'Some Might Say: The Story of Oasis' Is Out Now

The rise of Oasis in the 1990s was stratospheric, yet they remained the people’s band. This is the story about how lives were changed forever, told by those who lived through it.

All around the world, millions felt a connection to these working-class lads from Manchester. With anthemic songs crafted and sung by the greatest songwriter and singer of their generation, from their first interview they proclaimed themselves the best band in the world, and for a shining moment in the mid-1990s they were.

‘Live Forever’. Definitely Maybe. (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. ‘Wonderwall’. Knebworth. A level of success not seen by a British band for 30 years, ushering in a new cultural zeitgeist: Britpop, Cool Britannia, New Labour, and at the centre of it all, the soap opera antics of the warring Gallagher brothers and their bandmates.

Departed members were replaced by fresh faces as the 2000s ushered in their next career phase with Oasis inspiring younger generations. Yet the music and drama continued up to one night in Paris when everything fell apart… until the world stood still in August 2024.

Expanded and revised to include over 25 exclusive new interviews from The Oasis Podcast, including contributions from those involved (Alan McGee, Tony McCarroll, Andy Bell, Steve White, Owen Morris), writers with first-hand coverage (Paolo Hewitt, John Robb), celebrity fans (Ricky Hatton) and many more, this book spans their entire career from 1991 to the present day, making it the ultimate story of Oasis.
'There can never be too many words on Oasis. The Gallagher smash-and-grab raid on British pop culture has divided opinion for decades and simplifies their story into basic cliches. Books that dig deeper and speak to everyone like this open the story up and place you at the heart of the action as their rocket ship took off.' - John Robb

It can be purchased from here and here.

Bohemian FC Unveil 2025 FAI Cup Jersey in Partnership With Oasis

Now on Sale: Our 2025 FAI Cup Shirt, a very special partnership with Oasis, designed by Bohemian FC and produced by O’Neill’s Sportswear Ireland.

 All profits from the shirt will be split between Bohemian FC and two charities. Fifty percent (50%) of the profits from the shirt will be used by Bohemians to support fan-owned football in Dublin. 

The other fifty percent (50%) will be split 25% to Music Generation Ireland, to allow disadvantaged kids across Ireland access music and 25% to Irish Community Care Manchester (ICCM), for their amazing work with the Irish community in Manchester.

Check out the shirt here.

Hamish MacBain & Ted Kessler On 'A Sound So Very Loud: The Inside Story Of Every Song Oasis Recorded'

 

Oasis books are like buses, you wait for one for ages then about 19 come along at once. Such is the euphoria felt across the UK and beyond that every couple of weeks it seems there's a new Oasis book coming out at the moment. This book; 'A Sound So Very Loud, The Inside Story of Every Song Oasis Recorded' caught my attention early on when it went on pre-sale.

Ahead of the books release on Thursday we spoke to Hamish MacBain and Ted Kessler about the book, Oasis and more, read our review of the book here.

Producing a book is a long and intensive process and I surmise you and Hamish must be excited all of your hard work has finally seen the book in print.

Hamish: I would say that while it’s true that in most cases producing a book is a long and intensive process, in the case of ‘A Sound So Very Loud’ it was more the latter x 10. Nobody believes us when we say we were planning this book before the reunion, but we were: after bumping into each other in the pub before Liam’s o2 Arena Definitely Maybe shows and getting so excited about having heard a bunch of drunk, beautiful kids singing ‘Cloudburst’ on the tube on the way there. Then obviously when the news broke, we knew we were going to have to get a move on, cue a three-month period locked away when everyone was partying at the end of 2024. I actually wrote the ‘Sunday Morning Call’ entry on Christmas morning!

Ted: I’ve written two other books and devised/edited another one, and I’d say this has been by far the least stressful of the lot. It’s been such an enjoyable way to spend a bleak mid-winter – which is when we wrote it – largely because the story is so rich, rewarding and funny, and sharing the work with Hamish has made it all seem lighter. It’s good to be able to WhatsApp or phone or meet for a pint with the person you’re writing a book with, rather than just gnashing your teeth alone. And now the book is out in the full blast of summer, just six months later, it’s beautiful to see it in full bloom, just as the long-lost band you’ve writing about is ready to lift off again…but I imagine it’s bit like when your kids leave home. It's bittersweet. I’m actually going to miss the working routine with Hamish hugely.

What can readers expect to find in it? So much has been written about Oasis, why is this book different from all the other books out this year?

Hamish: The obvious reference point is ‘Revolution in The Head’, the book which goes through every song the Beatles recorded. Now, the mainstream press narrative may be that everyone stopped caring after Be Here Now but to me that’s absolute bollocks: I meet people all the time of all ages who only want to talk about the genius of ‘Let’s All Make Believe’ or ‘Pass Me Down The Wine’ or whatever it may be. Ted and I love all the eras of Oasis and feel that a lot of other people do too. This is a book for them, mainly.

Ted: The music often gets left behind in the telling of the Oasis story. Instead, it’s their one-liners, their chaos, all the rest. We love all that, too, of course, but it’s the music that they’ve made throughout their career that is selling out stadiums over the next year or so, not the off-stage shenanigans, and so we wanted to use those songs as a device for telling their story – from the start of their recording career to the end. It’s interesting that we can quickly tell from reading the book’s reviews who actually has an interest in Oasis records, as those people seem to love the book. Reviewers who’ve negative preconceived ideas about the band, who perhaps think Oasis peaked with Morning Glory, who think they were loutish or whatever, those reviewers are convinced that we’re pretending to like Oasis across their career. That’s projection. We genuinely love Oasis, from start to finish. I hope that comes over. I’m not sure every other book is written by people on board for the whole story.   

What is the most interesting discovery you made while researching and writing the book?  

Hamish: I mean it didn’t make the book in the end, but when I was researching the ‘Be Here Now’ tour I remembered going to the date at Sheffield Arena in September 1997 and happened to be texting the friend I went with that night. He reminded me that the boxer Prince Naseem came onstage as a special guest during ‘Acquiesce’. Because he’s not a musician he just stood there, and Liam was shadowboxing him during Noel’s bits. Not a good idea, Liam! 

Ted: I feel uneasy answering this question for a website with such committed O heads reading, as I’m sure many things that were news to me will have readers rolling their eyes at my ignorance. But the thing that made me happiest wasn’t actually an Oasis fact. It was when Noel told Hamish during an NME interview for Definitely Maybe’s tenth anniversary that he wished he’d been 15 when it came out as that’s the perfect age for that album. Hamish then had the great pleasure of informing Noel that he’d been 15 when Definitely Maybe came out, switching him on to a lifetime of Oasis devotion. It’s a rare treat making Noel Gallagher jealous of you.

Every song the band recorded is covered in the book. What was the hardest song to find information about?

Hamish: There’s certain B-sides from the very early noughties that I think are so overlooked because I guess they weren’t ever in contention to be played live and interviewers weren’t asking about them. Things like ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Idler’s Dream’, both of which I love. But then they became some of the most fun to write about in some ways…

Ted: There were a few late-period B-sides that are not hugely documented, but, as Hamish says, these became enjoyable to write about as you just had to use your noddle and think laterally. 

You have a long professional association Oasis, and some of them individually. Were any of them involved? And have you had any feedback from any of them?

Hamish: No, and we didn’t even want to ask because we assumed they’re too busy preparing for World Domination Part 2! We’ve both interviewed them dozens of times and found just so much stuff that didn’t make the cut in the final articles. For example, I’d completely forgotten about this interview I did with Liam about his favourite albums ever, and he starts talking about lyric writing and how he does it and stuff like that. 

Ted: I think an official Oasis book would be a very different book. There’s a brilliant book to be written with their input, but I did love the freedom of not having their approval (or otherwise) for everything this time. I sent some pages early after we’d finished to Debbie Gwyther, just to let her know we were doing it, and she said she was into it and thought fans would be too. That’s good enough for me! We got the Liam quote comparing us to Dudley Moore and Peter Cook soon afterwards.

I’ve read the book and it is so well researched, what resources did you use to write it? 

Hamish: Oh god, so many… I am blessed-slash-cursed with a Rainman-like ability to remember Oasis interviews from my youth, so I spent a lot of time tracking down old copies of long gone magazines like Select and Melody Maker when my brain somehow remembered something Noel had said about ‘Hey Now’ or something like that.

Just hours and hours and hours watching old YouTube clips and a few great afternoons spent in the British Library going back through all the ridiculous tabloid stories like “WILDMAN LIAM JUMPS OVER POWER CABLES ON TOP OF MOVING TOURBUS”

And gotta say this wouldn’t have been the book it is without people like your good self and James at the Oasis Podcast and the Live Forever forum massive…

Ted: My sources were the same as Hamish mostly. I have every NME and Melody Maker on file which is helpful. I have a bunch of old Q, Mojo and so forth about them, too, plus my own interviews with them over the decades, from 1994 to 2023, which was the last time I interviewed Liam. Twenty-nine years of interviewing Gallaghers! And in that time, Liam and his brother are still the undefeated champion interviewees in any field, none better. The fan sites – particularly yours, Oasis Podcast, the Live Forever forum – were really vital, as was Reddit (though not to be taken literally always), Behind The Curtain podcast, James Hargreaves, etc etc. Read all the books: Supersonic is by the best resource for those early years, along with Paulo Hewitt’s book. I don’t want to forget anyone but trust me – we read you too.

What was the first Oasis song you remember hearing and why did it draw you to the band?

Hamish: I had the ‘Mutha Of Creation’ cassette that came free with NME in February 1994 which had a demo of Cigarettes & Alcohol’ on it which I played a lot. But it was the live performance of ‘Supersonic’ on The Word - where Liam is wearing a bomber jacket and waving a Super8 camera around - that I was truly sucked in. I turned 15 years old five days after it happened and it just blew my mind in a way that bands like, say, Nirvana had not. I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate why: I just knew this was my trip.   

Soon after that, I taped their set off Radio 1 at a thing called Sound City and played that recording over and over until the cassette wore out. I still have the case somewhere: Liam didn’t introduce the first two songs, so the track list I’ve written on it reads:

Somebody Else 

Lasagne

Live Forever

Cigarettes & Alcohol

Supersonic

Ted: I was working in the NME office in November 1993 when Johnny Hopkins, the junior PR at Creation, came in with a big mailer full of white labels of this band he was going to work on. It was a song called Columbia by this band named Oasis. At the time, PRs would come in on Tuesdays to pick up the new NME issue hot off the press and deliver their newest, best music to you at the same time. My memory might be conflating two Johnny Hopkins visits into one, but I’m sure he also gave me a compilation by Felt that day too, which I was initially more excited about. We played Columbia in the office and thought it pretty good on first listen, but it was a very busy, chatty office. A couple of weeks later, I went to interview the Charlatans at their studio and Tim Burgess put the white label on proper speakers: the penny dropped in a very, very big way that night. We played it on repeat.

In March of the next year, we got the Supersonic single in on pre-release cassettes and, Jesus, I never really recovered from that. Still haven’t.

Do you think the band will ever record new music or do you think this is "A lap of honour" as Noel Gallagher has stated?

Hamish: I think only two people in the world know the answer to that question. And even they probably don’t. Once they feel the outpouring of love from the crowds… that can change anybody’s mind. Add to that, every time I’ve seen Noel solo over the years, he’s always played pretty much the whole of whichever album was the most recent. ‘Council Skies’ was amazing. He’s clearly not even close to being done as a songwriter, and who knows? Maybe he’ll write one soon where he thinks, “You know who’d be great singing this…?”

Ted: I think it’ll become obvious one way or the other after they’ve played a good portion of gigs together again. Liam Gallagher does sound good singing Noel Gallagher songs, though.

Are you going to any of Oasis' gigs this summer?

Hamish: I will be at the first night in Cardiff - I’ve waited long enough! - and a Wembley night and then as many as I can get to after that. I would love to see them at River Plate in Buenos Aires, because whenever you watch anyone play there on YouTube (go have a look at AC/DC) it just looks absolutely crazy. 

Ted: I’m going to the two Hamish are going to and then praying to the gods of rock for more down the line. Would love to travel far afield to see them – I’ve noticed Hamish has said Buenos Aires. That sounds good!

Do you have any other projects coming up?

Hamish: Not sure, I’m still in a bit of a daze that I’ve got to write a book about Oasis and that people are responding to it well… It’s been a pretty intensive few months, so in a way I don’t think I’ve had time to process the fact that I’m actually going to see Oasis live again: basically just planning to immerse myself in that moment and think about the future later.

Ted: I co-run a music newsletter, The New Cue, that publishes twice a week, which I’ve tried to do maintain my workload for during most of the time while writing this book, even if my colleague Niall might dispute that (he did carry a load of it for weeks in the deepest, darkest winter months). So, I’m going to try to do that with a bit more focus, while also publishing two books through a small imprint we’re launching in the autumn. And in the meantime, I’ll think of the next book to write.

Hamish and I also had some Oasis pub quizzes we wanted to host, partly as promo for the book but also because we think it’ll be a hoot. We’ve got them set-up with Sounds Familiar who run really fun, loud quiz nights: it’ll be an excuse to go to a pub and sing Oasis at top volume for two hours, which sounds good. Maybe we’ll get them up and running in a pub near you in the autumn/winter when you’re missing singing along to Oasis with your pals. It’d be nice to maintain the Dudley Moore and Peter Cook routine for a bit longer.

Finally, if you had to pick three Oasis tracks for the band's setlist this summer what would they be and why?

Hamish: As I’m sure you and everyone who reads this has, I’ve been talking about this for months. As I see it they’ve got about an hour and half’s worth of stuff that they just HAVE to play, but I really, really hope that they chuck in a couple of curveballs in as well. I felt such joy watching Noel at Alexandra Palace last summer, him introducing ‘Going Nowhere’ with something like “I appreciate most of you won’t have heard this before” and then having it sung back to him by everyone young and old in the audience. So that. 

I think the version of ‘Headshrinker’ on Liam’s ‘Down By The River Thames’ album is outrageously good. You can hear what Bonehead adds to the sound on that so I’m made up that he’s involved and tunes like this are where you’ll notice him most. 

And speaking of Bonehead, every time I go on TikTok I seem to be besieged by teenagers doing their own versions of ‘Bonehead’s Bank Holiday’. That is probably beyond the realms of possibility, but I live in hope of seeing a stadium singing “Dontcha knooow” back at him!

Ted: I’m a lot more route-one than Hamish. So:

Supersonic – I don’t think I could watch Oasis without hearing them play it.

Live Forever – in case Liam dedicates it to his missing teeth in Cardiff again.

I’d like a really 1964, R&B mod version of High Horse Lady, too. I can hear that song played like that in my head only.

The book is out on July 3rd 2025 and is available from here and here.

On This Day In Oasis History...

On July 1st 1994 'Something For The Weekend' broadcast Oasis performing the following songs 'Rock 'n' Roll Star', 'Supersonic' and 'Shakermaker'.

Watch the appearance below.



On July 1st 2002 Oasis released 'Heathen Chemistry' it was the bands fifth studio album.

The length of the final track 'Better Man' is 38:03, this is because of a hidden track called 'The Cage' which begins after 30 minutes of silence.

Video: Oasis Soundcheck In Cardiff

 

Oasis have done a soundcheck in Cardiff ahead of the bands first gig in Cardiff on Friday, a number of fans recorded Cigarettes and Alcohol yesterday afternoon.

Liam Gallagher said on X when questioned on the videos: "Mmm I’m not sure about the vocals there too aggressive he really needs to take a chill pill man he’s just so angry all the time I don’t know who he thinks he is as far as I’m concerned he’s just a bigmouth from up north".

A fan then asked Liam to "confirm or deny" if it was him rehearsing.

He replied: "I've been in my pool all day doing under water farts so it’s defo a recording from rehearsals unless there’s 2 of me which I’m absolutely 1 million per cent here for well there for as well".

New BBC Podcast: Mad For Oasis

Anaïs Gallagher explores the legacy of Oasis, sharing stories of the music through the eyes of the fans and sound-tracked by songs from the iconic band.

Listen to the podcast here.

BBC Confirm Special Live Show As Oasis Live 25 kicks Off In Cardiff

The BBC has revealed plans for a special livestream event when Oasis open their world tour on Friday in Cardiff.

The broadcast location will be set against the backdrop of the Principality Stadium.

Entitled Oasis: Countdown to the Comeback, the show is scheduled to kick off at 1pm on Friday, July 4.

While the show won't feature live footage of the concert inside the Principality Stadium, it promises viewers a blend of exclusive interviews with special guests and reports from journalists mingling with fans throughout the city.

Numerous Oasis Magazines Are Available To Order Worldwide

 
A number of the Oasis magazines that have been released and sold out are now available to order from here.

There are also a number of older magazines in stock.

Oasis Confirm Stage Times For Cardiff

 

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On This Day In Oasis History...

On June 30th 1995 Oasis played at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

Watch an audience recording of the set below.

 

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MOJO’s New Oasis Special Is Out Now!

Newly updated ahead of this summer’s reunion shows, MOJO The Collectors’ Series: Oasis Essentials 2025 Special Edition presents the definitive guide to Oasis’s albums, songs, films and books.

Oasis are back! And, as their Live ’25 Tour kicks off, MOJO is delighted to present an updated edition of our Oasis Essentials bookazine, to guide you through the music of the biggest and best British band of their generation. This 132-page deluxe special tells you everything you need to know about their albums, songs and rarities, and goes behind the scenes to revisit the fights, tantrums and traumas that fed into the group’s extraordinary body of recorded work.

The starting point of our journey is the group’s first three studio albums, Definitely Maybe, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? and Be Here Now, records that all but defined the hedonistic mid-’90s and infamous ‘Cool Britannia’ era. Yet while those mega-selling LPs were making history, so too were many of their B-sides – Acquiesce, Half The World Away, (It’s Good) To Be Free, Rockin’ Chair… Most of these gems were collected onto The Masterplan compilation in 1998, while others were controversially left off. But fear not, we’ll walk you through all sixty-odd B-sides and extra tracks released during the group’s career.

Then there are Oasis’s live records, deluxe reissues and compilations, which we put under the microscope together with their film and book appearances. And finally, we bring things up to date with the recordings Noel and Liam have made with Beady Eye, The High Flying Birds and solo – all featuring plenty of supersonic sounds to discover…

Illustrated with rare and iconic photographs, plus album and single artwork, Oasis Essentials is a must-have purchase for all music connoisseurs and fans of the band.

Available in stores or online here.

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On This Day In Oasis History...

On June 29th 2002 Oasis played at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Listen to an absolutely brilliant recording of the highlights from the gig below.

On This Day In Oasis History...

On June 28th 1994 an interview with Liam and Noel Gallagher was broadcast on The Beat.

Watch the interview below.

Oasis 'Big Issue' Collector's Edition Is Out Monday

Liam or Noel? Two covers. One unforgettable, Big Issue collector's edition. 

Visit www.bigissue.com for more information on the charities work.

Sign up to be the first to get your hands on a copy here. 

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CAST Confirmed For Oasis Support Slots In The USA

Cast have announced that we will be joining Oasis alongside Cage The Elephant, for their upcoming sold out shows in East Rutherford, NJ and Los Angeles, CA.

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Noel Gallagher On Oasis, Manchester City, Club World Cup And More

 
Jamie O'Hara and Jason Cundy are joined by Noel Gallagher to Oasis' imminent reunion shows, plus he discusses Manchester City's Club World Cup so far and what he expects from the Premier League next season!

Oasis Are On The Cover Of French Magazine 'Les Inrockuptibles'

 
Oasis are on the cover of the French magazine 'Les Inrockuptibles' it has sixty five pages on the band with iconic photography on the cover by Kevin Cummins.

The magazine is on sale now, details can be found below.

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On This Day In Oasis History...

On June 26th 1994 Oasis played at the Glastonbury Festival for the first time.

A year later they would return as headliners, watch the bands superb set in full below.

On June 26th 2002 Oasis played at the Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden.

Listen to an absolutely amazing performance of 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' below.

Get Your Tickets For All The Oasis Fan Stores Now!

You can now order tickets for the Oasis fan stores in Cardiff, London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Dublin.

Ticket details can be found here.

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A New Oasis BE@RBRICK Is Incoming

 
A new Oasis BE@RBRICK is available for pre-order, you can check them out here.

They ship in October.

Thanks to yu0465.

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