OASIS: From Garage Band to Record Deal - How They Did It (1991-1993) 

One of my close friends who’s also a sound engineer worked at the Boardwalk in the 90s. He told me a story years ago that Oasis would rehearse the same song day after day for hours. One day when he was walking past the rehearsal room the band used, another band had pinned a note to the door that said “play another song! “

To be Honest, What I wonder the most is Oasis's transition between Heathen Chesmtry to Dig Out Your Soul. You have this lovely quasi comeback album Don't Believe the Truth but eventually something went wrong particularly between DBTT and DOYS.

I’m amazed to learn how disciplined and dedicated they were with rehearsals in this period. Quite a contrast to the chaos and hell raising they became known for later - if only they had stuck to this level of focus throughout their success.

One of the big factors for me is that they stuck together as a unit once Liam and Noel had joined. Most bands spend half the time replacing the bass player, or finding a new drummer. If you can keep a stable lineup to begin with then you are halfway there in my opinion (obviously there has to be some talent and ability too!)

Trying to keep it simple: - The best rock singer/front man in history - A Genius songwriter - Huge help from an experienced band (the Real People) - A songwriter not afraid to rip off others to get where he wanted to be - Attitude and appearance

Another layer to Noel’s joining was his relationship with Mark Coyle, the Inspials sound engineer. When they were on tour Coyle spent time unpicking Beatles and early Bee Gees songs. Noel would spend sound checks playing embryonic Oasis songs on Graham Lambert’s guitar whilst sitting on the drum riser.

Saw them play in 1994 in Liverpool and it was a perfect storm. I know they got a new drummer and made a bigger second album - I saw them at Maine Road and they were brilliant. But that first one was hard to beat and felt like a perfect storm. It was pure energy and they needed each other. I took my mate’s fiancé and as soon as Liam walked on and he said… I wanna be him. And that was it. The songs were full on, Noel had all of his talent but Liam absolutely had the crowd in the palm of his hand. I never saw them after Maine Road. I had no interest in going to Knebworth and after that I rarely bought an album. But I’ve listened to the first one and the B sides a fair bit recreantly and they have brought back a few memories. I can understand why younger generations are listening to them.

It is always played out that Liam was or became impossible but i genuinely think he loved and looked up to his brother giving Noel the power that he ended up with ❤

The only time I recall playing the boardwalk was in September 1992 with Blackburn band 3 men gone mad supporting Paris Angels...in the soundcheck I saw from the stage Liam walking across the room, his familiar style from having come upstairs from the rehearsal room spiff in hand with a plume of pot smoke following him. I recognized him as id seen Oasis support hooky's band revenge at Middleton hippodrome in April of the same year

Another incredibly well put together presentation. ! Thanks.

Great video thank you for all your great work, James!

I have been looking forward to this video! I think I'm going to wait to watch it, savoring it like a fine bottle of wine until the moment is just right.

Brilliant stuff as always James.

Another fantastic video! Very enjoyable😊👌🏻✌🏻

Fantastic stuff! Your channel is pure gold, James ❤

All these videos are soooo gooood! Inspirational. Deliberately so, I think.

Lovin your work man! Thank you

thanks again James you're giving us oasis fans all these great vids

Thanks James this video is great and has all the info I was wondering about

It's a pretty amazing transition because without Noel they would have got nowhere near a record deal. If you listen to their early material, it is like a mediocre baggy pastiche band, even though Liam's voice is still decent. I don't mind some of that stuff, but it would never have been commercially viable.

Great video James, very enjoyable and informative

@25:00 - That TV appearance with Alvin Stardust was supposed to be for the ITV Telethon (ITV's controversial and short lived charidee extravaganza).

Another amazing video, congrats laddie

Very well done, great production there James. 👍🏻

great content. thanks for your work!

Excellent video, thoroughly researched and wonderfully paced. Top job!

Class vid as always james mate

Another great video so motivating knowing about there story

Another factor in this period was the decline of Madchester. Happy Mondays did the Steven Wells interview in Nov 91 which torpedoed their career. The Roses had disappeared and their wasn’t much in terms of innovative groups coming up other than Northside. A year before London A&R men were being sent up to Manc to look for the next big thing, if Oasis had been coming through a year earlier they may have been signed. As it was the scene was turning its back on the city. Ironically this bought Oasis time to develop every aspect of their game.

Brilliant video!👍

I love your videos James!!

James, the channel TheRightEarOfNash has made a video called "Forgotten Glory" which are the best remasters of these early Liam/Bonehead songs👍🏻

Great video mate. It would be very interesting to see which stories from those early days a movie studio would pick if they ever made a biography about them.

The boardwalk gig you brought up has the wrong date on it 😂

I saw the Inspirals twice in 1992, once in February and once in November. Both shows at the Barrowland Ballroom. We saw Noel onstage at the first gig tweaking something and a cheer went up because he was mistaken for Clint Boon. By the time of the November gig the stage show was scaled right down, with all the samples and whatnot absent. I'm guessing that Noel must have been gone by then.

Great camera and audio quality

Great video Actually shows how quick they were to fame!

Proper enjoyed this!

Awesome Video James. Great work and research. It's interesting how Noel comes across as a laidback "don't give a shit' type of guy, but he must have been obviously very ambitious and highly driven. I saw an interview Noel did on Parkinson where he says they were on the road for 3 years straight, playing the toilets - from 91' to 94' - before they were signed and released their first album. This is a half truth and one of Noel's "stories". But to be fair, it would be interesting to know why, if they were signed in MAY 1993, it took so long to start recording Definitely Maybe. I heard somewhere that Alan McGee thought they needed more live work to tighten the band up and set out to get them as many gigs as possible. They probably played more gigs from June - Dec 1993 than they ever did all through 1991, 1992 and the first half of 93'.

Much love from the US!

See The Sun should've been released on a record, despite being a demo its one of my favourite Oasis songs lol

I actually think Take Me is a good track. And generally impressed with Liam. Obviously when oasis cant out I didnt think Liam could write songs at all or play guitar (could he?). It's fucking HARD to write a song man. I'm actually impressed.

The magic of the sound Oasis developed during this time is they sound like a band with much more insruments playing!!!!!

Whenever I hear The Real Ppl mentioned w Oasis, I shudder. They shafted those guys, who gave them so much. Sad. They improved their guitar effects sounds from that liverpool 1993 demo. Muddy as on the demos..

Hey man would you be able to do a video explaining some of the tones from the first album? I’ve hit a wall trying to replicate definitely maybe and it’s driving me crazy. Mainly supersonic, Columbia and cloudburst? Love the videos keep up the great work

When will Noel be finally get honoured for services to music in a New Year's honours list? His MBE is long overdue.

⁠And along with a deep dive on the band’s history of reception in America, I just thought of a related idea for another @JamesHargreavesGuitar deep dive. A history of the Oasis, specifically Noel, vs Phil Collins rivalry, with a focus on the contrast in reception in America for both artists 👍

It was the presence of both that made it. No other band had that, they were just blokes stood around. Having both was what made it - the mix of the arrogance of their personalities and the sincerity of their songs

Much more interestnig than after they were signed. The dynamic of the bands relationships are more interesting - more than just Noel did it all and was the boss and they were lucky

These same attributes to success can be used for any business start up or career.......👍

That snakebite album is the most influentual. Cos it shows you the road of progress. Class

Hey James, love what you do Any chance you can document inspiral carpets from thier bogging like ya did with oasis And include how Noel came about working with them and his time in the background of cool as fuck moo!

hey james, would you ever considering making a video about noel’s lost (well not really lost) solo songs recorded in 1989 pre any band. i think some songs in that tape are amazing and don’t get anywhere near the credit it deserves

❤❤❤

I've done this video lol

Ok @JamesHargreavesGuitar you’ve confirmed at the beginning of this video that you respond to fan/follower requests for Oasis subject-specific deep dives. I’ve tried emailing, sending a message on Twitter and leaving a comment on your RU-vid video about Oasis’ rivalry with REM So once again, could you do a deep dive on the history of reception in America for not only Oasis, but Noel (and maybe Liam) Gallagher as well? I think that would be something that Oasis fans, especially in America, would appreciate. I'm not only a massive Oasis fan in America, but a massive fan of music from Northern England of the 80s and 90s, specifically artists on the Factory and Creation Records rosters Additionally, I was watching a RU-vid video of highlights from MTV's 1996 Video Music Awards, and it gave me a couple of ideas for some possible future content on your channel Watching this video made me think of a couple of things: how 1996 was absolutely the peak year of popularity for Oasis, especially in America, how the only band in America that could compete with Oasis in 96 for the title of Biggest Band in the World was the Smashing Pumpkins and how Oasis, despite their great and enduring music, never achieved a certain level of popularity in America that other massively successful British bands have achieved So I thought of a couple of fun ideas for future videos you could do. One would be doing a deep dive on the history of reception in America for not only Oasis, but also Noel (and Liam) Gallagher, and another idea could be discussing how there was a subtle rivalry between Oasis and the Smashing Pumpkins in 96, as evidenced by how the Smashing Pumpkins swept the 96 VMA's in America and Oasis were the big winner at MTV's Europe Music Awards that year Just a couple of ideas for future content, and I think nobody would do a better deep dive than you!

BRILLIANT documentary. Would love to learn what the band did after the first album release. Did they solo-performed without having much songs? 1 album is ~40 minutes. Were they a supporting band most of the time before the 2nd album release?

There is also an interview somewhere, I saw the video of it on a documentary, that Alan McGee was actually drunk that night and didnt even remember why he went to the club but didn't want anyone to know he was drunk so he always changed his story to make it seem like there was a reason. The most he remembered that night was a phone call from her that he should come out to hear Sister Lover perform, when he got there it was Oasis on stage but he had no clue who he was hearing and just said it sounded great to hide he was drunk. He didn't know he even asked Noel to his office a later day to discuss the group until Noel showed telling the secretary he had a scheduled meeting. For some reason he wanted people to think he was sober at that club that night so he acted like he remembered scheduling the meeting and forgot to inform his secretary. Supposedly it was this or a next meeting Noel played him Rockin Chair and said if he signed them up that'd be on the second album, which in his notebook of 93 it was.

I find it amazing how those very early tracks almost sounded at best Oasis-lite, at worst a dodgy mid 90s parody of the band. Taking the obvious jump in class in songwriting aside with Noel arriving, Liam's vocal range and delivery improved immeasurably in the space of just two years.

could you do a deep dive on the come up of the stone roses?

The brothers have proved time and again the only way this works is if they are all in. It wouldn't have worked without Noels tenacity and songwriting(Beady Eye anyone?) and it just doesn't work without Liams swagger. I love how Noel was Brian Epstein and McCartney rolled into one and Liam was pure 100% John Lennon. I am still amazed how glossed over they were in the states. Given Noels stick to it ness I am going to assume it just did NOT matter that much to him.

That first stuff sounds so similar to The Stone Roses Garage Flower album

Please please can do Alan White video what happened to him etc love your channel. To see Whitey video wud be epic

Hey James do you know if there is any friendship between Noel & ex Chameleons guitarist Dave Fielding ? I guess their isn’t much being I’ve never heard anything said by either but being how Fielding produced Inspiral Carpets & Noel was their drum tech or roadie along with their same home locations & all round being on the same scene at the same time etc wondered if there was any more of a Chameleons / The Reegs / Oasis connection. Love your devotion & insight re the Manc music scene 👍from woods near Bournemouth

I started out playing guitar two years ago and because of your video I just realised, that I had never played standing up too. so - thank you! p.s. Can someone lend me a guitar strap?

I'm sure I've heard the peter hook sound bite on either the cd that accompanied the Benson and hedges cd singles box sets or a cassette by vox magazine called oasis whats the story from the 90's.

James, please can you do a video about the story of Elastica or The Boo Radleys. I don’t care if the video is long or short, I just really want to know the whole story.

It seems a massive leap from Must be the Music and See the Sun one week to Rock n Roll Star and Bring it on Down the next!

They were lucky they grew up in Manchester; with all those connections so close by. If they were born somewhere like Suffolk it would've been hard to find the incentive for jamming! And for putting your all into it. (Not to take anything away from them.)

How big a part did Marcus Russell play, you dont mention him in your video.

Was it Noel on the bass for See The Sun?

You can really hear the difference in Liams voice in later oasis stuff from the earlier stuff, towards the end of oasis he was a pretty good vocalist!

ayup, the big JH, mr lottery ticket. someone’s made a vid like this already. There’s is better cuz they haven’t made a rivalry with a fucking mobile network. cheers x ps. can I get free tickets to ur next show

Awesome video as usual! Somebody please answer me this though: How is it possible that the video of All Around The World is from '92? The band played the gear they purchased after they got signed, Liam sang with the vocal techniques he developed with the Real People and Bonehead had far less hair than on any photos from '92. They already looked and sounded the same they did in Gleneagles, and not at all like the recordings of Must Be The Music or Better Let You Know.

First stuff is very, very "Stone Roses" sounding.

the Carpets are from Oldham....

James, you really need to get the ear of some of the people who were in the music industry at the time Oasis got signed. Its widely known that the myth of Alan McGee viewing Oasis on the stage of King Tut's under a beam of celestial light from heaven shining on the "Saviors of Rock" is utter nonsense. They were already on the radar of record companies, and is alleged were already signed to a development deal. I've been told this from a person who up till recently was extremely high up the ladder in the UK record business.

Take me sounds like a sped up version of rape me by nirvana played by the stone roses with out squire on guitar just my first thought anybody agree

I know it's not a massive revelation here, but 'Take me' was a great tune.

James do you think noel used liam as a scape goat becaues he had alot of ear worms (noel you would do a lot better solo (oop's) there was a rumor about sara liam was not the first mentioned it. noel used a a roumor to do what he wanted to do

Life In Vain sounds very TVPs.

:)

Liam made Oasis

Hi James, I have a very unrelated question, but on your biggest bands in Britain video, the biggest key was a counter cultural message, what do you think would be counter cultural today. Whatever it is I'll do it

25:43 🤣🤣🤣

Easier to make it back then

Give Brandonwholikesstuff credit for this😂

The songwriter wrote some decent bits and the frontman looked good on a big screen, but it was Paul and Tony that made the magic and laid down the groove and gave the best album its sound and its feel. Tony and Paul were the dogs bollocks, man.

You could of made this video 5 seconds long James...They ripped off The Real People...The End ha ha

The music industry really is 90% luck

Liam was pretty tone deaf on those early demos. It's hard to believe he mastered his voice so excellently just a few years later, only to lose it all, then kind of get it back again.

How did they do it? 90% plagiarism. 10% hiding the plagiarism.

Oasis used other people.

I hate Wonderwall, Oasis, and Noel's attitude.

Noël brought the discipline and direction. Liam was not mature enough to hassle important people. Noel was the right fit and added guitar chops sorely required. Liam unfortunately doe not have much good to say about his mega rich brother even now Noel got the most money even in 2022, £5.4 million in royalties, net some £75 million vs Liam's £5.4 million. He's gone on to form successful bands And need not worry about Noel's sniping from the cheat sheets. On camera in interviews Noel is entertaining and mature. Liam still can't be. Too much of a gobshite which once funny, is now a bit sad. The fuck everything strut, the gratuitous put downs. I'm a late Oasis fan but it's clear Noel had the goods and further along the writer talent, well over Liam. And that must have been difficult given Liam's competitive spirit. Thanks James for another enjoyable video. Great work

Inspiral Carpets had some, err, interesting hairstyles 🤔