So. Oasis are back. No-one thought it would happen, not in this lifetime. If Guns n’ Roses can bury the hatchet (Not in each other’s heads…) then maybe there was hope for Oasis yet. Oasis was a huge part of the 1990’s Manchester music scene carrying on a long tradition of great music coming out of there in the late 70s and 80s keeping it going well into 2009 when they split up. The band consisted of Noel and Liam Gallagher, brothers who were just as famous for their feuds as they were for their groundbreaking songs. It could be argued that where The Sex Pistols caused certain bands to form and people to pick up their instruments for the first time by attending the notorious Lesser Trade Hall in 1976, Oasis have done the same thing by inspiring people to pick up theirs too and their influence is felt well into the 21st Century.
While the world is divided over whether they like the fact Oasis has reunited, I’m happy to see them back. It marks a period in my life that was a fun time. Back in 1995 when the band exploded on the scene I was finding my feet as a songwriter, I hadn’t made the steps into production yet that came much much later, but I was writing lyrics and music and would just wander off and come back with something in a few weeks. It was never anything close to being an indie guitar band like Oasis was but I did also write and play music with various people that I met along the way but that’s a different story. Anyway, the first Oasis song I ever really paid attention to was “Live Forever”, it was all over the radio at the time, and my friend Alex who I’d known since 1989 at that point used to love them. I’d go around to her house where she lived with her dad and sisters and we’d put records on, her dad Peter would make a great cuppa, and we’d have a chat about everything. I remember hearing this coming out of the speakers, the big toms, kick and ride to begin it and of course Liam’s trademark drawl. This has been much imitated over the years, you can recognise it straight away. And as he sings, his brother Noel’s words become the poem of a generation:
“Maybe I don’t really wanna knowHow your garden grows‘Cause I just wanna flyLately, did you ever feel the painIn the morning rainAs it soaks you to the bone?
