OASIS ROCK BAND UNITED KINGDOM Oasis are an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 1991. Led by lead guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher and his younger brother, lead vocalist and songwriter Liam Gallagher, they are one of the most successful and prominent English groups to emerge during the 1990s Britpop movement. According to their official website, they have sold approximately 40 million albums worldwide . They have also achieved eight UK number one singles. The Gallagher brothers are the only remaining original band members. The present line-up is completed by rhythm/lead guitarist Gem Archer, bass guitarist Andy Bell and drummer Zak Starkey, the son of Beatles' Ringo Starr. Oasis - left to right Gem, Liam, Andy and Noel Musically and lyrically, Oasis cite British Invasion bands such as The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks as their major influences. They also cite The Stone Roses, The Sex Pistols, The La's, Led Zeppelin and T.Rex as other key influences.

With the success of their critically acclaimed debut album, Definitely Maybe, and its equally successful follow-up, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, coupled with a rivalry with their contemporary Blur, Oasis attained fame in the mid-1990s, and became one of the leaders of the Britpop movement. The Gallagher brothers featured regularly in tabloid newspaper stories, and cultivated a reputation as both bad boys and a band of the people. At the height of their fame, their 1997 third album, Be Here Now, reached #1 in the UK charts, #2 in the U.S. and also became the fastest-selling album in chart history, with almost half a million copies sold on the first day alone. The album, however, was poorly received by the critics and later disowned by Noel and resulted in an immediate fall in popularity. However, despite the loss of founding members and sustaining support from their loyal fan base, Oasis have managed to outlast many of their Britpop contemporaries, over a decade after they appeared on the scene.

(1991ï¿½1993) Early years and breakthrough Oasis evolved from an earlier band called The Rain, who took their name from a 1966 Beatles B-side. It was comprised of Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass guitar), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Tony McCarroll (drums) and Chris Hutton (vocals). When McGuigan invited school friend Liam Gallagher to join the group, Gallagher accepted, and quickly pushed for the band's name to be changed to Oasis. Although there have been many theories on where Liam got the name from, he got it from an Inspiral Carpets tour poster which was in his and Noel's bedroom. One of the venues on it was the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon. Oasis first played live in August of 1991 at the Boardwalk club in Manchester. Noel Gallagher, who had heard of Liam's involvement when he phoned his mother whilst on tour in Germany as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, came to watch his younger brother play. A few months later he was invited to join the band.

Although he had been critical of them, he agreed, with the provision that he would become the band's sole songwriter and leader, and that they would commit to an earnest pursuit of commercial success. Oasis under Noel Gallagher crafted their musical approach to rely on simplicity: with Arthurs and McGuigan restricted to playing barre chords and root bass notes, respectively, McCarroll playing basic rhythms, and the band's amplifiers turned up until the sound distorted, Oasis created a sound "so devoid of finesse and complexity that it came out sounding pretty much unstoppable." After over a year of live shows, rehearsals and even taking the time out to record a proper demo (known as the Live Demonstration tape), the band's big break came May 31st when they were spotted by Creation Records co-owner Alan McGee. Oasis were invited to play a gig at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut club in Glasgow, Scotland, by a band called Sister Lovers, who shared their rehearsal rooms. Oasis, along with a group of friends, found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey to Glasgow.

Oasis original line-up, 1991-1995: Tony McCarroll, Paul Arthurs, Liam Gallagher, Paul McGuigan and Noel Gallagher When they arrived, they were refused entry to the club as they were not on that night's set list, which reportedly caused the band to bully their way in (although both the band and Alan McGee have given contradicting statements about how they actually managed to get into the club on that night). They were given the opening slot and impressed McGee, who was there to see 18 Wheeler, one of his own bands, that night. McGee was so impressed by what he saw he signed the band to Creation four days later. (1994ï¿½1998) Britpop era and height of fame Following a limited white label release of the demo of their song "Columbia", their first single, "Supersonic", was released in April 1994, reaching #31 in the charts. Their third single, "Live Forever," was their first to enter the Top 10 of the UK charts.

After troubled recording and mixing sessions, their debut album, Definitely Maybe, was finally finished and was released in September 1994, entering the charts at #1, and at the time becoming the fastest selling debut album ever in the UK. The band also garnered attention due to Noel Gallagher's penchant for taking the odd riff or lyrics from other artists. The track "Cigarettes & Alcohol" had a main riff which Noel Gallagher admitted he'd taken directly from T. Rex's 1972 release "Get it On". "Supersonic" had a guitar solo reminscent of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and "Shakermaker" was reportedly the subject of legal action by the New Seekers due to the similarity to their song "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". The best part of a year of constant live performances and recordings, along with a typically hedonistic lifestyle commonplace in young rock bands, were starting to tire the band out and a breaking point was finally hit during a gig in Los Angeles in September 1994 where Liam was under the influence of crystal meth, leading to a shambolic performance during which he made offensive remarks about American audiences and assaulted Noel with a tambourine.

This upset Noel to such an extent that he temporarily quit the band immediately after and flew to San Francisco. He recovered enough to finally rejoin the band in a Texas recording studio in October 1994 to record new songs, most notably "Talk Tonight" which directly related to his recent experiences. Two of these songs were released as B-sides on Oasis' Christmas single EP "Whatever" which peaked at #3 in the UK charts and foreshadowed the band's move toward a mellower sound on the following album. Oasis had their first UK #1 in April 1995 with "Some Might Say", the first single from their second album. At the same time, drummer Tony McCarroll was ousted from the band, replaced by Londoner Alan White, formerly of Starclub and younger brother of renowned studio percussionist Steve White, whom Paul Weller himself recommended to Noel. White made his debut for the band at a Top of the Pops performance of "Some Might Say". During this period, the English press seized upon a supposed rivalry between Oasis and fellow Britpop band Blur. Noel Gallagher played along, telling The Observer that he hoped Damon Albarn and Alex James of Blur would "catch AIDS and die".

He subsequently apologised for this in a formal letter to Melody Maker magazine. Oasis line-up, 1995-1999: Noel, 'Bonehead', Liam, 'Guigsy' and White On Monday August 14, 1995, Blur and Oasis released new singles on the same day, setting up "The Battle of Britpop" that dominated the week's music news. Blur's "Country House" outsold Oasis' "Roll with It" 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week. Oasis' management came up with several excuses, claiming "Country House" sold more because it was more competitively priced (ï¿½1.99 vs ï¿½3.99) and because there were two different versions of "Country House" with different B-Sides forcing serious fans to buy two copies. An alternative explanation given at the time by Creation was that there were problems associated with the barcode on the "Roll With It" single case, which did not record all sales. Oasis had begun recording material for their second album in May of that year in Rockfield Studios near Monmouth.

Although a softer sound led to mixed reviews, Oasis' second album, with their first new member, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? became a huge seller and is currently the third largest selling album of all-time in the UK. The album also went on to sell over 19 million copies worldwide and spawned two further hit singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back In Anger", which reached numbers 2 and 1 respectively. The album's opening track, "Hello", with its sing-along chant, was a common feature of Oasis' live performances. It also contained their hit "Champagne Supernova" ï¿½ featuring guitar playing and backing vocals by Paul Weller ï¿½ that received widespread critical acclaim and peaked at #20 on the US charts. Despite not being released in the UK, it received significant airplay and remains one of the band's most popular songs. In September 1995, bassist Paul McGuigan briefly left the band, citing nervous exhaustion. He was replaced by Scott McLeod, formerly of The Ya-Yas, who featured on some of the tour dates as well as in the "Wonderwall" video before leaving abruptly whilst on tour in the USA.

McLeod later contacted Noel Gallagher claiming he felt he had made the wrong decision. Gallagher curtly replied "I think you have too. Good luck signing on". In order to complete the tour, McGuigan was successfully convinced to return to the band. In February 1996, Oasis became only the third band after The Beatles and The Jam to perform two songs on the same edition of British music television programme Top of the Pops: "Don't Look Back In Anger" and a cover of Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize". On April 27 and 28 the group played their first headline outdoor concerts at Maine Road Football Ground, Manchester. Highlights from the second night featured on the video There And Then, released later the same year. As their career reached its zenith, Oasis performed back-to-back concerts at Knebworth on August 10 and 11, 1996. The band sold out both shows within minutes; 250,000 people over two nights (13.5 million people applied for tickets),[15] at the time a record-breaking number for an outdoor concert held in the UK.

It is believed 1/4 people in the UK applied for tickets The next month proved to be difficult for the group. On August 23 Oasis were due to play the prestigious MTV Unplugged at the Royal Festival Hall but Liam pulled out, citing a sore throat. He watched the performance from a balcony with cold beer and cigarettes, allegedly heckling Noel's singing between songs. The group left for a tour of American arenas early the next month but within days Noel flew home without the band, who followed on another flight. It received massive media attention and the group promptly issued a statement assuring fans that Oasis were not splitting up. Oasis' success at the 1996 Brit Awards was overshadowed by Noel's statement that "Has-beens shouldn't be presenting awards to gonna-bes." after being presented an award by INXS singer Michael Hutchence. Oasis spent the end of 1996 and the first quarter of 1997 at historic Abbey Road Studios recording their third album. Be Here Now was released in August 1997, the band choosing to launch it on a Thursday rather than the traditional Monday.

Preceded by the UK #1 single "D'You Know What I Mean?", the album was perhaps their most anticipated effort, and as such became the subject of considerable media attention. Anticipation culminated with the screening of the documentary "Right Here, Right Now" on BBC1 on the eve of the album's release. The attendant press attention and hype helped the album become the fastest-selling album in UK history (a record which still stands), selling 423,000 units on its day of release, and reached number 2 in the US album chart. Be Here Now ultimately outsold Definitely Maybe worldwide but could not match the sales of (What's the Story) Morning Glory. Although early media reviews were positive, once the hype had died down, the album was criticised for being bloated and derivative with most of the critics focused on the extensive length of several songs, the heavier sound, and overproduction. Noel defined the album as "the sound of a buncha guys... on coke... in the studio... not giving a fuck." The Britpop movement was over and the band failed to meet expectations with Be Here Now.

After the conclusion of the disastrous Be Here Now tour, amidst huge media criticism the group decided to stay clear of each other and kept a low profile throughout 1998. Noel Gallagher also was criticised for firing most of his stacks of songs into B-sides. Some of these finally found a more high-profile home on The Masterplan, a compilation album of 14 B-sides, released in November. "There was a two- or three-year period where everything I wrote was just fantastic.", related Noel in a recent interview. "And, of course, if all the B-sides for the singles off Morning Glory wouldï¿½ve been what became the Be Here Now album, I think we wouldï¿½ve gone on to be possibly one of the biggest bands of all time. Not that weï¿½re not anyway. But I think we wouldï¿½ve been as big as U2, because I had an idea in my head for Be Here Now ï¿½ it was to be the most bombastic, fucking hugest-sounding record of all time. And I didnï¿½t worry too much about the words or the arrangements. But the really interesting stuff from around that period is the B-sides.

Thereï¿½s a lot more inspired music on the B-sides than there is on Be Here Now itself, I think ." (1999ï¿½2003) Transitional stage In early 1999 the band began work on their fourth album. First details were announced in February with Mark "Spike" Stent revealed to be taking a co-producing role. The majority of the album had been written by a now "clean" Noel Gallagher, who had quit taking cocaine in the summer of 1998. This was to have a major influence on the lyrical content of the album. Recording sessions began in the south of France in April, with everything believed to be have been going to plan. Behind the scenes, however, things were not going well and the shock departure of founding member Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs was announced in August. This departure was reported at the time as amicable, with Noel stating that Arthurs wanted to spend more time with his family. Arthurs' statement clarified his leaving as "to concentrate on other things".

However, Noel has since offered a contradicting version: that a series of violations of Noel's "no drink or drugs" policy (imposed by Noel so that Liam could sing properly) for the album's sessions resulted in a confrontation between the two. Oasis fans were given a further shock days later, as the departure of bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan was announced. McGuigan said later that the departure of his close friend triggered his own. The now three-piece Oasis chose to continue recording the album, with Noel Gallagher re-recording most of Arthurs' guitar and McGuigan's bass parts. The hunt was also on for replacements for the two guitarists with such names as Bernard Butler, Johnny Marr, John Squire, David Potts, Gary "Mani" Mounfield and Steve Cradock all rumoured to be contenders to fill the positions. The first new member to be announced was new lead/rhythm guitarist Colin "Gem" Archer formerly of Heavy Stereo, who later claimed to have been approached by Noel Gallagher only a couple of days after Arthurs' departure was publicly announced.

One of Archer's first roles was on November 5, 1999, where he took part in filming of the promo video for Oasis' new single, "Go Let It Out", which was the first single to be taken from their new album. David Potts, who was rehearsing at the time with the band, backed off because he thought he would be sacked soon and didn't want to play the bass. The band then drafted Andy Bell, former guitarist/songwriter of Ride and Hurricane who was announced as their new bassist, a week later. Bell had never played bass before and he was obliged to learn to play it, along with a handful of Oasis' back catalogue of songs, in preparation for a scheduled tour of America in December 1999. With the death of Creation Records, Oasis formed their own label, Big Brother, named after Noel, which released all of Oasis' records in the UK and Ireland. Oasis' fourth album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, was released in February 2000 to good first-week sales. However, the album was met with lukewarm reviews and seen as a small but noticeable departure from their traditional sound, with more experimental, psychedelic influences.

To coincide with the general atmosphere of change surrounding the band, the cover of the album ï¿½ an animated photo of New York ï¿½ featured a new "Oasis" logo designed by Gem Archer and was also the first Oasis release to include a song written by Liam Gallagher, entitled "Little James". As of now, Standing is among the band's lowest-selling albums worldwide, although it did spawn another UK #1 with "Go Let It Out" and contained "Fuckin' in the Bushes", which is often used as an opener for Oasis gigs. Oasis circa 1999-2004. Left to right: Gem, Alan, Liam, Noel and Andy The spring of 2000 saw the new line-up embark on a world tour, although the album had received largely substandard reviews. The tour proved to be initially successful, but again eventful. In May, they were forced to cancel a gig in Barcelona a few hours before the scheduled start because of tendonitis in one of Alan White's hands.

As a result, the band spent the whole evening drinking instead, and a drunken fight broke out between the Gallagher brothers after, according to Noel, some derogatory comments from Liam, who questioned the legitimacy of Noel's young daughter, Anais. Feeling he could no longer be around Liam, Noel flew to his holiday home in Ibiza and a press release was issued on his behalf, announcing that he had quit overseas touring, and would therefore not be present at the rest of that year's European shows. Despite the absence of Noel, the rest of the band decided to continue with the remainder of the tour, with Gem Archer moving across to the other side of the stage to perform Noel's lead guitar parts and ex-Paul Weller and Mother Earth guitarist Matt Deighton being drafted in to take over rhythm guitar duties. After two months of ongoing rumours about the band's long-term future after every such sibling brawl, Noel returned for the Irish and British legs of the tour, which included two major shows at Wembley Stadium. A live album of the first show, called Familiar to Millions, was released in late 2000 to positive reviews.

The second Wembley show, which was being broadcast live in over a dozen countries across the world, including the UK's Sky One, was a chaotic affair. Liam was very clearly drunk, making several rambling statements, which included a derogatory announcement of his separation with his wife, Patsy Kensit and also at brother Noel. He also had trouble singing in tune and at times changed the words to certain lines and at other times did not bother to sing at all. Along with Liam, Noel and Alan both ended their marriages during this period. Liam started a relationship with former All Saints member Nicole Appleton, who soon became pregnant with their son Gene. Noel started dating publicist Sara MacDonald and their relationship continues to this day, even though the pair broke up for a short time in 2002. Throughout 2001, Oasis split time between sessions for their fifth studio album and live shows around the world. In January, the band played three festival dates in South America before returning to England for studio work. In May, the band travelled to North America for the month-long 'Tour of Brotherly Love' with The Black Crowes and Spacehog.

Alan White missed the tour with a thumb injury, and was replaced by older brother Steve. Noel and Gem joined The Black Crowes on stage at the end of most shows, performing classic rock covers. The tour was followed by a June gig in Paris supporting Neil Young and July appearances at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and a festival show in Bangkok, Thailand. In October, following two months of recording, Oasis performed six shows to sold-out venues in London, Manchester and Glasgow. Dubbed 'Ten Years of Noise and Confusion,' the shows celebrated the band's first ten years as a live act. Heathen Chemistry, their first album with new members Andy Bell and Gem Archer, was released in July 2002. The record retained an experimental flavour from the previous one, but also borrowed heavily from English rock music of the 1960s and 1970s with a Lennonesque influence by Liam, who was rapidly growing as a capable songwriter, creating the gentle acoustic ballad and subsequent top 3 single, "Songbird". Heathen Chemistry was also a much more balanced recording process for the band, with all of the members, apart from White, penning songs.

This new working method, along with less fighting and drug and alcohol abuse in the studio, ultimately gave the record a more relaxed feel compared to past efforts. Johnny Marr provided additional guitar as well as backup vocals on a couple of songs, and while critics gave Heathen Chemistry lukewarm reviews, it was commercially successful. Around this time, Liam also provided vocals for the title track of the 2003 album Scorpio Rising by the duo Death in Vegas. After the album's release, the band embarked on a world tour that was successful but once again flavoured with incidents. In late summer 2002, whilst the band was on tour in the US, Noel, Bell and touring keyboardist Jay Darlington were involved in a car accident in Indianapolis, IN. While none of the band members sustained any major injuries, some shows were cancelled as a result. Liam also suddenly bolted offstage for no apparent reason during a show in Fukuoka, Japan , leaving Noel to take over vocal duties. It was the second Fukuoka show in three years that Liam failed to complete.

In December 2002, the latter half of the German leg of the band's European tour had to be postponed after Liam Gallagher, Alan White and three other members of the band's entourage were involved in a violent brawl at a Munich nightclub. At the time, Oasis' management alleged that they were subject to "an unprovoked attack by a group of youths". However, German police investigations found that the Oasis party had caused the incident by antagonising other customers of the club, before one of them drunkenly fell onto a table of five local businessmen. All of the Oasis party were arrested and were only released after the band's management reportedly paid out around ï¿½170,000 in bail money. Police later said that Liam, White and members of the band's entourage had been drinking "very heavily". Tests also showed Liam had been taking cocaine as well. Two years later Liam was fined around ï¿½35,000, with part of the money going to the injured police officer. The band ended the year by embarking on a short UK arena tour. 2003 began with the release of "Songbird", the fourth single taken from Heathen Chemistry.

It was the first Oasis single that hadn't been written by Noel Gallagher, and reached number 3 in the official UK charts in February. The band then ended the Heathen Chemistry tour in March by performing two shows in Dublin, before returning to Germany to play four rescheduled dates. (2004ï¿½present) Resurgence in popularity Oasis were to begin recording a sixth album in early 2004 with producers Death in Vegas at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall. It was originally slated for a September 2004 release to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the release of Definitely Maybe. However, longtime drummer Alan White, who at this time had played on nearly all of the band's material, left the band. At the time, his brother Steve White stated on his own website that "the spirit of being in a band was kicked out of him" and he wanted to be with his current girlfriend. In subsequent interviews, Noel seemed to agree, saying that he has nothing against Alan, but the latter's personal life was impeding on his professional commitments with Oasis. Recording sessions continued with drummer Terence Kirkbride, brought in temporarily, who only performed on one track, "Mucky Fingers".

Zak Starkey, drummer of The Who and the son of Beatles' Ringo Starr, was later asked by the band to join them in the sessions. He also played on the subsequent world tour as well as all of the band's music videos. However, as he is still unconfirmed as a bandmember, he was not featured on the album's sleeve and did not appear in promotional activities such as interviews and photo-shoots. For the first time in the band's career, Oasis appeared as an official four-piece. Starkey was invited to join Oasis full-time after the end of the band's tour in April 2006. In June 2004, Oasis, with Starkey, headlined the Glastonbury Festival for the second time in their career and performed a greatest hits set, which included two new songs ï¿½ Gem Archer's "A Bell Will Ring" and Liam's "The Meaning of Soul". The performance received mixed reviews as the brothers were reprising their roles as brawling siblings.

Liam, having problems with his singing, walked offstage at the end of the concert, and Starkey was still getting to grips with the songs, which he had only played publicly for the first time a couple of days previously at Poole Lighthouse. After much turbulence, the band's sixth album was finally recorded in Los Angeles-based Capitol Studios from October to December the same year. Producer Dave Sardy took over the lead producing role from Noel, who decided to step back from these duties after a decade of producing leadership over the band. In September 2004, the band released Definitely Maybe: The DVD commemorating the 10th anniversary of their debut album's release. The DVD contains an enhanced audio version of the album, four hours of live footage, and interviews with band members and the production team. On May 30, 2005, after three years and as many scrapped recording sessions, the band released their sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth, fullfulling their contract with Sony BMG. It followed the path of Heathen Chemistry as being a collaborative project again, rather than a Noel-written album.

It was also the band's first album in a decade not to feature the drumming of Alan White, with Zak Starkey taking his place. The record was generally hailed as the band's best effort since (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by fans and critics alike, spawning two UK #1 singles: "Lyla" and "The Importance of Being Idle" (the band's 7th and 8th #1 UK singles, respectively), whilst "Let There Be Love" entered at #2. Oasis picked up two awards at the Q Awards: one a special People's Choice Award and the second for Don't Believe the Truth as Best Album. Following in the footsteps of the previous five studio albums, Don't Believe the Truth also entered the UK album charts at #1. In May 2005, the band embarked on a massive world tour ï¿½ one of the biggest in their career.

Beginning on May 10 at the London Astoria, and finishing on March 31, 2006 in front of a sold out gig in Mexico City , Oasis played more live shows than at any time since the Definitely Maybe tour of 1994ï¿½1995, visiting 26 countries, headlining 110 shows and playing to 1.7 million people. The tour passed without any major incidents and was the band's most successful in more than a decade. The tour included sold out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and LA's Hollywood Bowl, two venues important to the Gallagher brothers because their idol, John Lennon, proclaimed them to be the two places a band must play if they visit the States. Also in 2005, Oasis contributed to the original soundtrack of the film Goal! with a new song called "Who Put the Weight of the World on My Shoulders", written and sung by Noel Gallagher. The CD also contains a new version of "Cast No Shadow" completely re-recorded and produced by UNKLE which features Noel on vocals, as well as a remix by Dave Sardy of "Morning Glory".

In 2006, Oasis released a "Best-of" double album entitled Stop the Clocks, which featured what the band consider to be their "definitive" songs. Though the band didn't want to release a 'Best of', their contract with Sony Music had just expired, forcing a release against the band's wishes. In November 2006 the band released "Lord Don't Slow Me Down", a rockumentary film looking back at the 2005ï¿½2006 world tour. That same month, Noel and Gem began a short tour to promote Stop the Clocks. They played around a dozen shows in various countries around the world. On February 14, 2007, Oasis received the Brit Award for outstanding contribution to music. Although the award was at first to be handed to them by actor Johnny Depp , a friend of Noel, he had to pull out because of his filming schedule. It was later confirmed that the award would be presented by The Beatles' Ringo Starr. However, it was finally awarded to the group (along with Zak Starkey) by host Russell Brand.

Upon accepting the award, Liam said, "Seeing as we don't get nominated for this shit anymore I suppose this will have to do," with Noel adding, "We'd like to thank everyone who has bought our records. It's been a fucking pleasure." The band then played a set consisting of "Cigarettes & Alcohol", "The Meaning of Soul", "Morning Glory", "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Rock 'N' Roll Star". Oasis ' next album has been hinted at by Noel. In the November 2006 issue of Hot Press he claimed "There'll probably be an EP out in mid to late 2007, and a new studio album in 2008, which we can't postpone 'cause we haven't started it yet. We do have some rather excellent songs written though, so I think it'll be a good one". In a January 2007, interview with NME he said that he would like to move in an "orchestral" direction with the band's seventh album: "We haven't done that since Be Here Now.

I'd like to get, like, a 100-piece orchestra and choirs and all that stuff....I'd like to make an absolutely fucking colossal album. You know? Like literally two orchestras, stuff like that." Recording sessions for new material will not commence until mid-2007 at the earliest, due to the absence of Starkey, who is touring with The Who until June 2007. Noel said that the band are writing songs and that they met with their producer Dave Sardy at the Brit Awards. There are some songs that the band have been working on since the latest sessions such as "Stop the Clocks", "Lord Don't Slow Me Down", "I Want to Live in a Dream in My Record Machine" and "The Boy with the Blues". Noel also said around the end of latest tour in April 2006 that the band had around 10 recorded songs from the sessions and that they can also be used in future recordings. Noel and Gem will take their acoustic show to Moscow, Russia, for a scheduled gig on March 23.

Fashion of Oasis Liam and Noel Gallagher are both large fans of sporting clothing of the early 80's wearing the 'hooligan' style. This is a working class style. This fashion included retro tracksuits, and a huge bias of adidas trainers such as Adidas Gazelles, Adidas Samba and Adidas Stockholm. Oasis have made this style hugely popular. This 'hooligan' look is also known as 'Casual' or 'Terrace Casual'. They now tend to dress in a mod style with obvious fashion influences from Paul Weller with their 60's style Italian pinstripe suits and thin scarves. Their arrogance and love of their home city of Manchester has also led to such comments as 'no-one has come out of Manchester with a sh*t haircut.' Their current style includes: Oasis | Biography, News, Photos and Videos | Contactmusic.com News Pictures Video Music Press Festival Quotes RSS Biography Oasis (formed 1991) Oasis is a British rock band, from Manchester. The band rose to fame during the 'Britpop' era of the 1990's and has gone on to sell over 50 million albums across the world.

The Formation: Oasis came into being from the remnants of a previous band, The Rain. The Rain consisted of Paul McGuigan (Guigsy), Warren Mackenzie, Paul Arthurs (Bonehead), Tony McCarroll and Chris Hutton. Bonehead was not happy with Chris Hutton's vocals, so he auditioned Liam Gallagher to replace him. When Liam joined, the band's name was changed to Oasis; a move inspired by an Inspiral carpets poster hanging in Liam's bedroom. Oasis's first gig was at the Boardwalk club in Manchester, in August 1991. Liam's brother, Noel (a roadie for Inspiral Carpets at the time) attended the gig and approached the band about joining, on the proviso that he became the band's leader and the band committed to the pursuit of commercial success. In May 1993, the band was spotted by Alan McGee, co-founder of Creation Records, when they played at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, supporting 18 Wheeler, one of McGee's bands. He signed the band to Creation four days later.

A white label of their song 'Columbia' was released, followed by their first single, 'Supersonic', which was released in April 1994 and reached number 31 in the UK charts. The next single was 'Shakermaker' but it wasn't until the release of their third single, 'Live Forever', that they hit the big time and reached the Top 10. The debut album, Definitely Maybe was released in September 1994 and went straight to number one. Life at the top: A year of constant gigging, recording and promotional activities eventually took its toll on the band. In September 1994, the band played a gig in Los Angeles, during which Liam, under the influence of crystal meth, assaulted his brother onstage with a tambourine and made offensive remarks about American audiences. Noel was so upset by the incident that he temporarily left the band and flew to San Francisco. Creation's Tim Abbot tracked him down and persuaded him to rejoin the band. 'Some Might Say' was the band's first number one single, in April 1995.

Around this time, Tony McCarroll, the drummer, was forced to leave the band, following a personality clash with the Gallagher brothers. He was replaced by Andy White, whose debut performance with the band was on Top of the Pops. In the summer of 1995, the British press made a great deal of a reported rivalry between Oasis and London band Blur. The two bands released singles on the same day. Blur's 'Country House' sold 58,000 more than Oasis' 'Roll With It.' Noel Gallagher's famous response to the battle was that he hoped Damon Albarn and Alex James "would catch AIDS and die." The comment created a great deal of furor in the media and Gallagher was forced to write a formal apology to a number of publications. In September 1995, Guigsy left the band. His replacement, Scott McLeod only experienced brief membership of the band and abruptly left the band whilst on tour in the USA. The band's second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Became the third best-selling album of all time in the UK and spawned two more hits for the band, 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back In Anger'.

'Champagne Supernova' featured Paul Weller on guitar and backing vocals. As their career reached new heights, the band played a number of massive outdoor arenas, including Maine Road Football Ground and Knebworth Castle. More drama was in store for the band, however. Liam pulled out of Oasis' MTV Unplugged performance, heckling from a balcony as Noel sang the songs. He then refused to join the band for their US tour and once again, Noel assumed the role of lead singer for the tour. The third album, Be Here Now was released in August 1997, preceded by the number one single 'D'You Know What I Mean?' Be Here Now became the fastest selling album in UK history and went to number two on the US charts. In 1998, the band released The Masterplan, a collection of B-sides and rarities. In 1999, Bonehead left the band, followed by Guigsy's second departure, after he had been re-drafted into the band. Their replacements were Gem Archer (of Heavy Stereo) and Andy Bell (of Ride and Hurricane #1).

The fourth album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants was released on the band's own label, Big Brother and reached number one in the UK. Three singles, 'Go Let It Out', 'Who Feels Love' and 'Sunday Morning Call' were all top five hits. A live album of the supporting tour, Familiar to Millions was released in 2000. Heathen Chemistry was released in 2002 and was another number one for the band. The album saw the release of the first single written by Liam ('Songbird') as well as 'The Hindu Times', 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' and 'Little By Little / She Is Love'. Drummer Alan White left the band in January 2004 and was replaced by Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr. Don't Believe The Truth was the band's sixth studio album, released in May 2005. The singles 'Lyla' and 'the Importance of Being Idle' were both number one singles. The album itself was also a number one hit. Stop the Clocks, a compilation double album was released in 2006, featuring what the band considered to be their defining songs.

In 2007, a documentary of the band, Lord Don't Slow Me Down was released. Later that year, the band won a BRIT award for 'Outstanding Contribution To Music'. Biography by Contactmusic.com Adele's '25' Becomes Fastest Million-Seller in U.K. History | Billboard Adele's '25' Becomes Fastest Million-Seller in U.K. History Adele Another day, another record for Adele’s 25 (XL Recordings). The British singer’s comeback album has become the U.K.’s fastest million-selling album in history, achieving the feat in just 10 days. Adele's '25' Sales Rise to Over 4 Million in U.S. According to the Official Charts Company, Adele’s third album has smashed the record previously held by Oasis ’ blockbuster third set Be Here Now (Creation), which took 17 days to hit the milestone in 1997. Adele scooped the biggest No. 1 album in U.K. chart history last Friday after 25 sold more than 800,000 units in its first week. It's also recognized as the most-downloaded No.

1 album ever. 25 shifted more than the next 86 albums on the artist chart combined, and the entire market shared in her success. Sales of the rest of the top 40 album chart increased by 21 percent over the week before, at a total of 674,000. Its looking likely 25 will end the year as the biggest selling album . Though its only been on the racks since Nov. 20 (and its not available on streaming services), 25 has now passed Ed Sheeran’s 2014 sophomore release X (Asylum) as the U.K.’s best-selling album of 2015. Adele's Historic '25' Debut: By the Numbers Justin Bieber , meanwhile, looks set to topple himself from No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart. The Canadian pop singer’s "Love Yourself" (Def Jam) overtakes "Sorry" on the latest Official Chart Update , while "What Do You Mean" rises 5-4. He’s the first male artist to have three tracks in the top 5 in 34 years, since John Lennon in January 1981.

Adele's 25 smashes the one million mark to become UK's biggest selling album (From Bournemouth Echo) Adele's 25 smashes the one million mark to become UK's biggest selling album Adele's 25 smashes the one million mark to become UK's biggest selling album / Press Association 2014 Adele’s latest release 25 is the biggest album of the year after becoming the fastest to sell a million copies in UK history. The Oscar-winning singer’s number one record hit the one million sales mark within 10 days of its release and is the biggest album of 2015, overtaking Ed Sheeran’s x, according to the Official Charts Company. Ed Sheeran (Ian West/PA) Racking up sales of more than 800,000 in its debut week, 25 smashed the record previously held by Oasis’s third album, Be Here Now, which took 17 days to hit the one million milestone in 1997.

Adele’s album, which features the chart-topping single Hello, also had one of the biggest first day totals ever – selling more than 300,000 copies in 24 hours. Described by the London-born singer as a “make-up album”, 25 is also the UK’s most downloaded number one release, having sold 252,423 digital copies, more than double the previous record. The album has also had huge success in the US, smashing the first week sales records having sold 3.38 million copies, and is the first record to sell more than three million copies within that time in Nielsen’s history. *NSync (Doug Peters/PA) Adele, 27, surpassed *NSync’s 15-year record, as the group’s 2000 album, No Strings Attached, sold 2.4 million copies in its first week. 25 has also become the US’s best-selling album of the year, flying past the 1.8 million copies sold of Taylor Swift’s 1989.

20 Best-Selling Vinyl Albums Of The Last 20 Years - NME 20 Best-Selling Vinyl Albums Of The Last 20 Years 5:58 pm - Oct 28, 2013 0shares 1/20 The Beatles’ ‘Anthology 1’ The Official Charts Company has announced the 20 best selling vinyl albums in the last 20 years, and here they are from 20-1. At number 20 we have the The Beatles’ ‘Anthology 1’ Released in 1995, it was the first instalment of a trilogy set of albums by the Beatles. Comprising a mixture of 60 tracks of live performances and unreleased sounds. Credit: Press 2/20 DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’ In 1996 the face of hip hop changed with the release of DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’ . The American studio album was produced under the label Mo’Wax and comes in 19th place. Despite the basic production and the high use of samples, this album is considered to be a landmark album.

Credit: Press 3/20 Oasis Described as the second coming of The Beatles, Oasis was at the height of their fame 15 years ago. Released in 1997 ‘Be Here Now’ became Oasis’ third album and had been a highly anticipated album by their fans and critics. Being 17th top seller in vinyl comes as no surprise. Credit: Press 4/20 Pulp Pulp were seen to be pioneers in the Britpop movement and in 1995 ‘Different Class’ propelled the group to fame. The 5th studio album bought two singles: ‘Common People’ and Disco 2000’ both being in the top 10 in UK charts. Credit: Press 5/20 Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ Canadian musician Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ was the best selling album in the US in 1972. Doing something different within the rock genre he used London Symphony Orchestra, which helped him top the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks. Credit: Press 6/20 Prodigy In 15th place Prodigy released ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’ in 1994.

Focusing on electronic dance music the group remastered this album in 2008 including bonus tracks. Credit: Press 7/20 Nirvana Nirvana recorded live album ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’. This was the first album released by the band since Kurt Cobain passed. This album is 14th in the countdown to number 1. It won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music album in 1996. Credit: Press 8/20 Blur’s Parklife Blur’s Parklife was the album that bought the band back to the forefront of the Britpop movement in 1994. Certified four times platinum in the UK, Blur fought off competition from Oasis with hit singles like: ‘Girls and Boys’ and ‘To The End’. Frontman Damon Albarn said Parklife was “the travels of the mystical lager-eater, seeing what’s going on in the world and commenting on it.” Credit: Press 9/20 ‘Second Coming’ ‘Second Coming’ was the second studio album by the Stone Roses. It took the band 2 years to record the album, released in 1994. At number 12 the band sold 1 million copies.

The album has an unusual track listing with 99 tracks, 77 of which are silent after the song ‘Love spreads’. Credit: Press 10/20 Paul Weller: ‘Stanley Road’ The third studio album by Paul Weller: ‘Stanley Road’ is at number 11. The album took its name from a road where he grew up in Woking. Paul told the BBC he hopes he can one day create an album as perfect as this one. Credit: Press 11/20 Prodigy’s ‘Fat Of The Land’ >As of 2012 the Prodigy’s ‘Fat Of The Land’ has sold 10 million copies worldwide despite being released in 1997. Drawing inspiration from the old English phrase, the band will definitely be living well. The album comes in the countdown at number 10. Credit: Press 12/20 ‘Made In Heaven’ ‘Made In Heaven’ released by Queen in 1995 was the 15th and last album that featured the late Freddie Mercury. The album debut at number one in the UK and went four times platinum, selling 20 million copies worldwide.

Credit: Press 13/20 Massive Attack’s Protection/No Protection Massive Attack’s Protection/No Protection is the second album remixed by British producer Mad Professor. This album bought a fusion of different sounds and genres together. Credit: Press 14/20 ‘Beatles Live At The BBC’ ‘Beatles Live At The BBC’ is rated 7th highest selling vinyl. Made in 1994 it is an album dedicated to performances by the Beatles which were originally broadcast by the BBC in 1963 to 1965. Credit: Press 15/20 Leftfield’s Leftism Leftfield’s Leftism is the first album by electronica musicians Paul Daley and Neil Barnes. Released in 1995 by Columbia Records the album features reworked songs and some new original pieces. Credit: Press 16/20 The King of Limbs by Radiohead The King of Limbs by Radiohead was a self-released album in 2011. With it being their 8th studio album the band let little information out before its release. The album was originally released as an MP3 download followed by a CD.

It’s 5th in the best-sellers list. Credit: Press 17/20 Travis The Scottish indie pop band Travis released ‘The Invisible Band’ in 2001. The name of the album refers to the band having famous and influential songs but not being regarded famous themselves. Credit: Press 18/20 ‘Dummy’ ‘Dummy’ is Portishead’s debut album. Based in Bristol the group made the album in 1994 and later won the Mercury music prize in 1995. Credit: Press 19/20 ‘Definitely Maybe’, Oasis With ‘Definitely Maybe’, Oasis went straight to number one in 1994 in the UK, gaining positive commercial and critical success. Oasis helped revitalise the Britpop genre along with other groups like Blur. Credit: Press 20/20 ‘What’s The Morning Story Glory’ ‘What’s The Morning Story Glory’ by Oasis is the number one selling vinyl in the last 20 years. Released in 1995 won the award for the Best British album in the last 30 years at the 2010 Brit Awards.

Credit: Press Oasis - Complete Record and CD Collectors Guide more info Single releases are one area which any new collector can pick up some great 'soon-to-be' rarities. Most single, and album releases, today have a variety of differing picture sleeves, formats or exclusive mixes, which are intended to create a desire to complete a full set. The price of limited versions is always likely to rise because there will only be thousands, maybe hundreds of them in existence. And of course a single will not have as long a print run as an album would. But the trick in this area is knowing what to get ! ! Oasis are a great singles band with some of the best B-Sides ever, check out The Masterplan collection. They have released limited vinyls for all of their singles and the earliest now command a much higher price than the few pounds that they would have cost upon release. To give you an idea of the limited nature of Oasis' UK singles we have listed some below. �'Stop Crying Your Heart Out'...2002 UK Limited 7" single .. more info Promos are another great area of music collecting that is easy to get started with. A promotional item can be a simple CD with no more than music.

But often they will have exclusive picture sleeves, alternate remixes or even free gifts to make sure that the intended party (usually radio DJs, journalists and TV promoters) remember the song. Getting a radio station or journalistto promote a new song is a talent that many record companies have yet to master. Alternate promos exist for every new release; ie. there could be exclusive remix 12" vinyls for club DJs, or more eye-catching versions for record company employees and journalists. Due to this exclusivity the price of a promo can change rapidly. Oasis promotional items are extremely collectable indeed. Here are just a few of the great Oasis promos that we have in stock, see the customised catalogues for more... �'D'You Know What I Mean'...UK promo jukebox 7" ... more info Serious collectors are always looking for 'One-Offs'. These can be anything from competition prizes, mispressed releases, hidden collaborations or secret tracks. Once you begin to collect an artist seriously then this is the area of collecting that can bring the greatest satisfaction, and frustration ! Perhaps the best way to find these 'One-Offs' is to be a complete fan.

This can mean joining fan-clubs, attending concerts and entering alot of competitions. The most sought after one-offs tend to have been available but initially only to a lucky few. Then they often pass into the hands of collectors who will be looking to sell them on to all the collectors who missed out. And of course as Oasis are one of the worlds biggest stars they have a multitude of one-off collectables. �'Wibbling Rivalry'...1995 UK CD featuring Noel & Liam arguing... <back to top> The first line up of Oasis actually omitted to include Noel, who at the time was a roadie for another band, the Inspiral Carpets . With Liam Gallagheron vocals, guitarist Paul �Bonehead� Arthurs, bassist Paul �Guiggsy� McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll they had gigged around Manchester in 1991 and 1992. Later in 1992 Noel joined the band, and by early 1993 they were a full time concern. In May 1993 the band travelled to Glasgow to see 18-Wheeler play at the city�s King Tut�s Wah Wah venue.

Oasis blagged themselves on to the bill and subsequently impressed one audience member so much that he offered them a record deal on the spot ! That man was Creation Records boss Alan McGhee, who later beat off major label interest to sign the band in October of that year. Promotional 12�s of an early demo, Columbia , which had been gaining radio play, became instant collectables when it was rumoured only 50 copies existed. This number later rose to over 500 but the reputation of Oasis as a collector�s band was set. More reputations were set in 1994 when they were thrown off a ferry crossing to Holland for brawling with crew and police. Attention, and headline, grabbing interviews on TV and in the press ensured that when their debut single Supersonic was released the band was heading for certain success. In April, Liam and Noel gave a now classic interview for the UK music magazine NME. The interview, in which they bicker and challenge each to many fights, was later released as a single called Wibbling Rivalry on a British independent label, Fierce Panda in 1995.

The second single, Shakermaker , was released in June and it scored a Top 20 position (#11). Also in that month Noel played an acoustic set at a 'Creation Records 10th Anniversary' show in London. Live shows in Europe and America lead up to the release of the next single Live Forever and the debut album Definitely Maybe in August. The album was an immediate UK #1. In October they played gigs in the US and Japan, while Cigarettes And Alcohol was the next single. 1994 ended with handfuls of �Best Of�� the year awards and the single Whatever narrowly missed out on being a Christmas #1. Early in 1995 the American sales of Definitely Maybe had passed the quarter of a million mark, and so the band took off on a huge US tour. Back home Some Might Say was Oasis� first UK #1 single when it was released in April. Drummer Tony McCarroll left the band after one scrap too many with Liam, his replacement was Alan White. During the summer work was completed on the next album, the band toured Europe and also played the Glastonbury Festival.

A (now still running) rift between Oasis and Blur began in earnest as the bands released brand new singles on the same day. This �Britpop battle� was won by Blur as ' Country House' beat Oasis� Roll With It to the top. But the 'war' was Oasis� because their new album (What�s The Story) Morning Glory , released in October, was the best of the year, possibly the decade. Also in October the Help charity album was released. It featured a re-recorded version of Fade Away plus Noel hanging out with Paul's Weller and McCartney as part of the 'Smoking Mojo Filters'. The reputation of the band is furthered by sold out shows at London�s Earl�s Court and,as Wonderwall became yet another UK Top Ten single. Amusingly a cabaret style cover version of the song by Mike Flowers Pops matches the #2 position, just missing a Christmas top slot. 1996 belonged to Oasis. They spent 134 weeks on the chart in that year due in part to another #1 single, Don�t Look Back In Anger . But mostly this peculiar record was due to every previous single being re-issued and charting, then re-charting throughout the year.

The bands standing as one of the finest live acts in the UK was cemented with some huge shows in 1996. April saw them play to 40,000 fans at the Maine Road football ground, home of Manchester City. This was more than just a homecoming gig because the band are life long fans of the team. Later in the year nearly half a million fans saw them play in Loch Lomond in Scotland, and then at the legendary Knebworth shows. MTV binned a Liam-less Unplugged concert, held in the Royal Albert Hall. Setting Sun , a track that Noel recorded with The Chemical Brothers , was a UK #1 for the dance act in October. The year ended with more headlines as Noel walked out on a US tour and Liam was in trouble with the police over an array of offences. A short break as the next album was finalised began 1997. They returned in July with new single D�You Know What I Mean , which was their third UK #1. Enormous anticipation greeted the next album, which was called Be Here Now ; it duly topped the album charts. In the US it missed out on the top by only a handful of sales.

Continuing their trend of large sold-out concerts October saw them play Earl�s Court again. Stand By Me was released as a single in that month also. 1998 and 1999 were relatively quiet, well as quiet as any year in the life of Oasis could be ! All Around The World was released as the last single from Be Here Now in January 1998 . A huge world tour covered every corner of the globe from the UK to the US, the Far East to Down Under. The Masterplan album was released in October 1998; it was a collection of fan-chosen B-side tracks from all of the singles. By the end of 1999 the old-Oasis era had passed by.The departure of Bonehead and Guiggsy in late �99 meant that the two brothers were the only original members remaining. Plus the death of Creation Records in December left the band to form their own label called Big Brother, on which all their future UK albums and singles are now released.

2000 saw the band return with a revitalised line up, which now included Gem Archer (ex- Heavy Stereo , Oasis label mates of old) and Andy Bell (ex- Ride and Hurricane #1 , more old Creation bands). A new album, Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants , was released in February. A single entitled Go Let It Out , the bands fifth UK #1 single, preceded it. Live action across the world bedded in the new band members, and a storming show recorded at the Wembley Stadium during the summer was later released as the Familiar To Millions live album. There were two more singles from Standing�; Who Feels Love? and Sunday Morning Call are both UK Top 10 hits. In 2001 the band rightly celebrated ten years of excess and success with a low key set of concerts across the UK. They then rested and readied for a resurgent 2002. So the story so far had been up.. up.. and then down a bit, but by 2002 Oasis had cleared the competition and returned as Britain�s premier rock act.

The single Hindu Times scored yet another UK #1 hit in May, and the album Heathen Chemistry topped the album charts too. Don�t expect the terrible two-some and their band to disappear quietly. The next stage of whatever plan they have must surely include sticking around for longer than The Beatles did ! !

Question: Which Oasis album became a million seller within days of its release in 1997?
Answer: BE HERE NOW