{"id":955,"date":"2012-10-06T20:06:13","date_gmt":"2012-10-06T20:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/?page_id=955"},"modified":"2016-02-21T14:42:22","modified_gmt":"2016-02-21T14:42:22","slug":"brian-cannon-on-designing-the-sleeve-art","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/?page_id=955","title":{"rendered":"Brian Cannon on designing the sleeve art"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This interview with Oasis sleeve designer Brian Cannon was originally published in 2010 by\u00a0Stop Crying Your Heart Out<\/a>\u00a0and is reproduced on Oasis Recording Info by kind permission of Louise of Stop Crying Your Heart Out]<\/p>\n

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Brian Cannon, the man behind some of the most iconic sleeve designs in the history of British music this year celebrates 20 years in the business. Over the past two decades, Brian\u2019s company Microdot has worked with bands such as The Verve, Suede, Insprial Carpets, Super Furry Animals and, of course, Oasis. After training as a graphic designer, Brian set up Microdot in 1990 and first came to prominence working with The Verve. Sleeve designs such as those for singles She\u2019s A Superstar, Gravity Grave and the band\u2019s debut album\u00a0A Storm In Heaven<\/em>\u00a0are still regarded as some of the most innovative and original of the last two decades. The company eclipsed their own early success however with their work with Oasis in the mid-nineties.<\/p>\n

From the iconic white on black Oasis logo to every single and album sleeve until 1998, Microdot\u2019s designs were seen as a fitting visual companion to the band’s music, often referencing both the songs themselves and giving a nod to band\u2019s own influences. Brian is a central figure in Oasis history not just for his work with Microdot but as a friend of the band, he often made appearances on record and is one of the few \u2018eye witnesses\u2019 to the band\u2019s early success. In four short years, the company founded in a small office in the North West of England saw their work on the covers of multimillion selling records across the world in a not so distant era before technology diluted the prominence of sleeve designs and the skill of \u2018man made\u2019 cover art. Microdot resisted digitized artwork until the release of Super Furry Animal\u2019s 1996 debut\u00a0Fuzzy Logic;<\/em>\u00a0however, Brian would still rely on traditional graphic design methods, as would become their trademark in the years to come.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0Q<\/em>\u00a0Magazine poll of the Top 100 album covers of all time, Microdot were featured twice, for Oasis’s\u00a0Definitely Maybe<\/em>\u00a0and The Verve’s This is Music. As well as these classic pieces, Microdot also designed the StopCryingYourHeartOut logo, arguably the zenith of their 20 years in the business…. A retrospective of their work is currently on display at\u00a0www.microdotcreative.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0and to celebrate the company\u2019s 20th, Brian Cannon granted us an exclusive Q&A.<\/p>\n

What’s the strangest thing happened to you while shooting a band?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThat has to be the Wonderwall story, originally Liam was the person seen through the picture frame. I had sent a message to Marcus Russell, Oasis’s manager, to tell him and Noel about the shoot, a message he obviously didn\u2019t receive. Mid shoot, and this is totally true, Noel just happened purely by chance to be passing in a taxi!! Next thing you know an irate Noel Gallagher jumps out the taxi which screeched to halt and shouted \u2018What the fuck’s going on here?\u2019 he put a halt to proceedings saying it had to be a girl in the shot!<\/p>\n

Are there any recent bands that you’d like to work with?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI\u2019d absolutely love to work on Noel\u2019s new stuff, and seeing as he, probably more than any other rock star, values the opinions of his fans \u2013 get a petition going!! Other than that, I think the Arctic Monkeys are ace and The Whip.<\/p>\n

Besides photography have you tried any other kind of art, like painting?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI am actually trained as a graphic designer, photography is just one of the disciplines I enjoy. I haven\u2019t painted for a while and used to really enjoy printmaking. Compiling collages is also something I enjoy.<\/p>\n

What in your opinion are the top three album\/single covers you have worked on?<\/strong><\/em>
\nCan I have four?… The Verve – A Storm In Heaven, Oasis \u2013 Some Might Say, Oasis –\u00a0Definitely Maybe<\/em>\u00a0and The Verve \u2013 This Is Music.<\/p>\n

What album covers first inspired you to take up the profession?<\/strong><\/em>
\nIt was all about The Sex Pistols for me as a young lad.\u00a0Never Mind The Bollocks<\/em>\u00a0is, in my opinion, the greatest typographical album sleeve of all time. It was punk generally and the Pistols in particular that inspired me to do the job.<\/p>\n

On an overwhelming majority of Microdot sleeves NO digitisation was used. Why was this so important to you?<\/strong><\/em>
\nA lot of it was down to the fact that in the early days I simply couldn\u2019t afford the technology!! Then when we could we still resisted as it became our trademark. It gives me great satisfaction to look back on all those great sleeves and think, \u2018we actually DID that.\u2019<\/p>\n

For the cover of The Verve’s She\u2019s A Superstar how much food colouring did you add to the water to get that effect? And did you have to get permission to do it?<\/strong><\/em>
\nIt was a plastic dustbin full, the sort you\u2019d have in your garden and no we didn\u2019t ask for permission, it was after all bio degradable and caused no harm.<\/p>\n

How involved was Noel in the creation of the album and single artwork. How much collaboration was there between him (or the band itself) and you?<\/strong><\/em>
\nIt varied, but Noel and I ALWAYS got together before a sleeve project, he\u2019d give me his thoughts then I\u2019d turn it into reality. Communication was always the key, borne out by the fact that we NEVER had to re shoot a sleeve.<\/p>\n

Would you work with the Gallaghers on any of their new projects?<\/strong><\/em>
\nSee above.<\/p>\n

What is your favourite album artwork of all time?<\/strong><\/em>
\nPink Floyd\u2019s\u00a0Ummagumma<\/em>\u00a0& The Sex Pistols’\u00a0Never Mind The Bollocks<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is the hardest part in doing an album sleeve?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI don\u2019t find any of it \u2018hard\u2019, I love doing it and I\u2019m good at it. I suppose it only ever becomes a bit difficult if the band I\u2019m working with has no ideas and the communication between us is lacking \u2013 something that never happened while working with Oasis or The Verve or most of the bands I have worked with.<\/p>\n

How\/when did you meet Noel and what were your first impressions of him?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI first met Noel in 1992\/3, I had a tiny office in the same building as the Inspiral Carpets in Manchester for whom Noel worked as a roadie. Noel and I would see each other around the building but we were too cool to actually speak to each other. That was until one day when I got into the lift at work wearing a pair of trainers unavailable in England at the time, Adidas Indoor Super, which I had bought in Rome when I took my Mum for her 60th birthday. The first thing Noel Gallagher ever said to me was \u2018Alright, I put me hands up, where the fuck did you get them trainers?!\u2019 We got talking and he asked what I did, I told him I was into designing record sleeves \u2013 he asked me what I had done, I told him about the early Verve stuff, he was impressed as he liked The Verve and their artwork. As he was leaving the lift he said \u2018I\u2019m in a band, and when we get signed I want you to do the artwork\u2019 That literally is it, talk about being in the right place at the right time!!!!!!<\/p>\n

What made you commit to working with him?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI thought he was not only cool, but a really good laugh and very likeable. Oh… and his band were brilliant!<\/p>\n

What process did you and Noel use for creating the artwork? Did you see Noel becoming more confident in it as you worked with him, or was he always confident about it?<\/strong><\/em>
\nHe\u2019d tell me his ideas, I\u2019d listen to the music, study the lyrics, dunno how it happened really \u2013 I just got it, you have to realise I didn\u2019t just do the artwork for Oasis, I was a MASSIVE fan too. Noel was always confident about everything, everything related to Oasis at least.<\/p>\n

Did Noel always have the final say in what artwork was used?<\/strong><\/em>
\nOf course, he was, as he was known within the inner circle \u2013 \u2018The Chief\u2019.<\/p>\n

Which Oasis artwork are you most proud of?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI love Some Might Say, a great literal interpretation of the lyrics, and my Mum and Dad are on it too!\u00a0Definitely Maybe\u00a0<\/em>has become a classic, I also think Roll With It is top, we had a great laugh doing that.<\/p>\n

Are there any covers which, with hindsight, you would have designed differently?<\/strong><\/em>
\nNo. They are what they are, no point looking back and thinking \u2018Oh I wish….\u2019<\/p>\n

Noel said in November 2006 that his favourite Oasis covers were Shakermaker and Who Feels Love. Could you talk through the process for creating Shakermaker and what do you think about Who Feels Love?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe concept behind the Shakermaker artwork was kind of based on the lyric about Mr. Soft and this imaginary wibbly wobbly world. If you look at the back sleeve everything is normal and there is no music being played through the cassette player. On the front you can see my hand pressing play on an Oasis cassette, the music comes out and melts all the objects in the room! As you know we never used any photoshop effects and the most difficult thing was sourcing all objects that were plastic and thus meltable, the most difficult being the plastic picture frames that looked like wood. We did the back sleeve then took everything outside and I literally got an industrial blowtorch and melted everything. Funnily enough at this point of the process Bonehead and Liam turned up and saw me having the time of my life playing with fire and stated \u2018Cannon, you\u2019ve got the best job in the world!\u2019. With regards Who Feels Love, I think it\u2019s the best Oasis sleeve I didn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

Which Oasis recordings do you appear on?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI do handclaps on All Around The World, I speak on the end of the Warchild version of Fade Away, I play keyboards on the title track of\u00a0Morning Glory<\/em>\u00a0and my footsteps can be heard on the end of\u00a0Be Here Now<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Did the other members of the band ever show any interest in, or have any input to the artwork at all?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThey were all very interested, they didn\u2019t have input as such, that was all down to Noel, but we always had a laugh doing them.<\/p>\n

Which Oasis era was the most memorable for you and why?<\/strong><\/em>
\n94 -96, I worked with them till 98, but the first 2 years when I saw them go from nothing to being almost as big as The Beatles was amazing. It was just such an incredibly exciting time and we all knew it was something special. Also they were making great music which people absolutely loved \u2013 it was ace!<\/p>\n

Noel often used to criticise previous albums (with the exception of Definitely Maybe) when there was a new release. He did the same with the artwork a few times, how did you feel about this criticism?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI look at is this way, he approved it all in the first place \u2013 no artwork would have ever made a sleeve if Noel hadn\u2019t been happy about it at the time<\/p>\n

You were thanked in Paul Mathur’s book Take Me There. What did you think about the book?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI designed that book as well, I think it\u2019s an honest account of the time, Paul was really the first journalist to get onto Oasis and be accepted by them. When we finished designing the book I treated all the Microdot team to a weekend in New York, Paul came with us and he STILL owes me \u00a3300 that I lent him!!<\/p>\n

Did you like the artwork for Oasis’s singles collection, Time Flies… What concept would you have used for it?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI think it\u2019s good, probably because it looks like something we would have done at Microdot and it uses my logo.<\/p>\n

Would you like to work with either Noel or Beady Eye on their new projects in the future, or would you prefer to keep the Oasis connection as the perfect memory that it is?<\/strong><\/em>
\nOasis will always be the perfect memory, but I would love to work with Noel again.<\/p>\n

Of all the artists you have worked with, with whom did you feel the greatest connection? Did this make for the best work?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe best work I ever did was for both The Verve and Oasis, we were great friends and I think it shows.<\/p>\n

For more details of Brian’s work visit\u00a0www.microdotcreative.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Top of Page<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright: Brian Cannon & Stop Crying Your Heart Out (2010). Republished on Oasis Recording Info (2012).<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This interview with Oasis sleeve designer Brian Cannon was originally published in 2010 by\u00a0Stop Crying Your Heart Out\u00a0and is reproduced on Oasis Recording Info by kind permission of Louise of Stop Crying Your Heart Out] Brian Cannon, the man behind some of the most iconic sleeve designs in the history of British music this year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":148,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-955","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=955"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1407,"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/955\/revisions\/1407"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}