Oasis

Before Oasis, there was The Rain, a group founded by Alan ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, Paul McGuigan, and Tony McCarroll. The trio were dissatisfied with their singer and recruited Liam Gallagher as the replacement. Shortly after his arrival, the band switched their name to Oasis after Liam spotted Swindon Oasis Centre on an Inspiral Carpets poster on his brother Noel’s bedroom wall.

Noel Gallagher had been working as a guitar technician for Inspiral Carpets and had travelled the world in this role. While on the road, he’d written a vast number of songs and offered to give them to Oasis if they let him join the band. From there, Oasis began to grow their reputation, and in 1993, the band was signed by Alan McGee to Creation Records after a show at Glasgow’s King Tuts. The following year, they became the most talked-about group in Britain thanks to their debut album, Definitely Maybe, which spawned hits such as ‘Supersonic’ and ‘Live Forever’.

Oasis didn’t wait long to release their sophomore album and returned in style in 1995 with What’s The Story (Morning Glory), which includes ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. Their tour for the album included two historic dates at Knebworth Park, for which an unprecedented 2.6 million people tried to buy tickets as established the band as the kings of Britpop.

The good times looked like they’d keep rolling forever, and their third album, Be Here Now, became the fastest-selling album in British chart history and topped the albums chart in 15 countries. Oasis released four more albums before splitting up in 2009, with their final record being 2008’s Dig Out Your Soul. All seven of their albums were number one in the UK, and Oasis have staggeringly sold over 70 million records worldwide.

Famously, Oasis split following a physical backstage altercation between the Gallagher brothers at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris. This fight led to Noel refusing to play, returning to England and quitting the band. Liam and Noel haven’t been on speaking terms since the incident, and a reunion looks improbable.