#definitely maybe oasis

[alkaseltza]

liam gallagher of oasis in “whatever” (x)

[beforethepoison]

“I’d say, ‘You’ve heard ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’?’, and they’d say, ‘Of course’. I’d say, ‘Look it’s me, let us in. I can play you a tune. I robbed some stuff, I took a lot of drugs, but I’m all right’.” - Noel Gallagher talking to God in the gates of heaven

[noandneuron]

I fking hate you noel gallagher.

[thejuvenilem]

I'm tidying up a closet and I came across my long forgotten box of cds. I totally forgot that I have some gems, including definitely maybe, be here now and as you were. I took these photos very quickly so sorry if they are all shitty, I'll take better photos when I have more time.

[telephone-junkie]

Oasis captured at Manchester Airport in May 1994

[yukiiweirdfishes-11]

𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨

Credits to the creator of the divider

[lovelymotel]

Divorced musician couples… you hate to see it

[coolxconfused]

Unfortunately I don't like the empty room on the cover of the Definitely Maybe reissue. The photographer Michael Spencer Jones originally suggested the empty room for the back cover and another outtake of the album photoshoot feat. the band for the front cover - this would have been way better! This reissue should celebrate Oasis and Definitely Maybe, but sadly the empty room is giving depression. Plus the longer I look at the photo of the empty room, the more boring it gets.

Michael Spencer Jones hasn't revealed which particular shot he suggested for the cover, but it's safe to say that there are so many beautiful photos of the band which would all have made a wonderful alternative cover

[ewanmcgregorforcemasc]

How do I tell my hairdresser I want the girl as Liam Gallagher in the unfunny SNL skit cut without showing them these pictures

[alkaseltza]

liam gallagher of oasis in “whatever” (x)

[starshapedoasis]

Knowing what I know now, Noel Gallagher, I forgive you for this. 😔

[guigsysdinner]

[fght-ff-yr-dmns]

8-bit Musical Legends

Gerard Way, Kurt Cobain and Liam Gallagher

A random mix I know, but it's a Sunday and I'm rather bored.

All in the 8 bit style of the Amiga classic Sensible Soccer.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

[beforethepoison]

[todays-just-a-daydream]

Charting the rise of Oasis in summer 1994 via archives of Music & Media (pan-European music industry magazine in the 90s). Issue dates from each clip left to right: 13 August; 27 August; 3 September; 17 September; 17 September.

Radio reports in industry magazines tell the story of Oasis climbing the UK charts and breaking into Europe in late summer 1994. Music & Media in the 90s was the European version of America’s Billboard magazine. While the record charts were the focus, each issue also included a section in new releases (both singles and albums) as well as station reports. Each week radio stations would report their lists to the magazine and include what songs they've added to their rotation. The way I understand it, A lists are played more than B lists, which are played more than N lists.

I went through the August-September 1994 issues of Music & Media searching “Oasis” for any relevant clips.

Note: Keep in mind all dates reflect the issue that the content was in and that there was a slight lag (generally 1-2 weeks) in industry news outside of the UK.

Following Live Forever’s release

The third Oasis single, Live Forever, gets added to the BBC1's N list on 6th of August upon its release, due to consistent interest in each single since Columbia (White Label Demo) in Dec 1993.

The single also makes the B list for Virgin 1215 AM London. The next week, Forth RFM in Edinburgh adds the song to its A list. One week later, the song gets a small mention in the New Releases review section of the magazine:

Is it a fata morgana, or is Oasis for real? We've had so many over-hyped British bands now, that we prefer to take a back seat. But then again we haven't heard such good pop since the La's.

Two weeks later, 27th of August, Live Forever reaches no. 10 on the UK singles chart.

The magazine reports this in a small blurb describing them as "Scottish band Oasis", possibly due to the concentration of the band’s support being in Scotland. Radio Clyde in Glasgow adds the song to its rotation. MTV Europe also adds the video to its new videos list.

At the start of September, Definitely Maybe gets a review in the new album releases, where Live Forever is called “a masterpiece.” I should add industry mags are typically dry and not prone to hyperbole.

Radio Clyde's head Bobby Hain writes that Oasis has become "local favourites" since performing at T in the Park festival a few weeks before.

At the same time, Live Forever gets added to more radio playlists. Red Dragon FM in Cardiff adds the song to its B list. In Europe, Radio 21 in Brussels, Het Station in Hilversum (Holland), and Polskie Radio 2 in Warsaw (Poland) add it to their A list.

By the 10th of September MTV Europe adds the Live Forever video to its Buzz Bin. This week Sveriges Radio in Stockholm (Sweden) adds the song to its A list, with Radio Stella FM 106 in Helsingberg following the next week.

But it takes until the 17th of September for Oasis to get a full length article in the magazine, entitled "Oasis Is No Mirage Of the British Hope and Glory" (above). It mentions the skepticism in Europe of British bands that don’t live up to the hype. But argues Oasis is the real deal. It singles out Sweden as the first European market where the band has broken out from the UK. It calls the band’s songs “retro pop,” lists some influences from Neil Young to T-Rex, and leaves with the idea Oasis seems like a “universal band” that can translate to other countries.

The case study of Sweden

The band plays the Hultsfred festival in Sweden 13 August 1994. This is also the site of the classic Gallagher interview where Noel claims their music will stand the test of time. There’s also bootlegs of a radio broadcast of the show, but it’s not clear if it aired live at the time or was simply recorded and broadcasted later in 95.

Noel and Liam both bragged about making headlines in the country for starting a bar brawl after they played this festival. Did this play a factor in the band’s early chart success there?

Notably mentioned by Music & Media, by the 3rd of September, Swedish radio stations are already picking up Live Forever, while most of Europe is still working through older singles.

Sweden becomes the first country outside of the UK for Definitely Maybe to chart (even a week before Ireland), entering the chart at no. 14. The album reaches 4 by 17th of September (to compare the album is at 9 in Ireland the same week).

Along with sales elsewhere, it’s enough to pull the album to 10 in the European charts.

Did the bar brawl help album sales in Sweden?

When looking at Oasis gigs in August/September it’s not surprising Sweden is the first to chart. They play Paris in June and New York in July. But Sweden is the first place outside the UK they have two gigs in less than one month. The festival gig in August and another one a few days after the first album is released.

Now I know controversy sells is a 90s maxim and Oasis used outrage to their advantage. But I remain skeptical of the claim they made front page headlines from the bar brawl. It seems to me that’d be a clipping you could find online if it happened. I don’t have access to Swedish papers to directly verify the pages (if anyone has access, lmk!). But I could do a quick search of archives of two popular newspapers, a morning newspaper and an evening one, to see "oasis" mentions in 1994:

While “oasis” gets mentioned a few times before August (some nonband mentions including a guy named Kenny Oasis drive earlier mentions), it’s steady afterward in reference to the band.

The results of a search for “oasis” in Dagens Nyheter in 1994 includes a thumbnail of the page and the relevant excerpt to check context. Below are the excerpts visible for August/September and a rough translation (any Swedish fans out there correct me if I’m wrong).

The 11th of August has a short article on page 20 about the Hultsfred festival they were set to play on the 13th.

On the 15th on page 24, the band gets mentioned in a review of the festival:

När Oasis spelade vid sextiden var det väldigt mycket folk i Saharatältet

(When Oasis played at six o'clock there were a lot of people in the Sahara tent)

On the 18th in the entertainment section of ads, Definitely Maybe as a pending Oasis album is mentioned. There’s also an ad for another show with Oasis on the bill with Pavement at the top and Jeff Buckley. This is most likely the 2 September show at the Gino.

On the 24th, Liam’s face makes an appearance on page 21 along with other band/artist photos. The photo caption reads “Liam Gallagher i Oasis renodlar det som andra påbörjat.” (Liam Gallagher's Oasis refines what others have started.) with a photo credit to “matthias bardå Filmiskt” so good bet it’s from the Hultsfred festival.

The 31st of August shows the closest Oasis gets to the front page at the time. On page 2, Live Forever is mentioned in a list of things to complain about (an opinion piece? satire? it’s not clear): Yvs över exportaktiernas uppgång, yvs över Oasis ”Live Forever”, men herregud, att yvas över ett land, ett stycke mark, det är väl. (Howl about the rise of export shares, howl about Oasis' "Live Forever", but oh my god, howl about a country, a piece of land, that's fine.) The mention does suggest the song is already recognizable to Swedish readers by the time Definitely Maybe is released.

Oasis at the Hultsfred festival is still being talked about 2nd of September (page 77):

Beatles anses vara en inte oviktig förebild för Oasis. Och det bekräftades i Hultsfred.

(The Beatles are considered a not unimportant role model for Oasis. And it was confirmed in Hultsfred.)

On page 75 the same day, an ad for the Gino show that night. But Oasis is now top billing (no Pavement).

Same issue, the show gets mentioned on earlier pages (page 20) in context of the band’s climb:

Oasis klättrar raskt och spelar dessutom i Stockholm i dag, fredag.

(Oasis is climbing fast and is also playing in Stockholm today, Friday.)

The rest of September, Oasis gets 8 mentions in the paper on pages 20-29.

Now without access to each article in full, I can’t be certain there is no mention of the bar brawl in all of this. But these excerpts do suggest that it’s a nonissue at least in this paper. Their festival show is well attended, people remember it, another show is set for a few weeks later and is advertised as the postfestival chatter ramps up the album release excitement. They return a second time for more buzz and the album hits the top 5 a few weeks later. But obviously that’s boring so bar brawl narrative it is.

[guerrilla-operator]

Oasis // Fade Away

I'll paint you the picture 'Cause I don't think you live 'round here no more I've never even seen the key to the door We only get what we will settle for