Liam Gallagher : Vocals, Tambourine
Noel Gallagher : Lead Guitar, Vocals, Piano, Mellotron, E-Bow
Paul Arthurs : Rhythm Guitar, Piano
Paul McGuigan : Bass Guitar
Alan White : Drums & Percussion
From Manchester in the United Kingdom comes the band everyone knows today as Oasis. First formed in 1991 as The Rain, the band consisted of Liam Gallagher (vocals), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (Guitars), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (Bass) and Tony McCarroll (Bass and Drums). The band started out without Liam Gallagher's brother, Noel, who currently plays lead guitar for the band. Noel was a guitar roadie for local Manchester band, The Inspiral Carpets during the time that Liam had started his own band. Then on tour with the Carpets, Noel decided to return home to check out Liam's band. After hearing a few demos that the band had created, Noel dismissed the band saying that they were terrible.
Shortly after that, Noel had decided to join the band, provided that certain conditions were met. Noel said that he would only join the band if he were allowed to write all of the music and lyrics, make all of the band's decisions, and basically take the reins of the band overall. After agreeing to these conditions, Noel Gallagher joined the others to form what would be a then small-time band called Oasis. Starting their musical careers out by opening shows for other bands, Oasis eventually started to produce much of their own material.
Noel has often been accused of "ripping off" of other musicians' works, mostly The Beatles. Although Noel has admitted to borrowing lyrics and certain riffs from other artists, much of his compositions are his own. With Noel taking after the style of The Beatles, Oasis gained immense popularity throughout England. Their first release, Definitely Maybe, which came out in 1994, became the fastest selling album in the UK. From that time on, Oasis was the biggest band in the UK since The Beatles.
While the band gained this popularity and fame, the British media hyped up "battles" between Oasis and similar band, Blur. Some people felt as though Oasis gained superstar status overnight while Blur worked hard at getting where they are today. With all this controversy, many people forgot that it was all about music.
During this time, another problem plagued the band, and that was the drummer, Tony McCarroll. McCarroll was ejected from the band after a brawl with Liam at a bar. With this, Oasis assigned Alan White, a much more versatile drummer, to the band. Keeping everything aside, the band, with their new drummer, pulled off a poppy, quieter album entitled, (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. With hits like "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back In Anger", Oasis gained popularity even overseas.
During the summer of 1996, Oasis had many problems with stability of the band. Brothers Noel and Liam had many arguments and constantly fought. The situation got so bad that at one point, a break-up was anticipated. Yet for the sake of the fans, Oasis have not parted, and with an even stronger sound, will release their latest album, Be Here Now, on August 21 in the UK and August 26 abroad.