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Oasis superfan explains why you should be Mad For It when it comes to PR

Kallan_from_Oasis_9915_EDITDateline 1994 – the seminal rock and roll album Definitely Maybe had just completed its last recording session and sailed through the mixing stage.

However, Creation Records, the label about to launch Oasis on an unsuspecting public, was £2 million in debt. Despite the knowledge they were sitting on something very special, financial realities meant the budget for promoting and releasing the album would be extremely tight.

Tim Abbot was in charge of it all and only had £60,000 to make it happen everywhere across the country. Instead of the usual techniques that Creation Records had taken before, like sending releases to big name music titles such as the NME and Q magazine, he decided to send them to non-traditional places for the music industry.

Abbot believed it would be a good idea to send it to football magazines, match programmes and UK Dance music periodicals. His thinking was that Oasis would appeal to a far broader spectrum audience.

It turned out he was right. Spectacularly so. The album became the fastest selling debut album in British history and reached the number one spot within a few weeks. Definitely Maybe’s success may literally Live Forever, since it has already won multiple awards and accolades and earned a place as one of the greatest UK albums of all time.

In 1997, it was named the 14th greatest album of all time in a ‘Music of the Millennium’ poll conducted by HMVChannel 4The Guardian and Classic FM.  In Channel 4’s ‘100 Greatest Albums’ countdown in 2005, the album was placed at number 6. In 2006, NME placed the album third in a list of the greatest British albums ever, behind The Stone Roses‘ self-titled debut album and ‘’ The Queen Is Dead, by The Smiths.

In a 2006 British poll, run by NME and the book of British Hit Singles and Albums, Definitely Maybe was voted the best album of all time. That put it ahead of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band , which was number two and Revolver at number three. Meanwhile, Q Magazine placed it at number five on their greatest albums of all-time list in 2006, and in that same year NME hailed it as the greatest album of all time.

Some 21 years later, people are still picking it up and listening to it for the first time, thanks to instant access via iTunes and streaming services.

As someone who wasn’t even alive at the time of its release it is an album that I love so much I’ve had Live Forever – the title of one of the signature songs on the album – tattooed on my arm.

Though I am bitterly disappointed at the fact that there will most likely never be a reunion between the Gallagher brothers I still love the music that they produced.

Since August 24 I have been loving my new role as a PR Assistant with Holyrood PR. I am finding the world of public relations totally fascinating. I’ve also come to see just how smart and innovative Tim Abbot was – and learned a few important things in the process.

For example, not all PR activity is expensive. Also, not all coverage has to be in the normal type of publications. What Oasis discovered in 1994, the team at Holyrood PR prove on a daily basis – that clients can see real benefits by getting coverage in places they may not previously have thought of. In fact, it can be a great way to attract a new audience or new customers.

You don’t need all the money in the world for your coverage to get its point across and be successful for your business. Some Might Say a small section can be just as eye catching as a larger spread as long as the title is catchy and the content is equally as good. It also helps to have a photo!


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Some releases that connect to audiences can truly stay relevant for years and years to come. Whether you’re Married With Children or Crying Your Heart Out, if you connect with something you’ve seen or read, you will remember it and pass it on.

 Find out how to take your reputation Supersonic with help from PR experts.

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