Photographer of the month
The Photographer Who Captured Privilege Without Pretension
Slim Aarons
Michael Spencer Jones
29 May 2024
We’re thrilled to offer a selection of Michael Spencer Jones' most famous work on Sonic Editions, including the trio of Oasis covers that show their progress from Manchester (Definitely Maybe) to London’s Soho (Morning Glory) to a Country House (Be Here Now.) We’ve also got his famous work with The Verve, and some behind-the-scenes shots of the Gallagher brothers at work in the studio and relaxing on set. We sat down with Spencer Jones to hear a little more about these iconic photoshoots. Read the full interview below...
SE: What drew you to photography?
MSJ: I must have been about 12 years old and my dad had a copy of a LIFE Magazine Photography Special which had been lying around the house. I picked it up and started reading it, it absolutely fascinated me – it had all genres of photography from fine art photography through to reportage and scientific photography… at that point I became sold on photography. Shortly after that I bought my first camera (a Kodak 110 Instamatic 400) and started taking pictures.
SE: Do you have a favourite camera to shoot with?
MSJ: Yes, an Olympus OM2n film camera. I still shoot with it. In my opinion the greatest camera ever made.
SE: Who was your favourite person/where was your favourite place to shoot?
MSJ: If I had to choose a favourite person who I’d photographed it would have to be Leonard Cohen, he had a great energy about him. I don’t have a favourite place to shoot, I learned early on when I was studying the work of Paul Strand that if you can’t take a brilliant photograph in your own back yard then travelling to the other side of the world isn’t going to help.
SE: Out of all your photos, which one is your favourite and why? MSJ: I have a few favourites but currently it would have to be the Rolls in the Pool shot. This was a recently discovered outtake from my archive that I had completely forgotten about. It came to light when I was asked if I had any shots from the Be Here Now album cover shoot that did not feature the band, and this is the shot that I came up with. It’s proved to be enormously popular. I like the surrealist aspect of it and also it’s calmness and juxtaposition. On deeper analysis I realised it’s influenced very much from the English tradition of landscape painting, a genre of painting which I greatly admire.
SE: Which other photographers inspire you/are you following at the moment?
MSJ: Well there aren’t many contemporary photographers that I follow, possibly with the exception of Anton Corbijn but if I had to list my favourite photographers it would be people like Edward Steichen, Julia Margaret Cameron, Man Ray, William Eggleston, Paul Outerbridge to name but five…but the list is long.
SE: According to you, what makes a good photographer?
MSJ: As David Hockney once said with respect to painting, it’s all about ‘looking’ – but with photography I suppose it’s the capacity to see what other people can not see and capturing that moment.
SE: Is there someone/somewhere you would love to shoot that you haven’t yet?
MSJ: Not that many people currently around but I would love to have photographed Salvador Dali, if we’re allowed to turn the clocks back. Location wise, some paradise in the South Pacific would be good or in contrast to that some hyper industrial setting. Photography has always been a great excuse to get access to out of the way places.
SE: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into photography?
MSJ: I would say study the work of the great photographers from the 20th century and develop an understanding on how photography works and how it connects with people. I would also advise to read as many books as you can, as reading effects the way we see the world.
SE: Which photograph do you wish you had taken?
MSJ: With respect to music photography it would have to be the photograph of the Beatles by Robert Freeman which appeared on the cover to Rubber Soul.
SE: The Verve ‘Urban Hymns’ turns 30 this year, can you tell us a bit about the album cover you shot?
MSJ: Yes, it was rather a strange shoot in as much as the Verve’s management had hired two photographers for the day…myself and another photographer, who had been briefed to take the album cover photograph. So when I arrived at the location in Richmond Park I found myself in an extremely awkward situation. After a brief discussion with the other photographer and to avoid him shadowing me whilst I was taking pictures, I suggested that we split the photo-session in half, with him taking pictures first and me taking pictures afterwards. So he set about taking a photograph of the band whilst at the same time setting up his equipment, lights etc. and taking various light readings. At some point during this process, Richard, who had not the greatest of attention spans, became bored and somewhat irritated, and the whole band went to sit down whilst the photographer continued to set up his equipment. The recording of Urban Hymns had been an intense time for the Verve and for the first time in months I noticed, whilst they were sat down, that they appeared completely relaxed and had forgotten why they were in the park in the first place…in short ‘the perfect picture’…I thought to myself…’I’m having that’ and so quickly went over to where they were sitting and took what turned out to be the cover photograph. So that was ironic – the cover photograph to Urban Hymns is the Verve waiting to have their picture taken for the album cover.
Head on over to see some of Micheal Spencer Jones' icon shots now!
