above the speed of sound. Maker of Shakers. Live a Lifetime. The band’s popularity was on the rise as summer 1994 came to an end, with each new single topping the charts.
When the swaggering and combative Definitely Maybe album was released on August 29, it became the fastest-selling debut in UK history and gave rise to those anthems.
Just two years later, the trio played record-breaking gigs at Knebworth in front of 250,000 fans, helping to ignite the spark for Britpop.
According to Brian Cannon, an Oasis confidant, it was “a meteoric rise”.
It reminded me of The Beatles.
Fans are as familiar with the album cover as they are with the songs within, featuring the five members of the band in the front room of rhythm guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthur’s West Didsbury residence.
The notion of Oasis “chilling out” is attributed to art director Cannon, who is also credited with designing the sleeve. He notes that the image of the Fab Four taken in a Tokyo hotel room three decades prior and another, much older source are major influences on the concept.
