Online Encyclopedia
Oasis (band)
Oasis is the name of a Britpop group from Manchester, England. Oasis were one of the most successful British bands of the 1990s; the band formed in 1991.
The original band members were as follows:
- Liam Gallagher - Vocals
- Noel Gallagher - Lead Guitar
- Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs - Rhythm Guitar
- Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan - Bass
- Tony McCaroll - Drums
As of 2004 Gem Archer, Andy Bell, Zak Starkey have replaced Arthurs, McGuigan and McCaroll respectively. Throughout their most successful period, Alan White (who replaced McCaroll in 1995) was on drums.
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Early years and breakthrough
The band played their first gig on Saturday 18 August, 1991, at the Boardwalk club in Manchester. Noel Gallagher came to watch them play because he heard his younger brother was in the band, but he wasn't impressed by their songs. The following Sunday, Noel joined the band for rehearsals and brought his guitar and his own songs.
After a couple of years of playing to small club gigs Oasis was signed up to Creation Records by producer Alan McGee in 1993. Following a limited white label release of the song "Columbia", the band released its first proper singles, "Supersonic" and "Shakermaker," in the spring of 1994. Both became top 40 hits in the United Kingdom and attracted much attention.
Later that year the breakthrough came with the single "Live Forever," which was a major hit in Britain. It reached the top 10 and spent a year on the chart. Soon after, Oasis released its first album, Definitely Maybe, which became the biggest selling debut album in British history, entering the charts at number one. It later became a major hit throughout the world, with Oasis gaining recognition in the United States.
Britpop and the height of fame
In 1995 Oasis released its second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory, which became a worldwide success. In Britain, it became the fastest selling-album since Michael Jackson's Bad. Prior to the recording of the album, original drummer Tony McCaroll had left the band, and was replaced by Alan White (McCaroll only drums on one song on the album, Some Might Say). The album also made the members of Oasis international stars. However, the stormy relationship between the Gallagher brothers became the subject of newspaper gossip columns and tabloids.
The media also steadily built up a rivalry between Oasis and fellow "Britpop" luminaries Blur. Though the rivalry was mostly fictional, it did no harm in raising the profile of both bands. In August 1995, Blur and Oasis released the first single from each of their new albums on the same day. Perhaps because it was more aggressively priced (99p vs £1.99), Blur's Country House won the day over Roll with It 274,000 copies to 216,000. In the long run, however, What's the Story (Morning Glory) hugely outsold Blur's album (The Great Escape) and has come to epitomise the Britpop era.
The album spawned three other hit singles "Some Might Say," "Wonderwall," and "Don't Look Back in Anger," all of which reached either #1 or #2 in the British charts.
Now at the zenith of their popularity, Oasis performed back-to-back concerts at Knebworth Park on the 10th and 11th August 1996. Sell-out crowds on both days, totalling 250,000 people, ensured that the concert was the largest in British history at that time (Robbie Williams sold out three consecutive nights at the same venue in 2003 to break the record). The concert, supported by The Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers and the Manic Street Preachers amongst others, was voted the third "greatest gig" of all time by readers of Q magazine in 2004, behind Radiohead's appearance at Glastonbury in 1997 and Nirvana's visit to the Reading Festival in 1992.
Later years
In 1997 Oasis released its third album Be Here Now launched by the hit single "D'You Know What I Mean". This album, although a huge success, was less well-received than the band's previous albums. A backlash set in, with some critics labelling the music "derivative" and "samey." The album failed to sell as well as their previous albums.
Oasis dropped out of the limelight for a couple of years. In 1999, while Oasis was recording its fourth album, guitarist Paul Arthurs, and bass player Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan left the band. They were replaced by two new members, Andy Bell (formerly of Ride) and Gem Archer (formerly of Heavy Stereo ). With the demise of Creation as an independent entity, Oasis formed their own label, Big Brother, within the Sony group, to release their records in the UK. Oasis's fourth album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, was released in 2000 to very poor reviews. Their fifth album, Heathen Chemistry was released in 2002. It was more positively receieved.
The band released The Masterplan, a collection of some of the most popular b-sides in 1998. In 2000, they toured Britain, culminating in a massive Wembley show. They released an album of songs performed throughout these gigs, called Familiar to Millions.
In January of 2004, the drummer Alan White left the band on request from its other members. In June, Oasis headlined Glastonbury for the second time. In September of 2004, the band is scheduled to release a DVD, titled Definitely Maybe - The DVD. The DVD will contain the Definitely Maybe album, 4 hours of band-footage, and a documentary about the band. This DVD is released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe. The band is currently working on their sixth album.
Discography
Albums
- Definitely Maybe - (August 30 1994)
- (What's the Story) Morning Glory - (October 2 1995)
- Be Here Now - (August 21 1997 [UK], August 28 1997 [Worldwide])
- The Masterplan - (November 2 1998)
- Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (- February 28 2000)
- Familiar to Millions - (November 13 2000)
- Heathen Chemistry - (July 1 2002)
Singles
- "Supersonic" - (April 11 1994)
- "Shakermaker" - (June 13 1994)
- "Live Forever" - (August 8 1994)
- "Cigarettes & Alcohol" - (October 10 1994)
- "Whatever" - (December 8 1994)
- "Some Might Say" - (April 24 1995)
- "Roll With It" - (August 14 1995)
- "Wonderwall" (October 30 1995)
- "Don't Look Back in Anger" - (February 19 1996)
- "D'You Know What I Mean" - (July 7 1997)
- "Stand By Me" - (September 22 1997)
- "All Around the World" - (January 12 1998)
- Don't Go Away (Japan only) - (February 19 1998)
- "Go Let it Out" - (February 7) 2000)
- "Who Feels Love?" - (April 17 2000)
- "Sunday Morning Call" - (July 3 2000)
- "The Hindu Times" - (April 15 2002)
- "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" - (June 17 2002)
- "Little by Little" / "She is Love" - (September 23 2002)
- "Songbird" - (February 3 2003)
Videos
- Live By The Sea - (August 31 1995)
- ...There And Then - (October 14 1996)
- Familiar To Millions - (November 13 2000)