10 of the most famous Oasis album & single cover locations

1 August 2025, 12:54

Radio X looks at some of the most iconic locations all around the world - as seen through the eyes of classic Oasis single and album sleeves.

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. 251, Menlove Avenue, Woolton, Liverpool, L25 7SA

   

   The front cover of the Live Forever single features a photo of John Lennon's childhood home, "Mendips", in Liverpool. The image was taken by photographer Michael Spencer Jones a few years before Oasis came looking for ideas to appear on their third single in August 1994. The "ethereal and mysterious" mood of the photo appealed to the Gallaghers - which was mainly down to Spencer Jones shooting on infra-red film. The house is now owned by the National Trust and open to visitors.

   

2. 8 Stratford Avenue, West Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LH

   

   One of the most famous Oasis images was taken by photographer Michael Spencer Jones at Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs’ house in West Didsbury, Manchester, situated at 8, Stratford Avenue, a small cul-de-sac facing the back of Withington Community Hospital

   Spencer Jones told The Guardian in 2019: “[Noel's] idea was that the band would be photographed around the dining table at Bonehead’s house. I thought, What are they going to be doing at the table? Playing cards? Having a seance? There was no way I could see it working.”

   The photographer’s suggestion was that they shoot in the lounge towards the big bay window, and positioned Liam Gallagher on the floor to distract from the bare floorboards: “[Otherwise] it looked like an advert for Ronseal varnish. Liam was up for it straight away.”

   • The Movie Hidden in the Background of Oasis' Definitely Maybe Cover Art

3. Cromford Railway Station, Derbyshire, DE4 5JJ

   The first Oasis single to get to Number 1 bore another classic sleeve design by Brian Cannon of Microdot, with photography by Michael Spencer Jones. The setting was the old disused railway station at Cromford, just outside of Matlock in Derbyshire.

   Spencer Jones shot the image on black-and-white film, then hand-coloured the picture for a "surrealist" effect. If you look carefully at the cast of "ordinary" characters, you can see Liam Gallagher on the bridge, Noel Gallagher with the watering can, all behind Brian Cannon's dad with the wheelbarrow.

4. Primrose Hill, London, NW1 4NR

   

   The sleeve for the mammoth Wonderwall single is the spiritual follow-up to Live Forever, having also been shot on infra-red film, which gives a glowing, black and white effect.

   Originally, Michael Spencer Jones shot Liam Gallagher on Primrose Hill in North London, until Noel got wind of this and demanded that "our kid" was not going to appear on the cover of this heartfelt love song. Instead, Creation Records' Anita Heryet stood in, with a picture frame included as a tribute to the surrealist work of Belgian painter René Magritte - see an example below.

   

5. Marine Parade, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1AT

   

   On 22nd June 1995, Oasis were photographed by Michael Spencer Jones on the beach at Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, wrapped in duffel coats, sat on deckchairs and watching a line of portable TVs.

   While photographer Michael Spencer Jones still has a letter from the “Seafronts Manager” at the local Woodspring District Council, agreeing that the shoot would take place at 4am on Wednesday 21st June, pretty much every other account says it was Thursday 22nd, the same day that the (What’s The Story) Morning Glory tour kicked off at Bath Pavilion - which was coincidentally the first show with new drummer Alan White.

   Brian Cannon, of Oasis sleeve designers Microdot, tweeted in 2020: “This was shot on Weston Super Mare beach... Oasis were playing Glastonbury the following day so we had to find a location within striking distance. It was absolutely red hot and the band were sat in duffle coats, much to the interest of hundreds of onlookers.”

   Oasis would headline Glastonbury for the first time on Friday 23rd June.

   

6. Berwick Street, Soho, London, W1F 8TW

   The iconic shoot for the sleeve to (What's The Story) Morning Glory? was shot in the early morning of 23rd July 1995 in the usually busy thoroughfare of Berwick Street, just off Oxford Street in London. It sees DJ Sean Rowley walking towards the camera with sleeve designer Brian Cannon with his back to the camera.

   

   To the left of the duo, on the extreme left of the cover photo, you can see the old Select-A-Disc record shop, which later became Sister Ray. The shop moved to smaller premises on the other side of the street a few years later, where it remains to this day. Tucked away in the background of the photo on the left hand side is the album's producer Owen Morris, who's holding the album's mastertape in front of his face.

   

7. The "Blind Steps", Woodcock Walk, opposite Gordon Street, Scholes, Wigan, Greater Manchester WN1 3EA

   This tiny street in Wigan was the location of the cover shoot for D'You Know What I mean, the first single to be taken from the Be Here Now album. So named because it ran alongside the "Blind Workshop" in the area, the street, complete with steep steps, links Darlington Street East with a thoroughfare called Hardybutts.

   

   Originally unnamed, the path is now called Woodcock Walk, in honour of Lance Corporal Thomas Woodcock a local First World War soldier who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery.

   

   

   Oasis - D'You Know What I Mean? - The day Oasis came to Wigan 1997.

8. Stocks House, Stocks Rd, Aldbury, HP23 5RX

   The classic album cover for the third Oasis album Be Here Now was taken at Stocks House, near Tring in Hertfordshire. The original idea was to have a sleeve featuring each member of the band in a different location, but in the end it was only Bonehead's choice - relaxing by a swimming pool featuring a partially-submerged Rolls Royce as a tribute to Who drummer Keith Moon - that made it to the final design.

   

   Stocks House was formerly the British Playboy mansion and the home of the company's UK manager Victor Lownes (pictured below). In the 1980s, the Georgian building became a commercial hotel, and remained so at the time of the Be Here Now shoot, with some of the residents causing a few crowd problems during the day-long photo session in the grounds.

   View this post on Instagram

   A post shared by Victor Lownes (@victoralownes)

9. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

   

   Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants was the first Oasis album of the new Millennium and bore the first cover art not to have been designed by Brian Cannon at Microdot.

   Instead, designer Simon Halfon compiled a time lapse of the New York skyline which sees the daytime view fade into night. The images were taken from the rooftop of the mammoth skyscraper that is 500 Fifth Avenue, situated on the corner of 5th Avenue and 41snd Street in Manhattan.

   

10. Gare de Lyon Métro station, Place Louis-Armand, 75571 Paris

    

    A sly tip of the hat to The Beatles' Rubber Soul album cover, this shot of Andy Bell, Alan White, Noel Gallagher, Gem Archer and Liam Gallagher stood in the Gare de Lyon Métro station in Paris was taken by Andrew MacPherson on a murky day in February 2002 "almost by accident", according to design guru Simon Halfon.