Brian Cannon is a British graphic designer, art director, photographer, band manager and music video director. [1] His Microdot graphic design company created the album cover for Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe in 1994. [2]
Two of Cannon's record sleeve designs—Definitely Maybe (#14) and "This Is Music" (#79)—featured in Q magazine's "The Hundred Best Record Covers Of All Time" list published in 2001. [3] He is noted for "his grandiose, ridiculously time-consuming (photo) shoots", [2] and has produced a number of record sleeves for UK number one albums, including Urban Hymns [4] (The Verve) and 1977 [5] (Ash), along with two further Oasis albums— (What's The Story) Morning Glory? [6] and Be Here Now . [2]
He has also designed record sleeves for Ruthless Rap Assassins, [7] Suede [8] and Super Furry Animals, [1] and is the former manager of the now-defunct Scottish experimental rock group, The Beta Band. [9] [10]
Cannon was given The Lifetime Achievement Award by the global Annual Design Awards in November 2011.
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, in reaction to the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.
Definitely Maybe is the debut studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released on 29 August 1994 by Creation Records. The album features Noel Gallagher on lead guitar, backing vocals and as chief songwriter, Liam Gallagher on lead vocals, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on rhythm guitar, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan on bass guitar and Tony McCarroll on drums.
The Verve were an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in 1989 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member in their first reunion only from 1995 to 1999.
Oasis are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. The group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll (drums), with Liam asking his older brother Noel Gallagher to join as a fifth member a few months later to finalise their formation. Noel became the de facto leader of the group and took over the songwriting duties for the band's first four albums. They are characterised as one of the defining and most globally successful groups of the Britpop genre.
Urban Hymns is the third studio album by English rock band the Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Records. The group had broken up while promoting A Northern Soul in August 1995, though they reformed two weeks later without guitarist Nick McCabe. Frontman Richard Ashcroft moved to Bath, Somerset, where he made demos; Simon Tong joined the group soon afterwards. Following aborted recording sessions with producers John Leckie and Owen Morris, the band sought a new guitarist, contacting Bernard Butler, who played with them for a week before departing amidst creative differences. In 1996, The Verve started recording at Olympic Studios in London, first with producer Martin "Youth" Glover, followed by engineer Chris Potter. Ashcroft contacted McCabe in early 1997, inviting him back into the band. Several songs were re-recorded to allow for the inclusion of McCabe's guitar parts, with sessions continuing into May 1997.
A Northern Soul is the second studio album by English rock band the Verve, released on 3 July 1995 through Hut Records. With the tumultuous promotion for their debut studio album, A Storm in Heaven (1993), combined with their friends in Oasis becoming popular, relationships between members of the Verve became strained. After connecting with Oasis producer Owen Morris, the Verve went to a rehearsal space in Wigan to write material for the next album, which they recorded at Loco Studios in Wales. The sessions gained notoriety for the stories that emerged from the time, including Ashcroft going missing for five days and him allegedly totalling a car on the studio's lawn. In the first three weeks, they had finished 15 tracks; after this point, the situation soured as guitarist Nick McCabe grew exhausted from dealing with the other members frequently partying and taking ecstasy, in addition to vocalist Richard Ashcroft and Morris screaming and destroying objects. Eventually, McCabe had a different working schedule from the others, starting at 10–11 a.m. while the rest of the band started at 6 p.m.
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's lead guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher. The structure and arrangement style of the album was a significant departure from the band's previous album, Definitely Maybe (1994). Gallagher's compositions were more focused in balladry and placed more emphasis on "huge" choruses, with the string arrangements and more varied instrumentation contrasting with the rawness of the group's debut album. Morning Glory was the group's first album with drummer Alan White, who replaced Tony McCarroll.
A Storm in Heaven is the debut studio album by the English rock band Verve, later the Verve, released on 21 June 1993 on Hut Records. The band had formed between school friends vocalist Richard Ashcroft, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury, with guitarist Nick McCabe joining shortly after. After a show in London, they signed to the Virgin Records imprint Hut Records in 1991, which released their first three singles in 1992. Following the appointment of the company Savage and Best as their management, the band recorded their debut album at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall with producer John Leckie. Referred to mainly as a psychedelic album, A Storm in Heaven was largely written in the studio.
"Live Forever" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. Written by Noel Gallagher, the song was released as the third single from their debut album Definitely Maybe (1994) on 8 August 1994, just prior to that album's release. Gallagher began writing the song in 1991, before he joined Oasis.
"Cigarettes & Alcohol" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It was released on 10 October 1994 by Creation Records as the fourth and final single from their debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), and their second to enter the UK top ten in the United Kingdom, peaking at number seven, eventually spending 79 weeks on the charts. On 13 March 2020, nearly 26 years after its release, the song was certified Platinum, indicating 600,000 sales.
"Some Might Say" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was released as the first single on 24 April 1995 by Creation from their second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. "Some Might Say" provided Oasis with their first number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Sweden. The b-side "Headshrinker" was also the last to feature all five original members, as the drummer Tony McCarroll was fired shortly after the release of the single.
"D'You Know What I Mean?" is a song by English rock band Oasis. Written by Noel Gallagher, it was released on 7 July 1997 as the first single from their third album, Be Here Now (1997).
"Morning Glory" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher and released on the band's second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? in September 1995. It was given a commercial single release only in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and it was also a radio single in the United States and Canada. In North America, it was the first song of the album to receive significant airplay, although primarily at alternative rock radio stations, as "Some Might Say" and "Roll with It" had not achieved as such.
Owen Morris is a Welsh record producer who has worked with rock bands including Oasis, the Fratellis, Ash, the View, Loso and the Verve.
The English rock band Oasis have released seven studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums, six video albums, one extended play, twenty seven singles which includes one double single, nineteen promotional singles and thirty-six music videos. As of 2024, the band has sold over 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time and been named by Guinness World Records as the most successful act in the United Kingdom between the years 1995 and 2005. Oasis had 22 consecutive UK top 10 hits between 1994 and 2008. Oasis was formed in 1991 by vocalist Liam Gallagher, guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll – they were later joined by guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher. The band signed to Creation Records in May 1993 and released their debut single "Supersonic" the following year; it peaked at number 31 in the United Kingdom. Follow-up singles "Shakermaker" and "Live Forever" became UK top 15 hits, with the latter also attaining success in the United States. Definitely Maybe, the band's debut studio album, topped the UK Albums Chart and went on to be certified nine times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Live Demonstration is a demo tape made by English rock band Oasis in 1993, prior to their rise to fame. The tape helped secure a recording contract with Creation Records, with most of the tracks ending up on the band's first batch of releases, including their debut album, Definitely Maybe.
"All in the Mind" is a song by the English rock band Verve. It was released as the band's debut single on 9 March 1992. They had formed while at college in Wigan, making their live debut in August 1990. With the addition of manager Dave Halliwell, the members went on the dole to make the band workable. A demo tape was made and heard by Virgin Records staff member Miles Leonard, who organised a show for them in London in July 1991. Dave Boyd, who also worked at the label, signed them to Hut Records in September 1991.
Sawmills Studios is a recording studio founded in 1974 by record producer, Tony Cox. It is located in Golant, on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall.
The Definitely Maybe Tour was a concert tour by English band Oasis in support of their hugely successful debut album Definitely Maybe. The tour, which spanned the UK, Europe, Japan, the US and Canada, included 143 shows over a period of several months in 1994 and 1995 amidst 10 different tour legs. The tour started on 6 February 1994 with a short concert at Gleneagles, Scotland, and ended on 22 April 1995 at the Sheffield Arena. The latter show featured an acoustic debut of the future hit "Don't Look Back in Anger", and was also the last concert to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll.
Michael Spencer Jones is a British art photographer and music video director, best known for his work with Oasis and The Verve.