Who are the two men on Oasis’ ‘What’s The Story Morning Glory’ album cover?
Part of the appeal behind Oasis in their early years was that they didn’t seem to care what anyone else thought of them. They were always going to be making the most of what they had, and they were going to use everything in their power to bring the sounds of retro-sounding rock and roll to the masses again. No one gets there without a team behind them, and photographer Brian Cannon helped sculpt a work of art on What’s the Story Morning Glory.
For years, Cannon had been known as one of the principal photographers for the band in their early years, overseeing the massive setups for their single sleeves and the cover for Definitely Maybe. Even though many of the sleeves may have seemed to be taken at random, there was as much careful thought put into every single picture as was put into the music.
For instance, the entire setup for the sleeve for ‘Shakermaker’ involved Cannon using an industrial blowtorch to melt every prop that would be used on the sleeve to make it appear like the entire thing was melting. Once the band became one of the biggest acts in the world, it was time for Cannon to work his magic again for What’s the Story Morning Glory.
Since Noel Gallagher wanted to capture a shot taking place early in the morning, the sleeve was shot just as the sun was rising. Crossing the street facing the camera is DJ Sean Rowley, who had been a friend of Noel’s, and the man with his back turned is Cannon, with Michael Spencer-Jones being in charge of setting up the shot.
According to Jones, though, the original plan was to have the Gallaghers in it somehow, saying, “It was about five in the morning. I think (Noel and Liam) were in two minds and in the end, it just didn’t happen. It would have been interesting if they had been on the cover, though”. Since Oasis was well into touring by the time the shot was taken, there was no chance they would make it to a random street for a photo shoot.
While everyone remembers the two men walking across the street while thinking of the shot, there is actually someone else hiding in the background of this picture. If you look at the sidewalk on the left side of the image, there’s a man practically photobombing the shot, holding up this huge grey square over his head.
That man is Owen Morris, the producer who helped launch Oasis to stardom with Definitely Maybe. According to legend, Morris had come there on the day, and what he’s holding in his hand is the master tape of the final album, which means you’re getting a look at the final mixes before you’ve even heard a note of the music.
Cannon would also continue working with Oasis for the next phase of their career. While he would also contribute to various other Britpop acts like The Verve and Ash, Cannon’s biggest claims to fame would be working on the rest of Oasis’s sleeves throughout the 1990s, putting together the sleeves for singles like ‘D’You Know What I Mean’ before going their separate ways in the 2000s.
It is a shame that we didn’t get to see Noel or Liam appear on the album sleeve, but the fact that Morris showed up for the shoot made Oasis’s rise feel more like a communal thing for everyone involved. The band may have been the ones touring around the world, but every person mattered when it came to making the albums look and sound spectacular.
