December 6, 2010

The Morning Son Lyrics Beady Eye

The Morning Son Lyrics Beady Eye

The Morning Son is the final track on the debut album by Beady Eye, Different Gear, Still Speeding. It's the first album Liam Gallagher and co have released since the demise of Oasis.

The Morning Son Lyrics:

You'll never know, unless you try, you're blinding by what you idleise.
I stand alone, nobody knows the morning. the sun is roll he in my light
He's in my sole he's even in my rock and roll I stand alone nobody knows
The morning the sun is roll.

I'm here to show, I'll help you out, it takes a lifetime, I've worked it out,
I stand alone nobody knows the morning. the sun is roll, the morning,
The sun is roll the morning. the sun is roll the morning. the sun is roll.

So let it be and give it time you go you're way and I'll go mine, I'll stand
Alonem nobody knows the morning sun is roll. you'll never know unless we try
We're blinded by what you idleise we stand alone nobody knows the morning
The sun is roll the morning the sun is roll the morning the sun is roll
The morning the sun is roll the morning the sun is roll the morning
The sun is roll the morning the sun is roll the morning the
Sun is roll the morning.

What do you think? Fly or die? Leave a comment in the errr... comments!

The Beat Goes On Lyrics Beady Eye

The Beat Goes On Lyrics Beady Eye

This song is from the debut album from Beady Eye called Different Gear, Still Speeding. The title of the album is a reference that the members of this band were once all a part of Oasis.

The Beat Goes On Lyrics:

Thought that I died today
Walked off the stage
Faded away into the clouds
To the gig in the sky
And when I arrived
The angels were singing a song
Yeah you know the one
Are you singing along?

Thought I’d know just what to do
That it’d be how I wanted it to be of so new
But counting me in
I had to give in
Make the thunder and lightning sing
In the eye of the storm there’s no right and no wrong

So long, so long
Someday all the world will sing my song
Still life amaze
Somewhere in my heart the beat goes on

Thought it was the end of the world
Deep with guitars and all that I understand
Is air through metal and wood, I’m misunderstood

Wasting my money and fame
I’d throw it away just to prove that I can
I’m the last of a dying breed
And it’s not the end of the world, oh no
It’s not even the end of the day

So long, so long
Someday all the world will sing my song
Still life amaze
Somewhere in my heart the beat goes on

So long, so long
Someday all the world will sing my song
Still life amaze
Somewhere in my heart the beat goes on

So long, so long
Someday all the world will sing my song
Still life amaze
Somewhere in my heart the beat goes on


Liam likes the odd beer or two - but does he know how to add yeast when making beer?

Three Ring Circus Lyrics Beady Eye

Three Ring Circus Lyrics Beady Eye

Three Ring Circus is from Beady Eye's debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding.

Lyrics

Didn't walk, could've run
Ain't that enough?
Feel alive out on a limb
The same way as up
I wanna be where we as people should be
I wanna see what's not shown

Could've won, should've lost
And laid down in sun
Change of mind, change of line
Under my tongue
I wanna go where we as people should go
I wanna know what goes on

In this three ring circus going round
This three ring circus going round
\In this three ring circus going round
This three ring circus going round

I wanna be where we as people should be
I wanna see what's not shown

Make it home

In this three ring circus going round
This three ring circus going round
In this three ring circus going round
This three ring circus going round

Check out these lyrics from Beady Eye, Wigwam and The Morning Son.

Wigwam Lyrics Beady Eye

Wigwam Lyrics Beady Eye

Wigwam is from Beady Eye's debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding.

Lyrics

The chips are down, you're in the game
But win or lose you feel the same
Another bottle in the hand
You're sick of life and it's demands

You're taking off in the night
You're coming in when it's light
You make it up to the wife
You say you're wrong when it's right

Sha la la la la
La la la la la
Sha la la la la
La la la la la

You think you got me all worked out
I'll see you off you and your crowd
Another bottle takes a man
Sick of life and it's demands

Sha la la la la
La la la la la
Sha la la la la
La la la la la
Sha la la la la
La la la la la
Sha la la la la
La la la la la

Come to be where I can see
Way beyond the stars
So my friends what's here to me
Open up your arms

I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up (yeah, you've been comin' up! )
I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
(Sha la la la)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin' up)
(Sha la la la, la la la la la)
I'm comin' up (comin', comin', comin'



Check out the lyrics to Sons of the Stage, the B-side to Bring the Light.

Chech out Bon Jovi's Born Again Tomorrow song lyrics.

Standing On The Edge Of The Noise Lyrics Beady Eye

Standing On The Edge Of The Noise Lyrics Beady Eye



This song from Beady Eye's debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding.

Lyrics

Hold on tight
Goin’ out the station
Rollin’ around in anticipation
Saying goodbyes to the ones we feel
And we’re dead

Your mother don’t know what your father’s missing
Your brother don’t know cause he ain’t been listenin’
Gotta design for killing time
And it’s dead!

Get you, you got me
I’m standing on the edge of the noise
Get me, I got you
I’m standing on the edge of the noise

Oh oh, yeah

So many people, so little time
So many reasons, so little rhyme
So let me look at you, (?)

Get you, you got me
I’m standing on the edge of the noise
Get me, I got you
I’m standing on the edge of the noise

Oh oh, yeah

Hold on tight
Goin’ out the station
Rollin’ around in anticipation
Saying goodbyes to the ones we feel
And we’re dead

Get you, you got me
I’m standing on the edge of the noise
Get me, I got you
I’m standing on the edge of the noise

Oh oh, yeah
Oh oh, yeah

Standing on the edge of the noise (repeated five times)


Check out the lyrics to Sons of the Stage, the B-side to Bring the Light.

Kill For A Dream Lyrics Beady Eye

Kill For A Dream Lyrics Beady Eye

Lyrics:

Life's too short not to forgive
You can carry regrets but they won't let you live
I'm here if you wanna call
Staring at the spot on the wall
It's a beautiful world when you know who you are
You're moving too fast in the back of the car
You're giving in another try
Staring at the deep blue sky
And you say that I'll drive I'll just drive
'Cause you never felt so alive
We open the door and let out the sound
All that we heard was a dream rebound
I'm bouncing off walls right here in my mind
I'd kill for a dream tonight
A looking glass hard thrown at the wall
You don't see me but I see it all
Still so sweep on it's roll
And everything pretty is gone
Well here's my glass and here's one for you
'Cause these dark glasses means something to do
You're giving in another try
Staring at the deep blue sky
And you say that I'll drive I'll just drive
'Cause you never felt so alive
We open the door and let out the sound
All that we heard was a dream rebound
I'm bouncing off walls right here in my mind
I'd kill for a dream tonight
I'd kill for a dream tonight
I'd kill for a dream tonight
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
I'd kill for a dream tonight
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na

If you're looking for something a little more sedate check out Adele's lyrics to Remedy or Sweetest Devotion.

For Anyone lyrics Beady Eye



For Anyone lyrics Beady Eye

For Anyone is a new song from the ashes that was Oasis, Beady Eye. Get the song from Amazon, Different Gear, Still Speeding.

For anyone who knows
For anyone who's been
Forever in my heart
I'll see you in my dream
For anyone who loves
For anyone who feels
I'm never giving up
Until the dream is real

I know it's gonna be alright
Forever I'll be by your side

For anyone who knows
For anyone who's been
Forever in my heart
I'll See You in my dreams

I know it's gonna be alright
Forever I'll be by your side

For anyone you love
For everyone you feel
I'm never giving up
Until the dream is real
Until the dream is real
Until the dream is real
Until the dream is real

Check out the lyrics to Beady Eye's Sons of the Stage, a b-side from Bring the Light

Wind Up Dream Lyrics Beady Eye

Wind Up Dream Lyrics Beady Eye


This track is  from Beady Eye's debut album,Different Gear, Still Speeding

If tonight is all we have
Then make the bed with sheets of glass
Let's take it out with one last laugh
Come on, come on
If yesterdays is all we got
We tie our bones in one big knot
Squeeze it out 'til every drop's all gone

All gone, come on

It’s just a wind up dream
So don’t wake me up
Coz I like what I see
With my eyes shut

Solid gold glint in your eye
Cheeky grin that really makes me smile
Who wouldn't wanna bit?
Who wouldn't wanna bit!

It’s just a wind up dream
So don’t wake me up
Coz I like what I see
With my eyes shut

Aah, aah
Aah, aah
Aah, aah
Aah, aah

It’s just a wind up dream
So don’t wake me up
Coz I like what I see
With my eyes shut

Aah, aah
Aah, aah
Aah, aah
Aah, aah

Check out the lyrics to Kill for a Dream by Beady Eye

Beatles And Stones Lyrics Beady Eye

Beatles And Stones Lyrics Beady Eye

The lyrics to Beady Eye's Beatles and Stones are an all too obvious nod to two of the greatest bands that ever walked the Earth, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

Lyrics:

Well it beats me mama, I just want to rock and roll
Well it beats me mama, I just want to rock and roll
I'm gonna stand the test of time
Like Beatles and Stones

Well it freaks them mama
I'm not doin' what I'm told
Well it freaks them mama
You know I can't be brought and sold
I'm gonna stand the test of time
Like the Beatles and Stones

I'm on my way home, just get back to what's mine
And when I get home, well I'll be alright

Well it beats me mama, I just want to rock and roll

I'm gonna stand the test of time
Like Beatles and Stone

I'm on my way home, just get back to what's mine
And when I get home, well I'll be alright

What's that you say?
Get out the way!
What's that you say?
Get out the way!

Check out lyrics to Beady Eye's The Roller

The Roller Lyrics Beady Eye

The Roller Lyrics Beady Eye

The Roller is the first official single from Beady Eye's debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding. It is effectively, Liam Gallagher an Co's first official release since the demise of Oasis.

Liam's singings is very heavily influenced by John Lennon's phrasings. 

The Roller Lyrics:

You didn't know what to say
And I'll come at you today
Can't get out your own way
Well hold on, hold on, hold on

I'm hiding out in the sun
I'm getting everyone done
Just my head and no-one
Here I come, here I come, here I come

Just call me the roller
I'll squeeze and unfold you
Call me the roller
I just go to show you

So you've been crawling through a maze
An alcohol lemon haze
I've been watching you for days
You've been out of sight, alright, alright

I'll take you somewhere you never knew you'd be
I'll give you something you never knew you'd feel
The only thing is everything is real tonight, tonight, tonight

Just call me the roller
I'll squeeze and unfold you
Call me the roller
I just go to show you

Just call me the roller
I'll come blow you over
Call me the roller
I'm pleased that I know you

I'll take you somewhere you never knew you'd be
I'll give you something you never knew you'd feel
The only thing is everything is real tonight, tonight, tonight

Just call me the roller
I'll squeeze and unfold you


Call me the roller
I just go to show you

The roller, the roller, the roller, the roller, the roller

Millionaire Lyrics Beady Eye

Millionaire Lyrics Beady Eye

Millionare is a track from Beady Eye's debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding.

Sweet can it guess to figure as a forty minute ride
You drive it and I'll spend it looking out my window
Sweet sound the door the shadows painted and the light he saw
The way I'm seeing now so clear, like diamonds on the water

A medal with me and you'll meddle with yourself
For there is a higher wealth
Love them like a millionaire
Medals on your prominition rags
You just need to know yourself
And love them like a millionaire

Her faded glamour out of season as the ages pass
Desperate for inspiration as the months run down like rain
Sweet sound the door I stood outside your door
And saw the light out shinging in the summer like the way the light shines out the water

A medal with me and you'll meddle with yourself
For there is a higher wealth
Love them like a millionaire
Medals on your prominition rags
You just need to know yourself
And love them like a millionaire
Like a lover, like a lover, like a lover

Check out the lyrics to Beady Eye's Sons of the Stage, a b-side from Bring the Light

Four Letter Word Beady Eye Lyrics


Four Letter Word Beady Eye Lyrics

Four Letter Word is the second song released from Beady Eye's debut album. Different Gear, Still Speeding. The first song released was Bring the Light.

Four Letter Word is a classic rock song, and it's clear that now that Noel G is no longer the main musical charge, Gem Archer and Beady Eye have taken the reins with a firm and heavy hand. 

Lyrics:

Sleepwalk away the life
If that turns you on
It’s only a moment
Look away and it’s gone

It’s about time
That your mind took a holiday
You’re all grown up
Don’t you ever wanna play?

You’ve had enough
Staring out of dead end eyes
It’s gonna be tough
The battle’s on and your soul is the prize

I don’t know what it is I’m feeling
A four letter word really gets my meaning
Nothing ever lasts forever

Get on your feeling
Going out of your mind
The wheel needs to roll
The clock on the wall says it’s time

Call it love
Call it whatever you please
It’s not what you want
It be might just what you need

You’ve had enough
It feels like you’ve blown
A 50 amp fuse

It’s gonna be tough
The more you have
The more you can loose

I don’t know what it is I’m feeling
A four letter word really gets my meaning
Nothing ever lasts forever

You’ve had enough
Staring out of dead end eyes
It’s gonna be tough
The battle’s on and your soul is the prize

I don’t know what it is I’m feeling
A four letter word really gets my meaning
Nothing ever lasts forever
Nothing ever lasts forever
Nothing ever lasts forever
Nothing ever lasts forever

Cover art for Different Gear Still Speeding

Here's the cover art for the new Beady Eye album, Different Gear Still Speeding:


The album title is possible a reference to the band previously having been in the Oasis incarnation, and now Beady Eye.

'Different Gear, Still Speeding' Tracklisting:

Different Gear, Still Speeding
Beady Eye have announced they are to release their eagerly anticipated debut album ‘DIFFERENT GEAR, STILL SPEEDING’ on 28th February 2011 on Beady Eye Records.

The new album from the ex Oasis members features 13 brand new songs written by the band and was recorded at RAK Studios in autumn 2010 with famed producer U2 Steve Lillywhite.

A taster song for the album, ‘Bring The Light’, was made available for Beady Eye fans on the 9th November here at beadyeyemusic.com and was downloaded or played over 350,000 times in 24 hours. The video has received over 600,000 hits since it was premiered a week later.

The band (Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock) also put their first UK tour on sale on 26th November with tickets selling out within 30 minutes. They will be joined by Matt Jones on keyboards and Jeff Wootton on bass for these dates and the European shows which follow the UK gigs. The full details of the UK dates can be seen HERE!

'Different Gear, Still Speeding' Tracklisting:

Four Letter Word
Millionaire
The Roller
Beatles And Stones
Wind Up Dream
Bring The Light
For Anyone
Kill For A Dream
Standing On The Edge Of The Noise
Wigwam
Three Ring Circus
The Beat Goes On
The Morning Son

November 26, 2010

Beady Announce Concert Dates

BEADY EYE - FIRST UK DATES!

BEADY EYE are thrilled to announce details of their first live UK shows in March 2011.

After releasing their first piece of music - which NME termed an 'event release, the likes of which we haven't seen in aeons' - the band (Liam GallagherGem ArcherAndy Bell and Chris Sharrock) will be giving fans a first live taste of their premiere album in a series of concerts in Glasgow, Manchester & London in March next year, which is proving to be one of the most hotly anticipated live debuts the UK has ever seen.

Supplemented by Matt Jones on keyboards and Jeff Wootton on bass, the group will be performing the following dates:

Thursday 3rd March - Glasgow Barrowland (0844 811 0051)
Friday 4th March - Glasgow Barrowland (0844 811 0051)
Sunday 6th March - Manchester O2 Apollo (08444 777 677)
Monday 7th March - Manchester O2 Apollo (08444 777 677)
Wednesday 9th March - London Troxy (0844 811 0051)
Thursday 10th March - London Troxy (0844 811 0051)

Tickets go on sale at 10am Friday 26th November available through www.beadyeyemusic.com or by phone through the box office numbers supplied.

Buy Online at: www.beadyeyemusic.com

24hr credit card hotline: 0844 811 0051 / 0844 826 2826
Maximum 4 tickets per applicant.

#beadyeye

November 20, 2010


So we knew it would happen sooner or later and the fact we're all gagging for it makes it even more special to hear indirect confirmation that Noel Gallagher is indeed recording a solo album. I guess this also indirect confirms Noel is not going to form a new band. No surprises there eh?

Miles Cane from The Last Shadow Puppets confirmed he'd played a guitar track for Noel's album in an interview with the Independent:

Question - Reading the roll-call of guests on your record felt like leafing through the Christmas issue of Q magazine. There's Noel Gallagher, Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys, the singer from The Courteneers. You must have one hell of a Rolodex.

Answer - Noel sings on one song, he's only doing harmonies. It's great. We met a couple of times, he asked me to play guitar on his solo record. I played on one track, so he repeated the favour. I'm very honoured.

And if you wondered what Liam was up to, he's in a new band called Beady Eye....

November 18, 2010

Michael Spencer Jones: The Oasis Singles Covers

The story of the design of the Oasis single cover photography

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.


Check out the lego version of the album cover.




















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. Which is better than methanol poisoning I suppose.

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 a well hopped 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' Spencer's own site www.michaelspencerjones.com.

Have you ever read the Mortal Engines books
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