Some Might Say … that Cromford railway station is one of the most important buildings in the history of Oasis, in turn one of Britain’s most important bands.
But when Tim Collis wanted to move back to his native Derbyshire with his husband, Ryan Phelps, and bought the station house, the couple had no idea they were also buying a piece of Britpop lore – the building featured on the cover of Oasis’s first UK No 1 hit.
After seeing the station online, they both fell in love it with it. “It’s a very architecturally beautiful house,” Collis said. They bought their dream home, which is Grade II-listed, in 2007 for £390,000, and renovated the lineside station building that came with it, which at the time was derelict.
While they had thought it was out of their budget, their property in Wood Green, north London, sold for more than they expected and they were able to make the purchase. They have named the lineside cottage the Waiting Room and now rent it out as a holiday let.
But it was only when they viewed the property and saw a framed record hanging on the wall of the dining room that Collins, 58, who works for the government in digital services, and Phelps, 53, who works for a charity, put two and two together.
“It was my generation,” Collis said. “I remember all the big stuff like Wonderwall, and Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back in Anger.”
The cover of Some Might Say, released in 1995, was created by the graphic designer and art director Brian Cannon, in collaboration with the photographer Michael Spencer Jones. The artwork is a reference to the line “standing at the station” in the song’s lyrics.
“I wouldn’t say I was a massive fan,” Collis said, “but I’ll be honest with you – I think I’m becoming one.”
The couple have a copy of the single, signed by Spencer Jones, on display in their house, as well as a framed seven-inch single in the cottage.
While in the past their one-bedroom holiday let has been most popular with hikers, cyclists, couples looking for a quiet weekend away, and rail enthusiasts, since Oasis re-formed they have had a flurry of interest from music fans.
They have had bookings from across the UK, as well as the US and Poland. “What we get a lot of is people coming along to do the recreation of the photograph,” he said. “We get quite a lot of that.”
They have to warn their guests not be alarmed if they see groups of people turning up at the station – which is still a stop on the Derwent Valley line.
“It’s really nice,” he said. “They’re genuine fans of Oasis, genuine people … they’re all quite respectful.
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“Over the last years, we started to get more and more Oasis people coming in. Obviously, since the announcement, that has gone off the scale.”
The interest in his property had been “amazing”, he said. “I kind of feel a bit like a rock star myself.”
He is now already getting bookings for next year. Some have been made by people who are lucky enough to have secured tickets for the band’s reunion tour.
They include Collis’s friend Robyn Kimbaly, who stayed there when she got married this summer and recreated the Oasis cover image in her wedding dress. She will be flying from Australia to see the band in July, and has booked to stay at the Waiting Room again.
“I’ve already got about a dozen bookings for next year, which is quite unheard of,” Collis said. “So it’s definitely brilliant.”
But while he welcomes all of the Oasis fans flocking to stay at the property, his dream guests would be the Gallagher brothers themselves.
“I mean, they’re millionaires, superstars, aren’t they? So why would they want to come back?” he said. “But you never know. That is the dream, isn’t it?”
Source: theguardian.com
