The following is a FAQ written by Mark Titorenko. It's slightly out of date,
but is still worth a read.
Oasis FAQ
compiled by Mark J. Titorenko
v2.0betaish 19/02/96
**Disclaimer**
None of the information in this FAQ is official or indeed necessarily true.
I take no responsibility for the accuracy of anything in the following
document. If any of the information is wrong please mail me and I will correct
the appropriate section(s). Anyone who wishes to post this FAQ on a web page
or some other internet resource may do so providing the FAQ is left in its
original form and the work is not credited as your own.
**The FAQ**
This is version 2.0 and getting a little bit bigger. I will endeavour to post
the most recent FAQ at least once a month on the newsgroup alt.music.oasis.
The most recent version can also be found at http://jumper.mcc.ac.uk/~jedi/
a WWW site run by Michael Pye (see 5.1 below).
So far the topics covered include info on the recent album '(What's the Story)
Morning Glory' and previous Oasis releases, the band and some web sites and
other places to find Oasis information. Version 2.0 sees the advent of a
*Very* Frequently Asked Questions section full of quick questions and answers.
Section 1.0: The Band
1.1 Who the hell are Oasis?
Section 2.0: The Songs
2.1 The Albums
2.2 The Singles
2.3 New and Impending Releases
2.4 Other Oasis Releases
2.5 Bootlegs
Section 3.0: The Drama
3.1 Drummers
3.2 Break-ups
3.3 Tour Cancellations
3.4 *That* "Top Of The Pops" Show
3.5 Noel's AIDS Comment
3.6 Plagiarism?
Section 4.0: Other *Very* Frequently Asked Questions!
Section 5.0: Information
5.1 O.K. Where do I get more info?
1.0: The Band
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 1.1: Who the hell are Oasis?
Oasis are one of the biggest modern indie rock bands to emerge from the
recent indie resurgence. The band is made up of five members as follows:
Liam Gallagher - Vocals
Noel Gallagher - Lead Guitars & Backing Vocals
Paul Arthurs - Rhythm Guitar
Paul McGuigan - Bass Guitar
Alan White - Drums
You may have heard the names Bonehead and Guigs - these refer to Paul Arthurs
(due to his baldness) and Paul McGuigan. You may also have heard that Tony
McCarroll is also in Oasis. For further clarification on this point please
see section 3.1: Drummers below.
Noel has so far written every song released although Liam is said to have
written a couple which Noel has described as "utter shite". Liam did also
write the chorus to 'Columbia'.
All the band originate from Manchester (and support Man City) apart from Alan
who comes from London.
2.0: The Songs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 2.1: The Albums
2.1.1: Definitely Maybe
Oasis' debut album 'Definitely Maybe' was released on Creation Records in 1994
and has now gone double platinum. The UK release version contains 11 tracks:
1) Rock 'n' Roll Star
2) Shakermaker
3) Live Forever
4) Up In The Sky
5) Columbia
6) Supersonic
7) Bring It On Down
8) Cigarettes & Alcohol
9) Digsy's Dinner
10) Slide Away
11) Married With Children
The album is 52:34 minutes long and is a great buy. Also available for a
higher price are the Japanese and other foreign imports. These contain 3
bonus tracks: Whatever, Cloudburst, Sad Song. Sad Song is also available on
the UK vinyl album.
2.1.2: (What's The Story) Morning Glory
The long-awaited second album was released in the UK on Monday 2/10/95
and (apparently) in the US on 3/10/95. The album was originally to contain
13 tracks including 2 instrumentals, the two versions of 'The Swamp Song'.
However, following legal action from Stevie Wonder's record company, the
track "Step Out" was removed as it sounded too similar to Stevie Wonder's
"Alright". The track list of the CD is now as shown below.
1) Hello
2) Roll With It
3) Wonderwall
4) Don't Look Back In Anger
5) Hey Now
6) The Swamp Song
7) Some Might Say
8) Cast No Shadow
9) She's Electric
10) Morning Glory
11) The Swamp Song
12) Champagne Supernova
The album is 51:22 minutes long and comes with the lyrics to all of the songs.
The vinyl version of the album also includes a special bonus track,
"Bonehead's Bank Holiday" sung by Bonehead himself. Although I haven't
heard it myself, Noel described it as being hilarious since Bonehead is tone
deaf! This was recently made available by the NME which featured a cover
cassette containing the song.
"The Swamp Song" and "Champagne Supernova" feature Paul Weller on both
guitar and harmonica. He is thanked in the credits for the album as P.W.
along with someone called P.H. (see Section 5.1)
Section 2.2: The Singles
2.2.1 Supersonic CRESCD 176
Released in 4/94
Track Listing: 1) Supersonic
2) Take Me Away ACOUSTIC
3) I Will Believe (Live)
4) Columbia (White Label Demo)
2.2.2 Shakermaker CRESCD 182
Released in 6/94
Track Listing: 1) Shakermaker
2) D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman ACOUSTIC
3) Alive (8-Track Demo)
4) Bring It On Down (Live)
2.2.3 Live Forever CRESCD 185
Released in 8/94
Track Listing: 1) Live Forever
2) Up In The Sky (Acoustic) ACOUSTIC
3) Cloudburst
4) Supersonic (Live April '94)
2.2.4 Cigarettes & Alcohol CRESCD 190
Released in 10/94
Track Listing: 1) Cigarettes & Alcohol
2) I Am The Walrus (Live at Glasgow Cathouse June '94)
3) Listen Up
4) Fade Away
2.2.5 Whatever CRESCD 195
Released in 12/94
Track Listing: 1) Whatever
2) (It's Good) To Be Free
3) Half The World Away ACOUSTIC
4) Slide Away
2.2.6 Some Might Say CRESCD 204
Released on 24/4/95
Track Listing: 1) Some Might Say
2) Talk Tonight ACOUSTIC
3) Aquiesce
4) Headshrinker
At the beginning and end of Aquiesce another song can be heard. This has been
recognised as a sample from the song 'Morning Glory' yet to be released.
2.2.7 Roll With It CRESCD 212
Released on 14/8/95
Track Listing: 1) Roll With It
2) It's Better People ACOUSTIC
3) Rockin' Chair
4) Live Forever (Live at Glastonbury '95)
2.2.8 Wonderwall CRESCD 215
Released on 30/10/95
Track Listing: 1) Wonderwall
2) Round Are Way
3) The Swamp Song
4) The Masterplan
Section 2.3: New and Impending Releases
The next single to be released is from the recent album and will be 'Don't
Look Back In Anger'. Due to be released in the week of the Brit Awards on the
19th February. B-Sides should include 'Step Out' (the song removed from the
album), 'Cum On Feel The Noize' (Slade cover recently performed on Later...),
and a new song called 'Beneath The Sky'.
After this single anything could happen since they have now released half the
songs on the album as singles... Hopefully they will record something new.
Section 2.4: Other Oasis Releases
Oasis have also released a video called 'Live By The Sea' available from most
UK music/video shops. Recorded Live at Southend Cliffs Pavillion on 17/4/95
it includes all the Oasis live favourites.
Section 2.5: Bootlegs
Many bootleg recordings of Oasis gigs and radio recordings are available.
These are widely available at record fairs and in many city markets.
Below is (the beginning) of a list of Oasis bootlegs to try and help you choose
which of the many to spend your hard earned upon.
***
I am starting to try and catalogue them (but haven't got very far!) and I would
welcome any reviews with track listings, recording quality, recording dates
and an overall impression. I will try to include these in this FAQ and will
credit all contributors... Over to you.
***
2.5.1 Black On White KTS 397
I can strongly recommend this Italian bootleg which contains songs recorded
from their 1994 tour including a brilliant acoustic version of `Live Forever',
and Noel's classic 'Sad Song'. It comes very professionally presented with a
photograph filled inset and the recording quality is brilliant.
Quality: Excellent
Date: 04/94, 06/94, 12/94
Listing: 1) Shakermaker 9) Live Forever
2) Digsy's Dinner 10) It's Good To Be Free
3) Live Forever 11) Married With Children
4) Cigarettes And Alcohol 12) Sad Song
5) Supersonic 13) Talk Tonight
6) Live Forever (acoustic) 14) Whatever
7) Fade Away 15) I Am The Walrus
8) Digsy's Dinner
Overall: 9/10
2.5.2 Rock'n'Roll Stars FLIP 003
A good selection of rocking songs on this bootleg with the demo version of
'Fade Away', a great live version of 'Slide Away' and another version of 'I Am
The Walrus'. Not brilliantly presented but then, what do you expect from a
bootleg?
Quality: Fair
Date: 04/94, 05/94, 06/94
Listing: 1) Shakermaker 9) Rock'n'Roll Star
2) Digsy's Dinner 10) Up In The Sky
3) Live Forever 11) Cigarettes And Alcohol
4) Cigarettes and Alcohol 12) Shakermaker
5) Supersonic 13) Bring It All On Down
6) Columbia 14) Fade Away
7) Slide Away 15) Married With Children
8) I Am The Walrus 16) Live Forever
Overall: 6/10
3.0: The Drama
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 3.1: Drummers
Oasis were originally formed with drummer Tony McCarroll but apparently, after
a punch up with Liam in a Paris strip bar, Tony left the band. The last song
recorded with Tony was 'Some Might Say'. Alan White then joined Oasis the day
before SMS was to be played on British chart programme 'Top of the Pops' and
learnt the drumming overnight! Since Tony left, Noel has been quoted as saying
he wanted to rerecord SMS for the new album but Creation Records would not
allow it since that would prevent them hyping (WTS)MG as the album containing
the hit single SMS.
Section 3.2: Break-ups
Oasis have been rumoured to have broken up many times, mainly because of
tension in the band between brothers Liam and Noel. Noel recently stormed out
of recording sessions for the new album in Wales. He also meant to fly back
to England after a bust up during the US tour earlier this year. The band
however currently seem robust enough to last these break-ups and always seem
to reform within a few days!
Section 3.3: Tour Cancellations
Oasis cancelled their September 1995 tour in the UK running from the 13th
September to the 18th officially due to Guigs suffering from exhaustion.
The Bournemouth date on the 18th had been previously called off and then
reinstated after the Bournemouth International Centre decided that it would
be too risky to have an Oasis gig about 500m away from a Blur gig on the same
night after all the media rivalry between the two bands. Some Might Say that
there was a connection...
Without Guigs they hired another bassist Scot MacLeod to try and continue
with their American tour. This went as planned for the first few shows but
Scot returned home partway through the tour as he was "homesick". However
Guigs was soon fit and well to continue and rejoined Oasis in December to
allow them to continue with their Earl's Court concerts.
Section 3.4: *That* Top Of The Pops Show
On the 17th August 1995 Oasis appeared on Top Of The Pops playing their new
single "Roll With It". Nothing much out of the ordinary about that, the
casual viewer may think, but to a seasoned Oasis fan there was a slight
twist. Although the song playing was being sung by Liam, it had been record-
ed the day before and Noel was miming to the vocals while Liam pretended to
play lead guitar. The funniest moment was the guitar solo at which point
Liam made it blatantly obvious that he wasn't playing properly and the band
practically fell into fits of laughter. Of course, the idea had been Noel's
as a backlash against all the Blur Vs Oasis publicity the bands were getting
and it seemed to do the trick! Needless to say the BBC were not too happy as
bands are supposed to play live on TOTP.
Section 3.5: Noel's AIDS Comment
During the height of the Blur vs Oasis media battle, Noel gave an interview
with the national newspaper the Observer. Printed in the middle of September,
Noel was quoted as saying he wished Alex James and Damon Albarn of Blur would
"catch AIDS and die". Obviously this was not the kind of thing to impress the
world. I think his letter to Melody Maker the week after the incident sums
up what happened:
"I would like to apologise to all concerned who took offence
at my comments about Damon Albarn and Alex Jaes in an Observer
article printed last Sunday.
"The off-the-cuff remark was made last month at the height of
a "war of words" between both bands, and it must have been the
50th time during that interview that I was pressed to give an
opinion of Blur. As soon as I said it, I realised it was an
insensitive thing to say as AIDS is no joking matter, and
immediately retracted the comment, but was horrified to pick up
The Observer and find the journalist concerned chose to still
run with it.
"Anyone who knows me will confirm that I've always ben sympathetic
with the plight of HIV carriers and AIDS sufferers, as well as
being supportive of the challenge to raise awareness about AIDS
and HIV.
"Although not being a fan of their music, I wish both Damon and
Alex a long and healthy life."
Section 3.6: Plagiarism?
Shakermaker = I'd like to teach the word to sing
Whatever = How Sweet to be an Idiot (Monty Python song)
Step Out = Alright ? ( the Stevie Wonder Song )
Cigarettes and Alcohol = Get it On
4.0: Other *Very* Frequently Asked Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q) Who is P.H.?
A) This question has been bounced around the newsgroup ever since the album
was released. Expect to get flamed if you try this one again!
The cover notes that come with WTSMG contain all the lyrics to the songs
followed by a four paragraph poetic note signed by "P.H. in the summer of
'95"
P.H. is in fact Paulo Hewitt, biographer to Paul Weller and friends to both
him and Oasis.
Q) What is a Wonderwall?
A) No one seems to know exactly what a Wonderwall is although the following
suggestions have been put forward:
a) John Lennon used the word instead of wonderful
ie. "That's Wonderwall, that is."
b) George Harrison's first solo album (while he was still in
The Beatles) was thus titled.
c) Wonderwall was the title of a 1960s film.
Q) Is Wonderwall a cover of an old song by 'Mike Flowers'?
A) A couple of weeks after Oasis released 'Wonderwall', Chris Evans played
a song on his Radio 1 Breakfast Show which he announced with the words
"Does anyone recognise this song?". The song was a cover of the Oasis song
transformed into a 50s pastiche. Many people jumped to the wrong conclusions
however, and thought that it was Oasis that had covered the song. Noel may
sometimes borrow tunes and phrases from other songs but not the whole song
claiming it as his own!
Q) How did Oasis get their name?
A) Again, no-one seems to definitely know where the name Oasis came from. The
Radio 1 documentary "What's The Story" containing interviews with the band
shed a little more light on the subject. Noel said that when asked he always
made something up to make it sound really good. The stories he came up with
included using the name of a sports shop in Manchester called "The Oasis",
but he said that really the name came from a place he visited while he was
roadying for the Inspiral Carpets called the "Swindon Oasis". It's a swimming
pool in the centre of Swindon, Wiltshire in Southern England. (This info only
comes from the documentary and quite possibly is another of Noel's stories!)
Before Noel joined, the other members (Liam, Bonehead, Guigs and Tony) were
in a band called "The Rain".
Q) What is the best Oasis song?
A poll was conducted on alt.music.oasis a couple of months ago where many
people sent in a list of their favourite 10 Oasis songs. I have taken all
these articles and compiled a list of the top 10 Oasis songs, according to
their fans. 1 mark was given to the song in tenth place while the top song
was given 10 marks. The final outcome is shown below:
1) Wonderwall 103
2) Whatever 94
3) Slide Away 92
4) Don't Look Back In Anger 88
5) Live Forever 87
6) Champagne Supernova 83
7) Supersonic 43
8) Acquiesce 39
9) Talk Tonight 38
10) Columbia 37
Please send me your top 10 and I will add them to the survey.
Q) Who sings which song?
A) Many people who are new to Oasis ask this question! Noel and Liam sound
quite different - Liam can hold more of a tune and belt out really rocking
songs, while Noel is more suited to acoustic tracks with a more limited
vocal range. The following list is "The Definitive Guide To The Voices Of
Every Official UK Release Oasis Song" compiled by David Nattriss
(dave@natts.demon.co.uk) and is included here with his kind permission.
The list is in order of the release of each of the records.
Song From Singer Backing
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supersonic Supersonic Liam -
Take Me Away Supersonic Noel -
I Will Believe (Live) Supersonic Liam -
Columbia (White Label Demo) Supersonic Liam Noel
Shakermaker Shakermaker Liam Noel
D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman Shakermaker Noel -
Alive (8 Track Demo) Shakermaker Liam -
Bring It On Down (Live) Shakermaker Liam -
Rock 'n' Roll Star Definitely Maybe Liam Noel
Shakermaker Definitely Maybe Liam Noel
Live Forever Definitely Maybe Liam Moel
Up In The Sky Definitely Maybe Liam -
Columbia Definitely Maybe Liam Noel
Supersonic Definitely Maybe Liam -
Bring It On Down Definitely Maybe Liam -
Cigarettes & Alcohol Definitely Maybe Liam -
Digsy's Dinner Definitely Maybe Liam -
Slide Away Definitely Maybe Liam Noel
Married With Children Definitely Maybe Liam -
Sad Song Definitely Maybe (LP) Noel -
Live Forever Live Forever Liam Noel
Up In The Sky (acoustic) Live Forever Noel -
Cloudburst Live Forever Liam -
Supersonic (Live April '94) Live Forever Liam -
Cigarettes & Alcohol Cigarettes & Alcohol Liam -
I Am The Walrus Cigarettes & Alcohol Liam -
(Live at the Glasgow Cathouse)
Listen Up Cigarettes & Alcohol Liam -
Fade Away Cigarettes & Alcohol Liam -
Whatever Whatever Liam -
(It's Good) To Be Free Whatever Liam -
Half The World Away Whatever Noel -
Slide Away Whatever Liam Noel
Some Might Say Some Might Say Liam Noel
Talk Tonight Some Might Say Noel -
Acquiesce Some Might Say Liam Noel
Headshrinker Some Might Say Liam -
Roll With It Roll With It Liam Noel
It's Better People Roll With It Noel -
Rockin' Chair Roll With It Liam -
Live Forever
(Live at Glastonbury '95) Roll With It Liam Noel
Hello (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Noel
Roll With It (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Noel
Wonderwall (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Noel
Don't Look Back In Anger (WTS) Morning Glory Noel -
Hey Now (WTS) Morning Glory Liam -
(The Swamp Song) (WTS) Morning Glory - -
Some Might Say (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Noel
Cast No Shadow (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Noel
She's Electric (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Noel
Morning Glory (WTS) Morning Glory Liam -
(The Swamp Song) (WTS) Morning Glory - -
Champagne Supernova (WTS) Morning Glory Liam Paul Weller
Bonehead's Bank Holiday (WTS) Morning Glory (LP)Bonehead All
Wonderwall Wonderwall Liam Noel
Round Are Way Wonderwall Liam -
The Swamp Song Wonderwall - -
The Masterplan Wonderwall Noel -
Q) Who is 'Sally' from 'Don't Look Back In Anger'?
A) Sally does not exist. There is no Sally. It just fitted the lyrics... OK?
Noel explains in an interview with `Loaded` (October 1995):
"Oh, and by the way, the chorus, "So Sally can wait", please
all the people named Sally, forget it, man. I don't know anybody
called Sally. I've never met a girl called Sally in my entire
life. I've never been down the alley, it's not about the Sally
Army. The words just fit, OK?"
Q) What's Quoasis?
A) During the Blur vs Oasis war last August, Damon was a guest on a Radio 1
morning show. The show played the new Oasis single "Roll With It" and Damon
decided that he thought it sounded like Status Quo and proceeded to sing
Status Quo over the top. His comment on the show was that Oasis should
be called 'Oasis Quo' but Noel, being a bit upset by Damon's comments and
having a sense of humour, parodied Albarn by having shirts made emblazoned
with the logo 'Quoasis'.
Q) What are the differences between the UK versions and Japanese/US imports?
A) I don't know all the differences and would be gratful for any feedback.
the only thing I know for sure is that the Japanese version of DM also
contains 'Whatever', 'Sad Song' and '(It's Good) To Be Free'.
Q) What do all these abbreviations mean?
A) The alt.music.oasis newsgroup uses many abbreviations (to save wear and tear
on your keyboard). The major Oasis related ones are listed below:
DM - Definitely Maybe
C&A - Cigarettes & Alcohol
WTSMG - (What's The Story) Morning Glory
DLBIA - Don't Look Back In Anger
SMS - Some Might Say
RWI - Roll With It
BBH - Bonehead's Bank Holiday
5.0: Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 5.1: O.K. Where do I get more info?
There are many sources for Oasis information, on the 'net and also in 'real'
space.
The net resources include the Oasis newsgroup, web sites and mailing lists.
To join the Oasis newsgroup just point your News application at the group
alt.music.oasis. If it doesn't exist ask your system administrator. Here you
can interact with other Oasis fans, asking questions and hopefully answering
them for other people. I seriously suggest "lurking" for a week or two before
posting as there are many people who are just out to make people's lives
difficult (not mentioning any initials STB). Also it would be great if the
noise on the group could be kept to a minimum (we have a little trouble with
jealous Blur fans and the arguments simply escalate into long, sprawling,
boring threads.)
To view the web sites, point your Web Browser at the following URL locations
(Netscape 1.1 is recommended for many of the web sites):
1) http://www.cts.com/browse/ginger/
2) http://jumper.mcc.ac.uk/~jedi/
3) http://www.music.sony.com/Music/ArtistInfo/Oasis/
4) http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_sa/personal/djl1/Oasis/
The first is the official Oasis web site where up to the date information on
tours, releases and band news can be found. There is also a photo and sound
library.
The second is run by Michael Pye and called "Oasis:
What's The Story". An excellent place to find pictures, guitar tabs, lyrics
and this FAQ! I highly recommend it.
The final net resource is an unofficial mailing list. To subscribe, mail
oasis@xnet.demon.co.uk with a message saying that you want to be placed on
the list.
Real world Oasis information can be found by subscribing to the official
mailing list. Applications can be found in any Oasis singles or albums.
Unfortunately, many people have sent these off with no reply - you generally
receive postcards and tour information around new release times. If this
happens, persevere and send off another application.
For a fanzine called "Definitely Oasis" advertised in the alt.music.oasis
newsgroup contact with a 2ukpst subscription fee:
Stephanie Sammut
5, Penrith Close
Partington
Manchester
M31 4PG
United Kingdom.
Definitely Oasis is currently in its ?? fourth issue.
**Version Note**
New FAQ for a new year. I have great trouble in compiling all this information
during my hectic and busy timetable. However here it is... As always any
contributions are welcome (although I reserve the right to alter any pieces
that are too long or not to the point!) and anyone contributing will be
credited. Some of the FAQ may seem a bit ragged. This is because I have been
compiling this in spare minutes between other things... It is however just
about in a fit state to release. So here you go.
**Thanks**
I would like to thank everyone on the alt.music.oasis newsgroup from where
I have compiled most of this information. I would also like to thank any
other media sources I have used and plead with them not to sue me - this is
not for profit, simply for information.
If a question mark precedes an item it is information I am unsure of. Any
corrections or confirmations of these would be appreciated. When I have more
time I am thinking of adding tour dates, history of the band and a few quotes!
Please send me any information you think would be useful to incorporate into
the FAQ... I'll try to reply promptly to any mail I recieve.
Any comments, suggestions, improvements, corrections, additions or more
questions etc. should be mailed to me: markt@helium.demon.co.uk
Thanks,
Mark.
