communicated with their idols above by writing messages to them in the sand.

To write the song title in the sand was an obvious development for the cover, it also fitted in with the global sentiment of the song. People have been writing messages in the sand for centuries and so for me I saw the beach as a global messaging board or forum where anybody could come along and post a message, in retrospect like a Stone Age version of twitter.

However, conceptual ideas don’t always work visually and the problem with this shot was that there was nothing of substance to give the photograph depth or shape. At this point I decided that it was vital to have the sea featured in some way in the shot. It would also add to the notion that the message was transitory and that at some point the message would be washed away by an incoming wave. In the end it was myself who wrote the message in the sand by using a stick.

The positioning was vital, too close to the sea and the sea would wash it away and too far away and it would not be possible to have both the message and the sea in shot at the same time. I took the shot from the top of an extended hydraulic arm attached to a fire engine which was in a fixed position on the beach front (in Bournemouth, England). There was only one stretch of beach so the positioning of the lettering had to be right first time. It would not be possible to rub it out and start again as this would have disturbed the appearance of the sand.

When I was taking the picture I was struck by the way the sea entered the frame at the top of the picture, this was very reminiscent of beer overflowing down the side of a glass and this to me makes the shot.

For more details on the limited edition box set and to see a number of rare images visit www.spellboundpublications.com and Michael's own site www.michaelspencerjones.com.

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