In October 1993 Oasis penned their legendary deal with Creation Records, here there are 10 things we would not have if Oasis were never signed.
For just a £40,000 advance, the Gallagher’s and co inked a deal for six albums with Alan McGee and his rag-tag band of visionaries.
They would go on to headline festivals, fill stadiums, shift millions of albums, provide the soundtrack of a generation and define an entire era of music. But there’s much more to their legacy than the music.
Here there are 10 things we probably would not have if Oasis were never signed…
- We wouldn’t have Arctic Monkeys: Alex Turner revealed that the band’s first ‘gig’ at a school assembly when they played tribute to Oasis. Speaking to Pitchfork last year he said: “Me and Matt and some of our friends put on ‘Morning Glory’ – we ‘played’ some tennis racquets and pretended to be Oasis. Matt was Liam Gallagher, he had the bucket hat on. I was the bass player.”
- We wouldn’t have this picture of Pete Doherty: Long before he was troubling tabloids and injecting himself with all kinds of junk, the former Libertine was just a bright-eyed, wee Oasis fan. Here he is being interviewed by MTV while in the queue for Be Here Now. When asked his opinion on the band, he replied: “I subscribe to the Umberto Eco view that Noel is a Poet and Liam is a town crier.”
- We wouldn’t have The Killers: Yes, even out in the dessert, blinded by the bright neon lights of Las Vegas, Brandon Flowers was caught by the Oasis spell. In 2001, Flowers was abandoned by his first band, Blush Response. He then attended an Oasis concert at the Hard Rock Hotel and realised that his calling was to be in a rock band and began searching for like-minded musicians. The Killers were born.
- We wouldn’t have Noel Gallagher as a solo artist: Oasis was all about the rock and roll abandon of youth, but after they parted ways Noel shone as a fine elder statesman of rock songwriting – proving he can cut it alone with a brilliant craft.
- We wouldn’t have Beady Eye: Love them, hate them, whatever, it’s nearly impossible to imagine our Liam finally realising his rock n’ roll dream and forming Beady Eye in his mid-life if weren’t for the glory years of Oasis. They’re gone now, but they were certainly a spectacle while they lasted.
- We would have fewer tabloid headlines: Yup, Liam and his massive mouth are responsible for selling plenty of headlines and magazine over the years – largely for his slagging off of just about every other musician on the planet. Of La Roux, he simply said: “No way, mate. She’s got man hands.”
- We wouldn’t have the Ryan Adams version of ‘Wonderwall’: Come on, admit it’s much, much better than the original. We know it, you know, even Noel kinda knows it. In 2008, Noel told Spin: “I think Ryan Adams is the only person who ever got that song right. I’d love to do the Ryan Adams version. but in front of 60,000 Oasis fans that wouldn’t be possible”
- We might not have stadium indie: Yeah, once they broke through the Knebworth barrier and into the stratosphere, Oasis paved the way for another generation of anthemic plod-along stadium indie – giving us the likes of Coldplay and that. Thanks.
- No one would walk like that: That Manc swagger is still commonplace on the streets of Manchester. Guy Garvey referred to it as ‘the simian stroll’ in the beautiful Elbow track ‘Lippy Kids’. Thanks to Noel G, the walk spread out of the city and can now be seen being performed by Britpop obsessed indie kids the world over.
- Well, Blur would be MASSIVE: Yes, they are pretty big as it stands, but one can’t but wonder what would have happened if Oasis weren’t around as Blur’s sparring partners in the Battle of Britpop. Would it instead have been Damon Albarn and co. than would headline Knebworth and conquer the world?
Source: Gig Wise
Photo: Getty