OASIS. ARE THEY SCOUSERS IN DISGUISE?

It seems that the world has been Oasis obsessed over the last few days. Rumours of their long- awaited reunion started to emerge towards the end of last week.

Anticipation then built over the Bank Holiday weekend before they finally put everyone out of their misery with the big announcement early on Tuesday morning.

I’m long in the tooth and pretty cynical about band reunions in general but I have to admit even I got caught up in all the Oasis fuelled furore. It’s a positive story at a time when the news generally hasn’t been great and it really has given people something to look forward to.

I’m generally not inclined to be overly generous to bands from Manchester because, well to be honest, I’m petty like that. Most of my favourite music is from Liverpool but because I can occasionally be open hearted and generous I will quietly admit to admiring the odd artist from that other place – Joy Division and The Stone Roses are on that list, as are Oasis.

I was lucky enough to see quite a few early Oasis gigs and got to know Noel and Liam a bit. My theory is that I’ve always had a soft spot for them because they have always known that the best music comes from Liverpool and have leaned heavily on this throughout their careers. For starters, Noel and Liam have never hidden their love of The Beatles, indeed Noel has been quoted as saying that The Beatles ‘mean everything’ to him. From quite early on in their career their live sets often included a raucous  cover of I Am The Walrus  and some of their later shows included a blistering version of Helter Skelter. They even recorded a lovely cover of You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away. Even a cursory listen to many of Noel’s Oasis songs show his deep indebtedness to the Four Lads That Shook The World and I don’t have a problem with that all. Everyone’s music is influenced by other artists so you may as well choose to be influenced by the very best.

But if you look closely Oasis’s love of Liverpool music goes beyond The Beatles. I met the original line up of the band when they were spending a lot of time in the city hanging out with their mates from Bootle, The Real People. The Real People famously recorded the early Oasis demos on their little eight track studio in their rehearsal room on the Dock Road and helped shape the early part of their career.

I was DJ’ing at a club called Le Bateau when Oasis played their first Liverpool gig. They weren’t meant to be playing but The Real People asked me if they could jump on and play using the main band’s gear. That band was Smaller, led by Liverpool music legend Digsy. I interviewed Noel and Liam a year or so later just as Oasis were taking off and they both sung the praises of Digsy and The Real People. Digsy was of course  immortalised in  the track Digsy’s Dinner  off the Definitely Maybe album.

When Oasis enjoyed their meteoric rise they acknowledged their debt to their scouse musical mates by giving prime support slots to the likes of The Real People, Smaller and Cast and talked about them constantly in interviews. Wherever you look Noel’s admiration for Liverpool music is pretty much always evident. He has talked about his admiration for bands like The Coral and The Zutons and he put his money where his large mouth is when his own record label, Sour Mash, put out a record by the  Liverpool songwriting genius that is Michael Head with the Shack Album On The Corner of Miles and Gil.

Since Oasis split both Noel and Liam have made sure they always have a least one scouser in their respective bands too which I think is a tacit acknowledgement that they would be nothing without the influence of Liverpool music.

So I’m happy to enjoy this massive Oasis moment. It’s a huge story – one of the biggest bands ever  finally getting back together when it looked like it would never happen. It’s a story about the power of music and of people remembering how Oasis and those unforgettable  songs provided the soundtrack to their lives. Of course this could all  just be about the money for Noel and Liam but I really hope that the warring brothers have genuinely reconciled and that they enjoy being back on stage together. If that’s the case we will see Oasis at their fiery and passionate best and  all the hype will have been worth it.  And of course we can sit back and admire them  while  knowing they owe it all to Liverpool.

Written by Kevin McManus

Photo Credit ©RobinClewley

Noel’s guitar is on display at BME, courtesy of Noel Gallagher