Oasis (band)

Oasis are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. The group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher (lead vocals), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums). Liam asked his older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar, vocals) to join as a fifth member a few months later to finalise their formation. Noel became the de facto leader of the group and took over the songwriting duties for the band's first four studio albums. They are regarded as one of the defining and most globally successful groups of the Britpop genre.

Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993 and released their record-setting debut studio album Definitely Maybe (1994), which topped the UK Albums Chart and quickly became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time. The following year, they released (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) with new drummer Alan White in the midst of a highly publicised chart rivalry with peers Blur, dubbed by the British media as the "Battle of Britpop". Spending ten weeks at number one on the British charts, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? was also an international chart success and became one of the best-selling albums of all time, the fifth-best-selling album in the UK and the best-selling album in the UK of the 1990s. The Gallagher brothers featured regularly in tabloid newspapers throughout the 1990s for their public disputes and wild lifestyles. In 1996, Oasis performed two nights at Knebworth for an audience of 125,000 each time, the largest outdoor concerts in UK history at the time. In 1997, Oasis released their highly anticipated third studio album, Be Here Now, which became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history but retrospectively was seen as a critical disappointment.

Founding members Arthurs and McGuigan left in 1999 during the recording of the band's fourth studio album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000). They were replaced by former Heavy Stereo guitarist Gem Archer on guitar and former Ride guitarist Andy Bell on bass guitar. White departed in 2004, replaced by guest drummer Zak Starkey, and later by Chris Sharrock. Oasis released three more studio albums in the 2000s: Heathen Chemistry (2002), Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and Dig Out Your Soul (2008). The group abruptly disbanded in 2009 after the sudden departure of Noel Gallagher. The remaining members of the band continued under the name Beady Eye until their disbandment in 2014. Both Gallagher brothers have since had successful solo careers. In 2024, Oasis announced that they would reform in 2025 for worldwide performances as part of the Oasis Live '25 Tour.

As of 2022, Oasis had sold over 70 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. They are among the most successful acts in the history of the UK singles chart and the UK Albums Chart, with eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums. The band also achieved three Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified Platinum albums in the US. They won 17 NME Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and six Brit Awards, including one in 2007 for Outstanding Contribution to Music and one for the "Best Album of the Last 30 Years" for (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. They were also nominated for two Grammy Awards.

In 1991, bassist Paul McGuigan, guitarist Paul Arthurs, drummer Tony McCarroll, and singer Chris Hutton formed a band called the Rain. Unsatisfied with Hutton, Arthurs invited and auditioned acquaintance Liam Gallagher as a potential replacement. Liam suggested that the band name be changed to Oasis, inspired by an Inspiral Carpets tour poster in the childhood bedroom he shared with his brother Noel, which listed the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon as a venue. Oasis played their first gig on 14 August 1991 at the Boardwalk club in Manchester, bottom of the bill below the Catchmen and Sweet Jesus. Noel, who was working as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, went with them to watch Liam's band play, and he was impressed with what he heard.

Noel approached the group about joining on 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. Arthurs recalled, "He had loads of stuff written. When he walked in, we were a band making a racket with four tunes. All of a sudden, there were loads of ideas." Under Noel, the band crafted a musical approach that relied on simplicity, with Arthurs and McGuigan restricted to playing barre chords and root bass notes, McCarroll playing basic rhythms, and the band's amplifiers turned up to create distortion. Oasis thus created a sound described as being "so devoid of finesse and complexity that it came out sounding pretty much unstoppable".

After over a year of live shows, rehearsals and a recording of a demo, the Live Demonstration tape, in May 1993, Oasis were spotted by the Creation Records co-owner Alan McGee. Oasis were invited to play a gig at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut club in Glasgow by Sister Lovers, who shared their rehearsal rooms. Oasis, along with a group of friends, hired a van and made the journey to Glasgow. When they arrived, they were refused entry as they were not on that night's set list. They and McGee have given contradicting statements about how they entered the club. They were given the opening slot and impressed McGee, who was there to see 18 Wheeler, and Sister Lovers, whose member Debbie Turner was a close friend of McGee's from his days frequenting the Haçienda in Manchester. McGee offered them a recording contract; however, they did not sign until several months later. Due to problems securing an American contract, Oasis signed a worldwide contract with Sony, which in turn licensed Oasis to Creation in the UK.

Following a limited white label release of the demo of their song "Columbia", Oasis went on a UK tour to promote the release of their first single, "Supersonic", playing venues such as the Tunbridge Wells Forum, a converted public toilet. "Supersonic" was released in April 1994, reaching number 31 in the charts. The release was followed by "Shakermaker", which became the subject of a plagiarism suit, with Oasis paying $500,000 in damages. Their third single, "Live Forever", was their first to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart. After troubled recording and mixing sessions, Oasis's debut album, Definitely Maybe, was released on 29 August 1994. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number one within a week of its release, and at the time becoming the fastest selling debut album in the UK.

Nearly a year of constant live performances and recordings, along with a hedonistic lifestyle, damaged the band. This behaviour culminated during a gig in Los Angeles in September 1994, leading to an inept performance by Liam during which he made offensive remarks about American audiences and hit Noel with a tambourine. Upset, Noel temporarily quit the band and flew to San Francisco (it was from this incident the song "Talk Tonight" was written). He was tracked down by Creation's Tim Abbot and they made a trip to Las Vegas. Once there, he was persuaded to continue with the band. He reconciled with Liam and the tour resumed in Minneapolis. The group followed up with the fourth single from Definitely Maybe, "Cigarettes & Alcohol", and the Christmas single "Whatever", issued in December 1994, which entered the British charts at number three.

In April 1995, "Some Might Say" became their first number-one UK single. At the same time, McCarroll was ousted from the band. He said he was "unlawfully expelled from the partnership" for what he called a "personality clash" with the brothers. The Gallaghers were critical of McCarroll's musical ability, with Noel saying: "I like Tony as a geezer but he wouldn't have been able to drum the new songs." He was replaced by Alan White, formerly of Starclub and the brother of the percussionist Steve White, who was recommended to Noel by Paul Weller. White made his debut with Oasis on a Top of the Pops performance of "Some Might Say".

Oasis began recording material for their second album that May in Rockfield Studios near Monmouth. During this period, the British press seized upon a supposed rivalry between Oasis and another Britpop band, Blur. Previously, Oasis had not associated with the Britpop movement and were not invited to perform on the BBC's Britpop Now programme introduced by Blur's singer, Damon Albarn. On 14 August 1995, Blur and Oasis released singles on the same day, setting up the "Battle of Britpop" that dominated the national news. Blur's "Country House" outsold Oasis's "Roll with It" 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week. Oasis's management argued that "Country House" had sold more because it was less expensive (£1.99 vs £3.99) and because there were two versions of the "Country House" single, with different B-sides, forcing fans to buy two copies. Creation said there were problems with the barcode on the "Roll with It" single case, which did not record all sales. Noel Gallagher told The Observer in September that he hoped members of Blur would "catch AIDS and die", which caused a media furore. He apologised in a formal letter to various publications.

McGuigan briefly left Oasis in September 1995, citing nervous exhaustion. He was replaced by Scott McLeod, formerly of the Ya Ya's, who was featured on some of the tour dates as well as in the "Wonderwall" video before leaving abruptly while on tour in the US. McLeod contacted Noel, saying he felt he had made the wrong decision. Noel replied: "I think you have, too. Good luck signing on."

Although a softer sound initially led to mixed reviews, Oasis's second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, was a worldwide commercial success, selling over four million copies and becoming the fifth-best-selling album in UK chart history. By 2008, it had sold up to 22 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album produced two more singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger", which reached numbers two and one. It also contained "Champagne Supernova", which featured guitar and backing vocals by Paul Weller and received critical acclaim. The song reached number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In November 1995, Oasis played on back-to-back nights at Earls Court in London, the biggest ever indoor gigs in Europe at the time. Noel played a customised Sheraton guitar emblazoned with a Union Jack, commercially released by Epiphone as the "Supernova".