From Manchester, England, Oasis became overnight sensations in 1994 on the back of sublime singles and exponentially increasing press interest. Widely regarded in the press as natural successors to the Happy Mondays, Oasis proffered a similar working-class, roughneck chic.
The band's creative axis is the Gallagher brothers, Liam (b. William John Paul Gallagher, 21 September 1972, Longsight, Cheshire, England; vocals) and Noel (b. Noel Thomas Gallagher, 29 May 1967, Longsight, Cheshire, England; guitar/vocals). They were brought up by Irish Roman Catholic parents in the south Manchester suburb of Burnage. While his younger brother was still in school, Noel, whose part-time DJ father had purchased a guitar for him at age 11, discovered punk, and like many of his peers happily engaged in truancy, burglary and glue-sniffing. After six months' probation for robbing a corner shop he began to take the instrument seriously at the age of 13, later finding his role model in Johnny Marr of the Smiths. Liam was not weaned on music until 1989 when his elder brother took him to see the Inspiral Carpets. Afterwards, Noel befriended that band's Clint Boon, subsequently becoming a guitar technician and travelling the world with them. When he telephoned home in 1991 he was informed by his mother that Liam had joined a band. Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (b. 23 June 1965, Manchester, England; guitar), Tony McCarroll (b. Manchester, England; drums) and Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (b. 9 May 1971, Manchester, England) had been playing together as Rain (not the Liverpool band of similar moniker) before meeting with Liam, who became their singer, as they changed their name to Oasis (from the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon). When Noel returned to watch them play at Manchester's Boardwalk in August 1991, he recognized their promise, but insisted that they install him as lead guitarist and only perform his songs if he were to help them. Noel continued as roadie to the Inspiral Carpets to help purchase equipment, as the band set about establishing a local reputation.
The incident that led to Oasis being signed to Creation Records quickly passed into rock mythology. In May 1993, they drove to Glasgow with fellow denizens of the Boardwalk rehearsal studios, Sister Lovers, to support 18 Wheeler at King Tut's Wah Wah Club. Strong-arming their way onto the bill, they played five songs early in the evening, but these were enough to hypnotize Creation boss Alan McGee who offered them a recording contract there and then. However, they did not sign until several months later, during which time a copy of the band's demo had been passed to Johnny Marr, who became an early convert to the cause and put the band in touch with Electronic's management company, Ignition. With news spreading of the band's rise it seemed likely that they would join any number of labels apart from Creation, with U2's Mother label rumoured to guarantee double any other offer. However, loyalty to the kindred spirits at Creation won through by October 1993, and two months later the label issued the band's "debut", a one-sided 12-inch promo of "Columbia" taken straight from the original demo. BBC Radio 1 immediately playlisted it (an almost unheralded event for such a "non-release").
The following year began with a torrent of press, much of it focusing on the band's errant behaviour. Punch-ups and the ingestion of large quantities of drink and drugs led to gig cancellations, while frequent, often violent, bickering between the Gallagher brothers lent the band a sense of danger and mischief. "Supersonic" reached the UK Top 40 in May. "Shakermaker", owing an obvious debt to the New Seekers' "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)", duly made number 11 two months later. High-profile dates at the Glastonbury Festival and New York's New Music Seminar ensued, along with more stories of on-the-road indulgence (including a career threatening row between the Gallagher brothers in Los Angeles). The Beatles-redolent "Live Forever', with a sleeve featuring a photo of the house where John Lennon grew up, reached the Top 10, all of which ensured that the expectation for a debut album was now phenomenal. After scrapping the original tapes recorded with Dave Batchelor at Monmouth's Monnow Valley Studios, the songs had been completed at Sawmills in Cornwall with Mark Coyle and Anjali Dutt, with subsequent mixing by Electronic producer Owen Morris, at a total cost of £75,000. At the start of September 1994, Definitely Maybe entered the UK charts at number 1, becoming at the time the fastest selling debut album in the history of the UK charts. Backed by a live version of the Beatles" "I Am The Walrus", "Cigarettes & Alcohol", a stage favourite, became the band's biggest UK singles success to date, when it reached number 7 in October. In December, Oasis released the non-album track "Whatever" (not quite the Christmas number 1), a lush pop song with full orchestration that sounded astonishingly accomplished for a band whose recording career stretched over only eight months. It also served further notice of Noel Gallagher's magpie approach to songwriting, with former Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band/Rutles member Neil Innes receiving a percentage of the royalties for the track's appropriation of the melody from his own "How Sweet To Be An Idiot".
Oasis' assault on America began in January 1995, and with a few gigs and word-of-mouth reports, they were soon hovering around the US Top 50. In mid-1995, it was announced that drummer McCarroll had left the band after making his final performance in April in front of 12,000 people at the Sheffield Arena. He was replaced by Alan White (b. 26 May 1972, London, England) who made his debut on the band's second album. The eagerly anticipated (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, released in October, was a rich and assured record. Gallagher's Beatlesque melodies were spectacular, from the acoustic simplicity of "Wonderwall" to the shimmering harmonies of "Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Morning Glory". The album also included the stomping "Roll With It" and "Some Might Say", the latter having already provided the band with their first UK chart-topping single during the summer. "Some Might Say", like many of the band's singles, included a number of non-album tracks, on this occasion two of Noel Gallagher's finest compositions, "Talk Tonight" and "Acquiesce". "Roll With It" and "Wonderwall" were also UK number 2 hit singles, the former losing a notoriously hyped-up chart race with Blur's "Country House". "Don't Look Back In Anger" was more successful, becoming the band's second chart-topper the following March. During this period Oasis also made the all-important American breakthrough, with "Wonderwall" climbing into the US Top 10 at the start of 1996. Nobody could dispute that (What's The Story) Morning Glory? was one of the finest albums of the modern pop era, and it went on to become one of the bestselling albums of the 90s by a UK act.
Oasis were suddenly receiving the media attention that was previously bestowed on the Beatles. They played two shows at London's Earl Court in front of over 20,000 people in November 1995, which were subsequently dwarfed the following year by concerts at Manchester's Maine Road and, on 10 and 11 August, at Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire (in front of an estimated 250,000 people). With the massive attention and success of Oasis the volatile relationship of the Gallagher brothers came under public scrutiny. Their sex lives, drug habits and fist fights were all examined and dissected, their uncompromising behaviour and laddish attitudes increasingly both entertaining and irritating. Rumours of the band splitting came to a head on their ninth attempt to break America in September 1996. Following a fight with his brother, who had not even made it out of the country for the initial US concerts, Noel returned to the UK with the band in tow the following day. The rest of the US tour was cancelled and the press statement that followed reported that although touring was unlikely the band would stay together. Nevertheless, awards continued to flow throughout a remarkable year, highlighting the fact that few modern rock bands had managed to create such a body of high-quality work in such a short time, and no other (except the Beatles) became a such a massive media success.
Oasis' greatly anticipated third album was introduced to the world in July 1997 by the UK chart-topping single, "D'You Know What I Mean?". The title of Be Here Now was inspired by John Lennon's response to a question regarding the transient state of rock 'n' roll. This philosophy was applied to the album: not since the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 had there been such anticipation for a new record. Queues formed outside record shops on the day of release as 800,000 copies were sold in the UK within 24 hours. The music was much denser than in the past, with guitars overlaid on many tracks and Liam's vocals turned up to 11; indeed the over-amplified production on the album was later attributed by Noel Gallagher to his over-fondness for cocaine during this period. Although still relying too heavily on the Beatles for inspiration, and for all the opprobrium subsequently associated with the album as marking the death of the Britpop era, there were some outstanding songs. "Stand By Me" will stand as one of Noel Gallagher's finest songs and the epic "Hey Jude"-styled "All Around The World" quickly became a live encore favourite.
There were further problems for the Gallagher brothers, however, when Liam was arrested in Australia for allegedly assaulting a fan, although the charges were later dropped. A compilation of the band's most popular b-sides, including fan favourites "Acquiesce", "Talk Tonight", "Half The World Away" and "Stay Young", was released in 1998. The following March, former drummer McCarroll, who had been pursuing a claim for loss of earnings and royalties, settled with the band out of court for an estimated £550,000. A turbulent year came to an end when both Arthurs and McGuigan left the band in August. Arthurs replacement was Gem Archer (b. Colin Murray Archer, 7 December 1966, Middlesbrough, England; ex-Heavy Stereo) while McGuigan's place was taken by ex-Ride and Hurricane #1 leader Andy Bell (b. 11 August 1970, Cardiff, Wales). The band dealt a seemingly fatal body blow to the ailing Creation label at the start of 2000 by announcing that they would release their fourth album, Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, through their own Big Brother label. Though it was premiered by February's chart-topping single, "Go Let It Out", the album failed to convince the growing number of doubters who questioned the band's ability to ever reproduce the magic of their mid-90s heyday. Liam even contributed one track, the maudlin "Little James".
The brothers continued to grab the headlines following the album's release, although most of the news concerned their marital problems and Noel's on-off-on decision to play with the band. The latter also founded his own record label, Sour Mash. Oasis returned to the top of the UK charts in April 2002 with their best single for several years, the confusingly titled "The Hindu Times", complete with George Harrison sounding Indian guitars. The attendant Heathen Chemistry featured songwriting contributions from Liam, Bell and Archer and demonstrated a greater democracy in the band, although Noel still had the upper hand as main songwriter with two gems, "Little By Little" and "Stop Crying Your Heart Out'. Long may he continue to plunder the Beatles" riffs and chords.
Further personnel upheaval saw the departure of drummer Alan White at the start of 2004. Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey (b. 13 September 1965, London, England) became the unofficial new drummer, sharing duties drumming for the Who). Renewed tension between the Gallagher brothers was evident at the band's muted performance at the same year's Glastonbury, but fan's had become used to tension on stage. The following year's Don't Believe The Truth was greatly anticipated as it promised a new and more mature Oasis. Trumpeted by the UK chart-topper "Lyla', the songwriting again featured contributions from Liam, Bell and Archer. Overall, the album was good but still highly derivative. This time around the Beatles" influence had given way to the Velvet Underground ("Mucky Fingers") and the Kinks ("The Importance Of Being Idle").
