OASIS & MAN CITY: ALL PART OF: THE MASTERPLAN

In 1994, a legendary photographer shot some iconic portraits for a soon-to-be legendary band. As Oasis' reunion tour begins, the snapper and others explain how football was at the heart of their supersonic rise

- Words James Andrew Additional reporting Ben Marsden Portraits Kevin Cummins

November 1989: inside a Manchester warehouse, guitarist John Squire is busy pouring cans of paint over himself and the rest of his band, The Stone Roses. Suddenly, he stops. “We've been stitched up here,” he said.

Squire was right - and not just because the aforementioned warehouse had no shower. The Roses were Manchester United fans - as they looked around at each other and their surroundings, all they could see was a Jackson Pollock-inspired mess of sky blue and white paint covering them, Manchester City colours.

Later that month, the photograph in question was on the cover of music weekly the NME and became an iconic portrait of the band. It was also avictory for the man taking the pictures - legendary music photographer Kevin Cummins, a lifelong City fan. It wouldn't be the last time he injected some City influences into his work.

"THE SMELL? HOT DOGS AND PISS"

Oasis didn’t just burst onto the scene in 1994 - they kicked the hinges off the door, barged their way through and marched straight to the front of it.

During those early years, Oasis and Manchester United were the most famous things to emerge from the north west. For Manchester City, the fact that Liam and Noel Gallagher were fans helped to keep them relevant.

On the back of the success of their first two albums, Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis were the world’s biggest band at their peak. Just a week after their crowning homecoming gigs at Maine Road in April 1996, though, Manchester City were relegated from the Premier League. The slide didn’t stop there - two years later, they were in the third tier.