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Oasis

A Manchester band led by the brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, whose first two albums made them the most globally successful group of the Britpop era.

Origin
Manchester, England
Years active
1991-2009, 2024-present
Genres
Britpop, rock, indie rock
Labels
Creation, Big Brother, Sony
Also known as
The Rain

Manchester

Oasis grew out of a Manchester band called the Rain. Paul Arthurs, Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll were in it, and Liam Gallagher came in as singer. He suggested the new name, and his older brother Noel joined a few months later on the condition that he became the sole songwriter and leader, and that the group pursued commercial success in earnest. Under him the sound relied on simplicity: barre chords, root bass notes, basic rhythms and amplifiers turned up to distort. Their first gig was on 14 August 1991 at the Boardwalk club in Manchester. In 1993 the Creation Records co-owner Alan McGee saw them at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow and offered them a deal. They signed worldwide to Sony, which licensed them to Creation in the UK.

Definitely Maybe

Supersonic, the first single, appeared in April 1994 and reached number 31. Live Forever followed in August as their first UK top ten. The debut album, Definitely Maybe, came out on 29 August 1994 after a troubled recording. Sessions at Monnow Valley with the producer Dave Batchelor were abandoned, a second attempt at Sawmills in Cornwall still fell short, and the manager Marcus Russell then called in Owen Morris, who mixed the record with heavy compression and tape delay. It went straight to number one and was then the fastest-selling debut album in British history. Writing in 2014, Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal heard the sound of "people who feel like they need to scream to be heard". Cigarettes & Alcohol became the fourth single and reached number seven.

Morning Glory

Some Might Say became their first UK number one in April 1995, and Alan White replaced McCarroll on drums. The second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, was made at Rockfield Studios in Wales from May 1995, with Morris and Noel Gallagher producing and Paul Weller guesting on Champagne Supernova. On 14 August 1995 Roll with It and Blur's Country House were released the same day, a chart contest the British media called the Battle of Britpop, and Country House topped the chart. The album followed on 2 October 1995. Some reviews were lukewarm, among them Melody Maker's verdict of "laboured and lazy", but it spent ten weeks at number one in the UK and reached four on the US Billboard 200. Wonderwall peaked at number two in Britain, and Don't Look Back in Anger, the first single sung by Noel, went to number one. In August 1996 they played two nights at Knebworth to 125,000 people each time.

The later albums

Be Here Now arrived in August 1997 and became the fastest-selling album in British chart history up to that point. Arthurs and McGuigan left in 1999. Gem Archer and Andy Bell replaced them, and with Creation gone the band started its own label, Big Brother. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000) and Heathen Chemistry (2002) reached number one, as did Don't Believe the Truth (2005), the first to feature Zak Starkey on drums after White's departure and an album many critics called their best since Morning Glory. Dig Out Your Soul, released on 6 October 2008, reached number one in the UK and five on the Billboard 200.

Split and return

On 28 August 2009 Noel Gallagher announced on the band's website that he was leaving. The remaining members carried on as Beady Eye until 2014, and Noel formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. On 27 August 2024 the band announced that it had reformed. A 30th anniversary edition of Definitely Maybe went to number one in the UK a week later, and the Oasis Live '25 Tour opened at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 4 July 2025 and ended in São Paulo on 23 November. In April 2026 Oasis were announced as part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2026, and in September the band announced Oasis Live '27, a 38-date tour. They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and have eight UK number one albums.

Members

Records

Songs

Blur, The Beatles, Beady Eye, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, The Verve

Where to go next

Official

  • Oasis The band's official website.

Reference

Writing and criticism

Fan sites and communities

Sources

  1. Oasis (band), Wikipedia
  2. Definitely Maybe, Wikipedia
  3. (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, Wikipedia
  4. Oasis: Definitely Maybe reissue review, Pitchfork (2014-05-22)
  5. Oasis, The Guardian
  6. Oasis Recording Information, David Huggins