Noel Gallagher returns to Manchester flat where he wrote Oasis anthems as part of new photo exhibition

Noel Gallagher has been photographed by Manchester students as part of a new exhibition opening at Central Library in April. 

The massive photography project initiated by The Manchester College in collaboration with the Manchester City Council is seven years in the making. It features work from 150 young visual artists and 120 celebrities and everyday heroes from the region, including musicians, sports figures, entertainers, entrepreneurs, politicians, actors, comedians, artists, poets, academics and community champions. It aims to highlight the important contributions these people have made to the city. 

Each subject has been photographed in a Manchester location that is significant to them. Some of the other big names featured in the project include Andy Burnham, Diane Modahl, Peter Saville, Jason Manford and Johnny Marr. 

Noel was pictured outside India House on Whitworth Street, where he lived in a flat for two years and wrote the first two Oasis albums, Definitely Maybe and What's the Story, Morning Glory. He was photographed by student Katie O’Neill. 

Noel said: “India House is literally ground zero in the story of my musical life! I moved into a flat there with my then girlfriend in 1989, broke and bored. By the time I left in 1993 I’d joined my little brother’s band and had written Live Forever and Rock ‘n’ Roll Star!”

About the project

Overseeing the project is the college’s head of photography Harry Potts. He works with the students in groups of one or two, encouraging them to engage with and communicate their creative ideas to the contributor. 

“The project started in 2016 when student Harry Yeates wanted to photograph legendary poet John Cooper Clarke for his final major project," explains Harry. "The photo was taken under Blackfriars Bridge, connecting Salford to Manchester, next to his life-sized stencil by the artist Stewy. We repeated this collaborative formula with a handful of other notable Mancunians and slowly a project was organically developing.

 “As with John Cooper Clarke, we always ask the contributor to choose the location for the photography. This is an integral part of the project as we want the image to have poignancy and context. Professor of Emergency Medicine Tony Redmond chose inside the NHS Nightingale Hospital. Actor Bill Roache was photographed on the set of Coronation Street and Noel Gallagher chose India House where he lived during the whole Madchester era and where the story of Oasis began!”

Where to see the exhibition

The major ‘Greater Mancunians’ exhibition will be on display at Manchester’s Central Library from Friday 19 April to Sunday 30 June, 2024. The photos will also be published in a forthcoming book.