In the early years, Oasis focused on a certain disregard for other people’s opinions and a determination to revive retro rock & roll, and to this end they made use of a visual identity that owes part of its development to Brian Cannon, graphic designer, director artist, photographer and music video director.
As Far Out reports, Brian meticulously planned each photo shoot so that those images complemented the band’s music. And for “What’s the Story Morning Glory”, released by the band in 1995, Noel Gallagher wanted a photo taken first thing in the morning to be captured.
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Brian then organized the photo session for the time when the sun was rising, on Berwick Street in London, a street that had a large number of record stores at that time. “It was about five in the morning. I think they were torn and in the end, it just didn’t happen. It would have been interesting if they were on the cover.”, referring to Noel and Liam Gallagher, as the initial idea was to have the brothers in the photo. But as Oasis were on tour at the time the photo was taken, there was no chance of them arriving on a random street for a photo shoot.
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Brian then took DJ Sean Rowley, who appears facing the camera, and he himself served as a model, appearing from behind in the photo, captured by photographer Michael Spencer-Jones.
Few notice, but there is a third person hidden in the background of the photo. If you look closely at the sidewalk on the far left side of the image, there is a guy holding something shaped like a huge gray square over his head. He is Owen Morris, the producer who worked with Oasis on “Definitely Maybe”. According to legend, Morris just happened to be there that day, and what he has on hand is the master tape of the final album, meaning you’re getting a peek at the final mixes before you’ve even heard a note of the song.
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And as Wikipedia points out, “Morning Glory” is still considered a seminal album of both the Britpop era and the 1990s in general, having appeared on several lists of the greatest rock albums and, at the 2010 Brit Awards, was named best British album since 1980. It has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. As of January 2024, the album has been certified 17× platinum by the BPI for selling 5.1 million copies in the United Kingdom.
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