Oasis

Oasis start as somebody else’s band. In Manchester in 1991, Paul McGuigan, Paul Arthurs and Tony McCarroll are playing as The Rain, with Chris Hutton on vocals. Arthurs brings in Liam Gallagher to sing instead, and Liam suggests a new name: Oasis. The first gig is at the Boardwalk in Manchester on 14 August 1991.

A few months later Liam’s older brother Noel joins, and the centre of gravity moves. Noel becomes the songwriter and, in practice, the leader. From here on the songs are his and the voice is Liam’s.

Definitely Maybe lands on 29 August 1994 and enters the UK chart at No. 1, the fastest-selling debut album in Britain at the time. The line-up does not sit still for long. McCarroll leaves in April 1995, the same month Some Might Say becomes their first UK No. 1 single, and Alan White takes over the drums in time for the second album.

It ends in August 2009, when Noel quits after a cancelled show in Paris. Fifteen years later, on 27 August 2024, the reunion is announced. The Live ‘25 tour opens on 4 July 2025 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.