Oasis was one of the most
successful rock bands in the UK before their ignoble end. As usual with
successful groups the start was a struggle and band members and band names
changed. Before Noel Gallagher joined the band they were called The Rain and
here I am outside the former pub where they had a residency.
I was in Manchester on a sunny day and having
left the big museum (went to see the Egyptian mummies) I turned right and
strolled up to this building. These days it’s student housing but it used to be
The Grove House Bar. The original Oasis members used to make an eardrum-shredding
naive noise here.
When people conjure up Oasis they think Noel and
Liam Gallagher though neither was in the original line-up. In 1991 The Rain was
formed by Paul McGuigan (bass), Paul Arthurs
(guitar), Tony McCarroll (drummer) and Chris Hutton
(singer). The singer was poor and booted out. The guitarist arranged for his
friend Liam to audition and he got the job. At the time his brother Noel (who
is five years older) worked overseas as a roadie for Inspiral
Carpets who both loved. Back in their shared bedroom in Burnage
was there was an Inspiral Carpets tour poster listing
a gig at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon. Liam suggested they change their
name to "Oasis."
Once a week Noel rang his mum from overseas to
ask how she was doing. Uncharacteristically he asked after his annoying brother
was doing and their mum said "he was out practising with his band."
Noel was flummoxed - his little brother fronting a band! Returning to
Manchester he saw Oasis perform and thought them hopeless "but they had something."
However he’d written a few songs (he’d auditioned to be the singer for Inspiral Carpets but failed) and thought they might find expression
through the band. He approached the band about joining on the strict
understanding he’d be the songwriter and leader. It worked. It was two years
later when their break came when they were spotted by Creation Records co-owner
Alan McGee. He invited them to play a gig at a club in Glasgow and a record
deal ensued. I won’t go into the band’s ascent but later Noel would say he took
them all the way to their huge concerts at Knebworth
House in August 1996.
Anyway here if the building where the small
meagre shoots of the band knitted together. Some chaps sat outside a pub wondered
why I was taking photos of his bland boring white building. I was telling them
there was a bone-cracking bang and a man nearby collapse on the pavement. They
didn’t know this poor fellow but rolled him into the recovery position and
called an ambulance.
Time to go. Oasis split up at a gig in Paris in
2009. The combustible brothers had a fight minutes before they were due on
stage. Noel sat in the back of his limo debating what to do and decided to
leave (heralding costly legal bills.) The shrill unfocussed musical noises the
band made started here though. I did a salute and left.
From
Manchester.....to Knebworth...