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Oasis Fan Facts

To celebrate Oasis Day on Sam FM we bring you loads of things you never knew about the mad for it Mancs to impress your mates in the pub.

The Beginnings

They got their name from a poster hanging in the Gallaghers’ bedroom.



They were sued for ripping off a Coca-Cola jingle

‘Shakermaker’ sounds a lot like ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony),’ a 1971 hit that started out as a jingle for Coca-Cola — so much so that the band had to pay damages.






Their 1994 song ‘Whatever’ apparently sounds like ‘How Sweet to Be an Idiot,’ which appeared on a solo album by Neil Innes, who was in the Fab Four parody group the Rutles. Innes now shares co-writing credit.

George Harrison Wonderwall Music

Their best song was named after the first Beatles solo album

In 1968, George Harrison released ‘Wonderwall Music,’ an instrumental soundtrack to a movie few people have seen. But it was the first solo album by a Beatle and the first album released on Apple Records.

They once did part of a tour without their singer

In 1996, just as they were about to start a U.S. tour, Liam said he didn’t want to go. It was a minor bump for Noel, who took the band on the road anyway, singing most of the songs himself.


Right before he quit the 1996 U.S. tour, Liam also bowed out of Oasis’ ‘MTV Unplugged’ performance. Instead, he sat in the balcony with a beer and heckled Noel between songs.

Oasis Be Here Now


Their third album was released on Aug. 21, 1997. It sold more than 350,000 copies that day. By the end of the week, it had nearly doubled that number, making it England’s fastest-selling album … still.

No auditions

Oasis lost their bass player before their 1999 tour, so they hired guitarist Andy Bell, who was in shoegaze band Ride. He never played bass. “If he can play the guitar, he can play the f—-n’ bass,” said Liam.

The band

Noel and Liam's favourite Beatles track is "Ticket To Ride" They also like the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who and the Sex Pistols. All of Oasis are from Manchester except for Alan White who is from London, England. Noel, Liam and Guigsy are Man City fans, Alan is a Charlton Athletic fan and Bonehead is a Utd fan.

The Beatles influence

Oasis performed on the rooftop for their promo for "Supersonic". The Beatles did the same thing for Let It Be

The intro to "Don't Look Back In Anger" is taken from John Lennon's song, "Imagine"

The ending to the song "She's Electric" is also copied from the Beatles song, "With A Little Help From My Friend"

Oasis have also now added the Beatles song, "Octopus Garden" at the end of "Whatever"

They have made two Beatles covers, "I Am The Walrus" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"

What might have been

Their first drummer was Tony McCarroll. He was sacked after a punch up with Liam and Alan White replaced him the night before they performed "Some Might Say" on Top Of The Pops.


Noel's ex, Meg Matthews is on the Wonderwall CD single cover


Noel wrote "Whatever" in less than 10 minutes.

Noel wrote the songs, Columbia, Live Forever and others in the "Hit Hut" in which he used to work while working on a building site because part of a gas main had landed on his foot disallowing him from working on the site itself.

Noel is dyslexic, and that slows down his songwriting, which means he has to keep rewriting the things 50 times until he can get the words in the right places.

Noel played most of the drums in Definitely Maybe

Brotherly love

It's no secret that Noel and Liam do not get along with each other. This is what Noel has to say,"It's a good thing we don't live in the United States, where guns are accessible, because I'd have blown his head off by now. The problem is, I can't fire him because my mom would kill me."


A record-breaking 250,000 people attended the Oasis concert at Knebworth in England on August 9, 1996, also a record-breaking 20,000 attended the Earls Court concert.

Did you notice?

The house on the cover of the single Live Forever is a house that John Lennon grew up in

The house on the cover of Definitely Maybe is Bonehead's house

Noel is left-handed, but plays the guitar with his right hand

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