Listen to the first-ever Oasis demo tape
Whatever your opinions on them are, it is inarguable that Oasis were one of the biggest British groups of the past 30 years. Giants of the mid-1990s Britpop scene, the Mancunian group took the world by storm with their 1994 debut Definitely Maybe, setting them on a path to rock and roll greatness. However, there was a time before the Britpop explosion when Oasis were merely a young rock band trying to find their sound.
An often-forgotten fact within the story of Oasis is that Noel Gallagher was not there from the beginning. In fact, neither was Liam. The band formed in 1991 as The Rain, with Liam coming in shortly afterwards as a replacement for the original singer, Chris Hutton. With the inclusion of the youngest of the Gallagher clan, The Rain soon changed their name to Oasis, playing their first gig at Manchester’s Boardwalk in August of 1991.
At this point in the group’s history, Noel is not involved. The young songwriter was occupied as a roadie for the Madchester band Inspiral Carpets. However, Noel had been writing songs and playing guitar for years prior, and so when he found out his brother had joined a band, he was curious enough to have a look. Attending that debut gig at the Boardwalk, Noel was largely unimpressed by Liam’s group, but he saw an opportunity to use Oasis as a vehicle for the songs he had been writing throughout his youth.
So, after some negotiations following the August gig, Noel was on board, and the first proper Oasis line-up was born: Liam, Noel, Guigsy, Bonehead and Tony McCarroll. This was the line-up that would send the band hurtling from Manchester to the top of singles charts…but not just yet. After all, it would be another three years before the group released their debut single, ‘Supersonic’, on Alan McGee’s Creation Records.
Shortly after Noel joined the group, the band got the opportunity to record some tracks at Out of the Blue Studios in Manchester after drummer McCarroll agreed to plaster the walls of the building in exchange for some studio time (though McCarroll later disputed that claim). Laying down three tracks at the studio, it became clear that, although he had joined the band, Noel had yet to exert his songwriting talents on the rest of the band.
These three tracks give some insight into why Oasis were largely ignored for the first three years of their existence. The sound of the tape is largely derivative of the band’s Manchester influences, particularly The Smiths and The Stone Roses. The Roses’ influence is particularly evident on the second track, ‘Take Me’, which sees Liam attempting to imitate the vocals of his hero, Ian Brown. The early incarnation of Oasis takes on an almost shoegaze-esque sound as the tape progresses, which makes you wonder what would have become of the band had Noel not risen to become the band’s premier songwriter.
This demo tape is not the Oasis we all know and love, but early hints at their later sound are plain to see. Of course, that early brotherly love that forged Oasis is long gone, with Liam and Noel consistently taking potshots at each other well into their middle ages. However, there is no doubt that Noel’s songwriting and Alan McGee’s Creation Records were the influences that steered the group to become one of the defining rock groups of the 1990s.
