Oasis reunion tour was ‘closest kept secret’, friend says | Manchester News

A friend and long-time collaborator of Oasis has said the band’s reunion tour was “the closest kept secret ever” before it was announced.

Brian Cannon designed the band’s album covers for Definitely Maybe, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory and Be Here Now, and also collaborated with other bands from the Britpop “Madchester” scene such as The Verve.

He said despite working on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary project with Noel Gallagher last year, he had “no idea” the brothers had planned the reunite.

“I said I would run the length of Deansgate naked if they did [get back together]. That’s how convinced I was it wasn’t going to happen,” he told Radio Manchester.

Mr Cannon added: “[Noel] gave nothing away, I think about eight people knew.”

The 41-gig tour kicks off in Cardiff on Friday, and the gig will be the first Oasis has performed in 16 years.

Mr Cannon said he met Noel while the then-unsigned musician was working as a roadie for Madchester band Inspiral Carpets.

“I met him in a lift one day. [We were] talking about trainers,” he said.

“I met them both before I knew anything about Oasis. They were two effortlessly cool oddballs.”

He said after “bumping into each other at gigs” around Manchester, the brothers invited Mr Cannon to watch them play.

“I put it off because I thought ‘it’s bound to be rubbish’, because all my mates’ bands are rubbish.

“And it blew me away, and that was it.”

After designing the cover for Inspiral Carpets’ 1992 album Revenge of the Goldfish, Mr Cannon said Noel asked him to design Oasis’s album art.

Mr Cannon said he didn’t think the Gallagher brothers would be feeling too much pressure ahead of the tour.

“They’ve all played the songs before, they’ve all played to big crowds before,” he said.

“They’ll take it in their stride.”