Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger

FEB 19 1996 · 12:00

Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger (1996) Director: Nigel Dick Era: Britpop Peak Era (1995–1996) - Height of the UK Britpop cultural moment, coinciding with Oasis at maximum commercial and critical dominance following (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Exceptionally high. 'Don't Look Back in Anger' is one of the most culturally durable music videos of the 1990s, with over 310 million views on the band's official channel and confirmed status as Oasis's most-played song on UK radio and television of the 21st century as of 2025. The video is a primary document of Britpop visual culture at its peak and has accrued additional cultural meaning as a post-Manchester-attack anthem. The confirmed director, full production location records, and multiple first-hand production anecdotes make this an unusually well-documented archival subject. Context: Released on 19 February 1996 via Creation Records, 'Don't Look Back in Anger' was the fifth single from Oasis's landmark second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) and the first Oasis single to feature Noel Gallagher on lead vocals rather than his brother Liam. It debuted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, eventually becoming seven-times platinum in the UK. The song's deliberate Lennon-esque piano intro, closely echoing 'Imagine', and its lyrical invocation of Beatle-era mythology cemented Oasis's self-identification with classic British rock lineage. The video's Hollywood mansion setting and Mod-nostalgia props (vintage black cab, Avengers actor Patrick Macnee) visualised Oasis's arrival as a band consciously inhabiting a rock-star mythology drawn from 1960s British pop culture. The song later transcended its Britpop origins, becoming an unofficial anthem of Manchester after it was spontaneously sung at a public vigil following the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. Director notes: Filmed on 4 December 1995 at 1145 Arden Road, Pasadena, California. The concept features the band arriving via black cab, driven by Patrick Macnee, the actor known for playing John Steed in the 1960s TV series The Avengers, reportedly a favourite of Oasis, to a large mansion reminiscent of the Playboy Mansion, where they perform the song. A group of women dressed in white appear throughout, occasionally lip-syncing. A notable production anecdote: Dick conceived a poolside drum kit shot intended to look as if drummer Alan White was floating; Noel Gallagher recalled the finished result looked instead like White was 'playing drums on a fucking white table.' The video was produced by Steve Fredriksz, with Scott Henriksen as director of photography and editing credited to Bruce Ochmanek and Declan Whitebloom.