Entertainment
Oasis photographer hunting down Rolls-Royce used in iconic Be Here Now album cover – and needs your help-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro
Now that’s a treasure hunt.
Oasis photographer Michael Spencer Jones is on a mission to find the white Rolls-Royce used in the Be Here Now album cover (Picture: Michael Spencer Jones)
The photographer behind Oasis’ Be Here Now album cover is on the hunt for an iconic prop – and he needs help.
Photographer Michael Spencer Jones is the mastermind behind the album cover of Oasis’ third album, released 25 years ago this week.
The classic record saw the launch of such iconic songs as I Hope, I Think, I Know, and D’You Know What I Mean?
Now Michael is asking a different question: D’you know where it is?
As Be Here Now rapidly approaches its 25th birthday, Michael is on a mission to find the white Rolls-Royce used in the album cover.
In 1997, he loaned it from independent supplier Flying Spares in Leicestershire, for the shoot – it was sold the year after at a music memorabilia auction for £1,200 but the trail has since gone cold.
The classic album was released 25 years ago this week (Picture: Oasis/ Michael Spencer Jones)
Michael has released previously unseen photographs from the shoot in the hopes it will jog someone’s memory (Picture: Michael Spencer Jones)
The car in question is a 1972 Silver Shadow, and appeared on the cover with the number plate SYO 724F – a nod to The Beatles as that was the reg of the police van on the cover of their seminal 1969 album Abbey Road.
However its actual vehicle registration is MDH 119K.
Michael is determined to find the car and buy it for himself – if it still exists, that is.
The number plate used on the album was in fact a nod to the Beatles (Picture: Michael Spencer Jones)
The photographer has now appealed for help from the public to find the iconic vehicle, and has released previously unseen pictures from the photoshoot in the hopes it could jog someone’s memory.
Neil Arman, Director of Flying Spares which loaned the car for the photoshoot, is helping Michael on his mission, and described their car being used for the album as ‘Flying Spares folklore.’
‘When it came back it was missing the famous Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, which someone had presumably pinched as a souvenir,’ he revealed.
‘The car wasn’t roadworthy even when we had it. It hadn’t been taxed since 1993 and had already been stripped for parts, including the engine. We fitted a new front grille and had it resprayed specifically for the shoot.’
The car was sold at auction in 1998 and there has been no sign of it since (Picture: Michael Spencer Jones)
One picture released by Michael shows the seconds before the now-iconic shot was taken (Picture: Michael Spencer Jones
Giving hope to Michael and other Oasis superfans, he added: ‘The DVLA have no record of it being scrapped though, so it could well still be out there. Even classic Rolls-Royces and Bentleys can lie forgotten under dusty sheets in garages – we call them barn finds – and this one has the kudos of being a piece of Britpop history.
‘We’d love to help Michael Spencer Jones to locate it, or at least find out what happened to it.’
Be Here Now is far from the only picnic photoshoot Michael is behind – he also worked on the first two albums, Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
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Two of his works – Definitely Maybe and This Is Music by The Verve – later featured in Q magazine’s Hundred Best Record Covers of All Time.
Anyone who can help with the real-life treasure hunt is asked to contact Flying Spares on 01455 292949 or sales@flyingspares.co.uk.
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