Review

Be Here Now is the third studio album by the English rock band Oasis. Released in August 1997 the album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's previous worldwide successes with their 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe and its 1995 follow up (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. The album's pre-release build up led to considerable hype within both the music and mainstream press. At that point, Oasis were at the height of their fame, and Be Here Now became the United Kingdom's fastest selling album to date, selling over 420,000 units on the first day of release alone, and over one million within two weeks. As of 2008, the album has sold eight million copies worldwide.

Oasis' management company Ignition were aware of the dangers of overexposure, and before its release sought to control the media's access to the album. Ignition's campaign included limiting pre-release radio airplay, and requesting that journalists sign gag agreements. These tactics resulted in the alienation of members of both the music and mainstream media, as well as many industry personnel connected with the band. Ignition's attempts to limit pre-release access served to fuel large scale speculation and publicity within the British music scene.