The 100 Best Cover Songs Of All Time

If you're experiencing déjà vu, don't worry - you really have heard it all before.

It's the summer of the cover songs, with albums by Mark Ronson, Bryan Ferry and even Poison recording other artists' songs. Then there's "Instant Karma," a benefit album for Darfur, featuring John Lennon classics recorded by wide-ranging artists such as Black Eyed Peas, Big & Rich . . . and Avril Lavigne doing "Imagine" (the horror).

Which got us thinking: What are the best covers of all time?

They're the versions that make you forget there was ever an original, Janis Joplin doing "Me and Bobby McGee" or Soft Cell's take on "Tainted Love." Or, perhaps, it's a track that's so brilliantly redone in a different style, it finds a whole new generation of fans - such as Cake's understated redo of Gloria Gaynor's disco-hit "I Will Survive," or Johnny Cash's heartwrenching take on synth gods Depeche Mode.

In no particular order, here are popular music's 100 greatest covers - plus a few bonus tracks you can download for free today at nypost.com.

01. "Stairway to Heaven," Dolly Parton (Led Zeppelin)
Queen of country rescues song from amateur guitar players everywhere with a soulful rendition that'll have you in tears.

02. "Wonderwall," Ryan Adams (Oasis)
New York troubadour's less-Beatles-y version of the Brit pop smash.

Click here to watch a live performance of the track from Atlanta in 2006

03. "Hazy Shade of Winter," the Bangles (Simon and Garfunkel)
The way Paul Simon originally intended it - with a killer guitar riff and a drugged-out Robert Downey Jr.

04. "Nothing Compares 2 U," Sinead O'Connor (Prince)
Close-cropped video and passionate rendition brought little-known Prince track to light.

05. "Showroom Dummies," Señor Coconut & His Orchestra (Kraftwerk)
Not the first time Germans have hid out in South America, but with better results.

06. "Smooth Criminal," Alien Ant Farm (Michael Jackson)
Turns "Annie are you OK" into a head-banging mantra.

07. "Personal Jesus," Johnny Cash (Depeche Mode)
Electronica transformed into a painful, soul-crushing ballad. In a good way!

08. "Against All Odds," the Postal Service (Phil Collins)
We can't wait for what they're going to do to "Sussudio."

09. "Easy (Like Sunday Morning)," Faith No More (the Commodores)
If this song can't get you some lovin', take a hard, hard look at yourself.

10. "Tainted Love," Soft Cell (Gloria Jones)
Funky grooves.

11. "Tainted Love," Marilyn Manson (Gloria Jones)
Angry growls.

12. "Under Pressure," My Chemical Romance and the Used (Queen and David Bowie)
Emo panters prove that David Bowie and Freddie Mercury were the original definition of "guyliner."

13. "Mah Na Mah Na," Cake (Piero Umiliani)
Going back to the classics, Cake gives "Sesame Street" the business.

14. "Wicked Game," H.I.M. (Chris Isaak)
The love-metal band makes the sexy song even hotter by adding wailing and driving guitar licks. Video isn't as good, though.

15. "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want," Muse (the Smiths)
Short and sweet, Muse delivers all the punch of the original without getting wimpy about it.

16. "Blue Monday," Orgy (New Order)
The only reason you even need to know who this industrial band is.

17. "Satisfaction," Devo (the Rolling Stones)
Start-stopping their way to brilliance.

18. "I Want Candy," Good Charlotte (the Strangeloves)
Hard to get hold of since it was recorded for the prom scene in "Not Another Teen Movie," the pop-punks give the sugary sweet song a dose of bratty punk flavor.

19. "How Soon Is Now," Love Spit Love (the Smiths)
Richard Butler's Psychedelic Furs-swagger makes the hit a little less mopey, more killing.

20. "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Paul Anka (Nirvana)
The ex-teen idol takes the grunge off and polishes it with a swingin' sound to within an inch of its life.

The full 100 songs can be found here

Source: www.nypost.com

Seven Ages Of Rock To Be Shown On VH1 Classic In The U.S.

Seven Ages of Rock," a co-production with the BBC, will make its U.S. debut on VH1 Classic Monday, December 17. MTV veteran Mark Goodman narrates this 7-part series, which showcases the various genres of rock music that impacted and shaped pop culture.

From the birth of rock to metal to alternative rock -- there is a genre for every music fan -- some that have stood the test of time and others that have not. This exclusive series will delve into what made each of these genres of music resonate with fans across the world.

Each of the seven episodes will take a deeper look into the individual ages of rock by evaluating the music itself -- breaking down key tracks, getting behind the songs and composing ideas, as well as looking into the social influences of the time and the social context that influenced the progression of the music. Throughout each episode viewers will hear from some of rock music's biggest icons including Keith Richards, David Bowie, Roger Waters, Lou Reed, Ozzy Osbourne, James Hetfield, Deborah Harry, Gene Simmons, Roger Taylor, Stewart Copeland, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Michael Stipe, Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl, Frank Black, Noel Gallagher and many more.

Here's a breakdown of each night:

Episode 1: The Birth of Rock - Rock music emerges in the late 60's as a fresh branch of rock 'n' roll. Becoming popular through artists like The Who, Cream, and The Rolling Stones, rock groups exemplified this era of protest through a tone of seriousness in their music.

Episode 2: Art/Prog Rock - As rock music made a name for itself, upcoming rock artists began to experiment with their sound. Groups including The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Genesis were all a part of this innovative and varied sound.

Episode 3: Heavy Metal - A new sound that emerged from the UK, heavy metal conveyed an intense and powerful resonance. Artists like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin paved the way by establishing the heavy sound while artists like Metallica and Motley Crue added their own rock 'n' roll twist.

Episode 4: Punk - Continuing with the evolution of the sound of rock, a genre of music emerged in the 1970s that can best be described as anti- establishment. Demonstrated by bands including The Sex Pistols, The Clash and Television, these artists created music that went hand-in-hand with the rebellion of youth at the time, often containing lyrics that incorporated political outrage and a "do-it-yourself" attitude.

Episode 5: Stadium Rock - Rock music became more dominant in mainstream pop culture in the 80s allowing artists such as Queen, The Police, Bruce Springsteen, and U2 to sell out stadium-sized venues.

Episode 6: Alternative/Grunge - Influenced by punk, bands including Nirvana, REM, Sonic Youth, and Pearl Jam shunned the traditions of the music industry and signed with independent record labels. Despite their deviance from traditional mainstream success, many alternative bands were commercially successful.

Episode 7: UK Indie - Growing out of the UK punk scene, bands such as The Smiths, Oasis, and the Stone Roses possessed an independent spirit that embraced their artistic power and financial control. These groups created music that provided a strong and sometimes arrogant counterpoint to the pop sounds dominating the charts.

"Seven Ages of Rock," a VH1 Classic co-production with the BBC is executive produced by Michael Poole for the BBC and Michele M. Dix and Ben Zurier for VH1. William Naylor serves as the series producer for the BBC.

To learn more about these series and other VH1 Classic series and specials please visit www.vh1classic.com

Source: www.prnewswire.com

Noel Gallagher Checks Out Kasabian At Somerset House

Fittingly, the most proletarian of bands is tonight introduced by that most proletarian of actors, Danny Dyer. "Ladies and gentleman..." says the inebriated cockney... "Kassshabian!" The Oasis de nos jours take the stage an hour late, with Noel Gallagher and Noel Fielding among the other celebrities present.

"Let me hear you Somerset House!" roars Kasabian's singer Tom Meighan. It's been a long road from the pub venues of Leicester to The Duke Of Somerset's 16th century palace, and tonight Meighan gets to be the town crier.

Much has been made of Kasabian's arrogance offstage, but onstage their frontman works hard to dismantle the kind of wall between act and crowd that Bob Dylan, say, has long since bricked himself behind. "I see you darlin'!" flirts Meighan when a girl responds to an enquiry as to whether anybody from Leicester is in the house. Meighan can do messianic as annoyingly as Richard Ashcroft, but he is also refreshingly aware of the public's role in his success.

Further in, he dedicates "The Doberman" to "father, friend and player" Noel Gallagher, while "Processed Beats", sounding exactly like it says on the tin, takes us all the way back to the band's first single. When the crowd takes over the "Stop! We're all wasting away" chorus of "Empire", it is a reminder that Kasabian's karaoke jukebox can have a peculiarly dark quality; for all their everyman aspirations they have yet to write a song that pervades the psyche across generations, probably because military-speak and machismo-infused bluster do not a "Wonderwall" make.

For the full review of the gig click here

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Scouse Indie Chaps Will Release Their Greatest Hits In September

Shack who are signed to Noel Gallagher's Sourmash label will release a 'Best Of' compilation later this year.

The collection, called 'Time Machine', will include songs from the five studio albums the band have released so far, plus two new tracks 'Holiday Abroad' and 'Wanda'.

'Time Machine' is out on September 10.

The tracklisting is:

'I Know You Well'
'Comedy'
'Cup Of Tea'
'Al's Vacation'
'Pull Together'
'Meant To Be'
'Butterfly'
'Sgt Major'
'On The Terrace'
'Undecided'
'Cornish Town'
'Miles Apart'
'Streets Of Kenny'
'Shelley Brown'
'Neighbours'

The band will tour the UK in support of the album, although specific dates have not been announced yet - check back at NME.COM for the full details of the tour when we get the dates.

Source: www.nme.com

10 Bandmates Who Bit The Dust

When bands split, members' fates can differ wildly. Here are the bandmates who bit the dust while their pals retained the fame.

While Morrissey (pictured above) tours to critical acclaim and Marr joins US indie band Modest Mouse, fellow former Smiths members - bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce - are signing DVDs about the Smiths in Manchester.

Here are five other bandmates who bit the dust while their pals shot to fame.

01. Bananarama
Girl band Bananarama was formed by three friends in the early eighties: Siobhan Fahey, Sara Dallin, and Keren Woodward.

But Fahey, who had married Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, gave the group the slip and came up on top fronting Shakespeare Sister along with Marcella Detroit.

The band continued with a replacement for Fahey, but eventually slipped from the pop radar - making the odd record for release in Europe and beyond.

In February 2007, however, it was reported that Bananarama were back in the studio recording new material. Now that Fahey has dropped out of the limelight, perhaps Bananarama will - as did Take That - get a taste of fame once again.

02. Oasis
The band may not have split, but some of the original band members who left the group early on may now be regretting their hasty departures.

Guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and drummer Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan left Oasis within days of eachother in 1999.

Although both said it was to spend time with their families, some rumours - and outright claims made by Noel Gallagher - suggest Bonehead's departure was more to do with the usual rock and roll excesses and lots of arguing.

Guigsy now lives outside of London with his family, and occasionally DJs. Bonehead, meanwhile, lives in Manchester, where he has formed a group with ex-Smiths band members Rourke and Joyce called Moondog One. He also DJs.

03. Wham!
While George Michael shot to fame and notoriety in his post-Wham! years, fellow bandmate Andrew Ridgeley disappeared from popular view.

They parted ways in 1986 after five hit-busting years together. After dabbling in this and that, Ridgely retired to Cornwall, where he lives with ex-Bananarama bandmate Keren Woodward.

Here he became an environmental activist as part of Surfers Against Sewage and went on to partner in a surfing goods firm.

Lucky George Michael, meanwhile, is still very much in the public eye - his every drug-driving transgression a front page grabbing feast for the tabloids.

04. Bros
Luke Goss, Matt Goss, big shoes ... but who was the drummer?

The boy band Bros had young girls swooning at every turn, but while brothers Matt and Luke, who danced about at the front, caught everyone's eye, poor old Craig Logan got stuck at the back devoid of attention.

Even when Logan left the band in the late 80s, the brothers kept on touring.

But Logan drew on his behind-the-scenes talents and has gone on to work for EMI records and to manage mouthy pop-starlet P!nk. Last year he took charge of Sony BMG's RCA Records label group.

The brothers, meanwhile, have continued to dabble in the performing arts and sporadically pop up into the public eye.

05. Recovered from obscurity
And, finally, we couldn't forget the band members who have been rescued from relative obscurity through the current trend for rock reformations.

With the likes of The Who, The Police, Take That and now the Spice Girls reforming (or cashing in, whichever you prefer), the lesser fortunes of some band mates are being propped up by the grand success of others.

Without Daltry and Townsend in the Who, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen in Take That and Sting in the Police, these resurrections might not be quite the crowd pullers they currently are.

Source: www.channel4.com

Call Her Misleading Meg

So Meg Mathews is touting her second-hand gear on t’internet, claiming it’s all genuine Oasis memorabilia.

I hear otherwise. Word reaches me that all the garish furniture touted by Noel Gallagher's ex is from after their divorce.

But when flogging old sticks, it helps to stick an Oasis price tag on.

Better news for Noel and the lads is that Man City chairman Thaksin Shinawatra is offering them £100,000 for a gig.

Better than watching City play, I reckon.

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

7 Ages Of Rock

A definitive landmark series charting the emergence and re-emergence of rock music as a global force, told through the musicians who have shaped this most enduring of genres.

Part 7 - What The World is Waiting For [Indie 1980-2007]

The story of British indie, beginning with The Smiths, the archetypal indie group. The film follows The Stone Roses as the heirs to the indie crown, Suede's dark sexuality and the media saturation of Brit-pop's Blur v Oasis. What The World Is Waiting For explores how indie ultimately lost its once cherished intimacy and integrity in front of 250,000 fans at Oasis's Knebworth spectacle in 1996 and how, by returning to its roots in clubs and bars (and even front rooms) with bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and The Arctic Monkeys, indie became respectable again.

For those who missed the show, click here for the video.

This is much better quality then the youtube links, I posted a few weeks ago.

Meg Sells Her Goods On eBay

They witnessed some of Britain’s wildest rock ’n’ roll parties — now these Oasis memories are being sold by Meg Mathews on eBay.

Meg, once wed to Britpop idol Noel Gallagher, is offloading items worth £14,000 — many from Supernova Heights, the mansion they famously shared in the 1990s.

Among them is a Gothic-style black PVC sofa, valued at £3,500 on the online auction site.

Other gear from the house in Belsize Park, North London, includes a dining room table, a chaise longue, a sideboard, lamps, a Gucci dinner service — and even a pair of leather Handcuffs.

Also on sale are Meg’s £4,000 ebonised Gothic bed, a coffee table from her bedroom suite and several items of her clothing collection.

Interior designer Meg, 41 — who lives with daughter Anais, seven, split from Noel in 2001.

But their home, named after Noel’s Oasis hit Champagne Supernova, was notorious as the venue for regular drug-crazed parties.

Celebs like Patsy Kensit, Liz Hurley, Jude Law, Kate Moss and Anna Friel were among guests who cavorted at the house.

But Meg is now said to be keen to put her party lifestyle behind her.

She has told pals she wants to get rid of her past after coming out of rehab.

Meg, who is moving out of her Primrose Hill home, also sold items worth £26,000 on eBay earlier this year.

A pal said: “There are major Britpop artefacts up for sale here. The sofa in particular was the scene of a lot of big nights. There were some major celebs on it.”

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

The Twenty Craziest Soundalike Songs

This weekend you tortured your spouses/roommates/pets by spending hours painstakingly comparing soundalike songs, honing in on the key moments that made pairs of tracks seem so familiar.

Your nominations rocked. So do most of these songs. Check out the finalists that made the cut:

01. Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” and Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”
02. Fergie’s “Fergalicious” and J.J. Fad’s “Supersonic”
03. The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and Offspring’s “Why Don’t You Get a Job”
04. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and Blondie’s “X Offender”
05. Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Boston’s “More Than a Feeling”
06. Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog” and the Beatles’ “Day Tripper”
07. The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues” and Oasis’ “Put Yer Money Where Your Mouth Is”
08. Foo Fighters’ “Monkey Wrench” and Elton John’s “Whipping Boy”
09. Sublime’s “What I Got” and the Beatles’ “Lady Madonna”
10. Wilco’s “Walken” and Spoon’s “Don’t Make Me a Target”
11. Akon’s “Don’t Matter” and R. Kelly’s “Ignition” (Remix)
12. Billy Joel’s “Honesty” and Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word”
13. Phish’s “Farmhouse” and Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry”
14. Elastica’s “Connection” and Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba”
15. Bryan Adams’ “Summer of 69″ and Green Day’s “Jesus of Suburbia”
16. Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and Weezer’s “Beverly Hills”
17. Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” and The Black-Eyed Peas “Where is the Love”
18. The Kinks “Picture Book” and Green Day’s “Warning”
19. The Killers’ “When You Were Young” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”
20. Pearl Jam’s “Given to Fly” and Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California”

Source: www.rollingstone.com

Some Might Sink

Liam taught to swim by son Gene, 6

Oasis star Liam Gallagher is having swimming lessons from his six year-old son Gene.

The Some Might Say singer was even spotted wearing children's arm bands.

An insider said Liam was trying his best to tread water in Hampstead Men's Pond, north west London.

He added: "Gene was at the side of the bank yelling encouragement. He threw some kid's arm bands over to Liam, 34, and yelled at him to put them on.

"Gene has also been helping his dad learn to swim at a swanky swimming pool in the area."

Liam is said to have stepped up visits to the gym. Our sources added: "He wants to join in with Gene when they go abroad somewhere hot.

"And he also thinks it will be a good way of keeping fit."

Source: Daily Star

The OMM Top 50 Covers

Check the full list and let us know if you agree, or if you think we've made any glaring omissions...

1 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence (1983) (orig. The Beatles, 1968)

Dreamy White Album psychedelia made into dark, androgynous sex-goth. Prudence was Mia Farrow's sister, who freaked out on the Beatles' infamous trip to see the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.

2 John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (1960) (orig. Rodgers and Hammerstein/The Sound of Music, 1959)
The legendary sax God takes the waltzing original on a cosmic trip to the spiritual beyond. A free jazz landmark... recorded five years before the movie made nuns'n'Nazis into timeless camp.

3 Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane (1988) (orig. The Velvet Underground, 1971)

Lou Reed's ultimate three-chord rock'n'roll anthem given an ethereal, campfire makeover, care of the Canadian indie-folksters' restrained acoustics and the blank, haunting voice of Margo Timmins.

4 Robert Wyatt - I'm a Believer (1974) (orig. the Monkees, 1966)

This unlikely, jazz-flecked version of the Neil Diamond-penned Monkees hit saw the recently paralysed Wyatt performing in his unique cockney tones from a wheelchair on Top of the Pops.

5 Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (1956) (orig. Big Mama Thornton, 1952)

Elvis's high-energy, hard-rocking cut of this dirty Leiber and Stoller ditty stomped all over Thornton's downhome original... just like rock stomped all over the blues.

6 Bryan Ferry - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1973) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1963)

A glam-derived nail in the coffin of '60s sincerity, as Ferry converts Dylan's anti-nuclear folk masterpiece into delirious faux-gospel pop deluxe.

7 The Slits - I Heard it Through the Grapevine (1979) (orig. Marvin Gaye, 1968, after Gladys Knight & the Pips, 1967)

The Gaye classic is a study in self-lacerating paranoia. The Notting Hill femme-punks delivered it as an eccentric, feminist, dub-disco jump for joy.

8 Richard Thompson - Oops!... I Did It Again (2003) (orig. Britney Spears, 2000)

The singer-songwriter and founding member of Fairport Convention covered Britney's 'Oops I Did It Again' as part of his show 1000 Years of Popular Music.

9 Devo - Satisfaction (I Can't Get Me No) (1978) (orig. The Rolling Stones, 1965)

Akron, Ohio's art-punk satirists turn Jagger's cocky machismo inside-out, revealing a black, creepy comedy of geeky male sexual frustration.

10 Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? (1972) (orig. Bee Gees, 1971)

The soul master's most surreal, spooked and androgynous vocal performance proves that the Brothers Gibb were always blue-eyed soul boys at heart.

11 Oasis - I Am The Walrus (1994) (orig. The Beatles, 1967)

Less a tribute to their idols than an arrogantly thumbed nose, this live B-side replaces Lennon's queasy orchestras with Liam Gallagher's top-of-the-world, rock god disdain.

12 The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower (1968) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1967)

The ultimate instant cover, as Hendrix made this small, spooky song from the John Wesley Harding album into the raging, epic soundtrack to the turmoil of 1968.

13 The Specials - A Message To You Rudy (1979) (orig. Dandy Livingstone, 1967)

The 2-Toners revived this beautiful rocksteady plea for an end to 'rudeboy' violence, and, like the original, it was most loved by the skinheads who did the damage.

14 Soft Cell - Tainted Love (1981) (orig. Gloria Jones, 1964)

A northern soul classic, originally performed by Gloria Jones (later, mother of Marc Bolan's son, Rolan) turned into a deviant pop smash by Marc Almond and Dave Ball.

15 Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind (1987) (orig. Elvis Presley, 1972, after Brenda Lee, 1972)

The peak of Tennant & Lowe's dance-pop alchemy, as they charmed the planet with a sincere disco re-tooling of the maudlin Elvis ballad.

16 Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (1994) (orig. Leonard Cohen, 1984)

If you had to prove that the tragic Buckley Jr was the voice of his generation, then this virtuoso choirboy take on Cohen's elegantly grim hymn would be Exhibit One.

17 The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man (1965) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1965)

Jangling 12-string Rickenbacker and beatific Californian harmonies; Roger McGuinn poppifies Dylan and casually invents folk-rock, alt-country and indie. Bonus.

18 Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb (2004) (orig. Pink Floyd, 1979)

How do you remove the pomp from the Floyd and become huge overnight? Easy. Do The Wall's most miserable moment in the style of Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees.

19 Johnny Cash - Hurt (2002) (orig. Nine Inch Nails, 1994)

The Man in Black's rumbling yet fragile baritone - and Mark Romanek's extraordinary video - turned Trent Reznor's numb nihilism into a dying rebel's final, defiant stand on Judgment Day.

20 Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (1990) (orig. Neil Young, 1970)

Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and early Saint Etienne singer Moira Lambert remix Young's fragile lament into a Balearic mash-up of piano-led, dubwise, dancefloor melancholy.

Find the full 50 here

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Blast From The Past...

Was There Then
Click here













Getting High
Click here













From Childhood to Oasis The Real Story
Click here












Take Me There The True Story
Click here













Q Ten Years Of Rock'n'Roll Mayhem
Click here













Vox Magazine
Click here













Knebworth Tour Book 1996
Click here













Don't Believe The Truth Tour Book 2005/06
Click here













European Tour Programme 1996
Click here













Oasis: The Official Magazine
Click here













Wibblling Rivalry from Q Magazine
Click here

High quality scans from various Oasis books, magazines and tour programmes from www.wiki.oasis-story.com

Source: www.wiki.oasis-story.com

Oasis and REM Help Thrills Get Their Pride Back

The Thrills burst on to the British music scene four years ago with So Much For The City, a debut album full of jangly pop songs inspired by the sunshine of America's west coast and name-checking towns such as Santa Cruz and Big Sur.

But their second album - Let's Bottle Bohemia, in 2004 - was dismissed as a rush job by some critics and the band suffered a crisis of confidence.

Now the Dublin five-piece are back and bursting with pride, having completed third album, Teenager.

And frontman Conor Deasy believes that has reinvigorated the band's sound and given them back the self-belief they had been lacking.

He said: "It has been a while, but we really needed to go away for a bit. We knew that.

"Bands work at quite a slow pace so if an album comes out a year after your first one, people assume it has been rushed.

"Our second album maybe wasn't as cohesive as the first, but I feel some people didn't give it anything other than a quick listen and failed to get what it was about.

"Our confidence took a real kicking for a couple of months, but REM took us out on tour and they loved the new songs and were very supportive of the band.

"Then Oasis invited us to tour with them in Europe and we couldn't say no.

"We played Nothing Changes Around Here and when we came offstage Noel Gallagher told us: 'That's a great song and a great chorus' so things like that helped to lift us up. It prevented us from getting too down and we got through it in the end."

Explaining the band's decision to turn down the glamorous rock 'n' roll hedonism on tap in Los Angeles for a rundown district of Canada, he added: "This record had to be a departure for us.

"I wanted to move away from the aesthetic and iconography we had immersed ourselves in with our first two records. We knew Los Angeles well and it had been a distraction, so we tried to do the album in Dublin.

"We couldn't find a studio we wanted and made a cheeky call to U2 to see if we could use theirs, but they were working in it at the time.

"The very first gig I went to was at Dublin's Slane Castle with Oasis and REM on the bill. I was in the front row with 80,000 people crushing against me.

Teenager is released on July 23.

Source: www.dailyrecord.co.uk

I Won't Be Moving To London Like Oasis Did

Despite his imminent rise to stardom, Tom Clarke, frontman of The Enemy, has said that his band will never up sticks from their native Coventry.

The statement echoes the stance held by Arctic Monkeys, who despite rising to superstardom still live in their hometown Sheffield. Singer Alex Turner still lives with his parents in the city.

Clarke said of his home city: "As much as we sing about the downsides of the place, we still love it," he told The Sun. "We would never leave. It's us. We belong there."

Traditionally northern bands have made the move to London after making it big, to be closer to music industry HQs and the city's party scene. Noel Gallagher famously upped sticks from Manchester while living with a girlfriend to head to the capital back in 1994.

Source: www.nme.com

Oasis In The Top 10 Most Popular Myspace Pages In The UK

The UK's favourite MySpace profile with 627,515 "friends" is Project Red, the global fund to fight Aids co-founded by U2 frontman Bono.

Damon Albarn's virtual band Gorillaz is second with 603,394 MySpace friends, and Welsh band Bullet for my Valentine is third with 450,000 friends.

"The fact that the top three MySpace profiles are a charitable campaign, a major pop group and an indie rock band shows the diversity of the MySpace community," said the MySpace Europe senior vice-president of marketing and content, Jamie Kantrowitz.

However, with eight of the top 10 most popular UK profiles relating to bands and artists, MySpace is still firmly the social networking site most closely associated with music fans.

The top 10 is rounded out, in descending order, by the profiles for artists Imogen Heap, Lily Allen and Coldplay, followed by the Find Madeleine profile, and music profiles for Oasis, Lost Prophets and James Blunt.

In the sporting-related category Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand comes out on top, following his tie-up with P Diddy earlier this year. Formula one driver Lewis Hamilton is second and Wayne Rooney third.

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

I'm A Star - Honest!

Check out Liam Gallagher's made-up alter-ego on Facebook.

Some joker has created a fake profile and joined groups including 1,000 Reasons Why The North Is Better Than The South.

Even so, one of the eight friends is Liam's real mate, Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender - and it's definitely the man himself. Noel Edmonds, we're not so sure about.

"Liam" cites Spongebob Squarepants as his favourite TV show, which "bends me f***ing mind". And in the About Me section, he boasts: "I'm a rock and roll star - get on it or f*** off you d***."
The giveaway was giving one of his friends as Paul Weller. According to Weller's PR: "He doesn't even know how to send an email." Made us laugh, anyway, whoever you are...

Source: www.mirror.co.uk

George Is Coming To Town But Oasis Still The Hottest Ticket

Tickets to see superstar George Michael in concert in Belfast's Odyssey Arena next month are expected to sell out within days of going on sale.

But despite huge interest in the superstar's first show in the city, when it comes to ticket sales he will fall short of the records set by rockers Oasis or Irish pop band Westlife.

Oasis hold the Odyssey Arena's record for the fastest selling act to play the venue - selling out a show in December 2005 in a staggering 15 minutes.

The Mancunian band played a double date at the Odyssey in the run-up to Christmas, with both shows on December 18 and 19 selling out, but their first one has yet to be beaten.

The 15-minute sale meant that 11 tickets were bought per second to watch Oasis - nearly 700 a minute.

Giving Oasis a run for their money is Chris Martin's Coldplay, who performed at the Odyssey a few days later in 2005.

Up to 10,000 tickets for this highly anticipated concert were snapped up within 20 minutes of going on sale.

Tickets to see Northern Ireland's own Snow Patrol at the Odyssey in December 2006 sold out within half an hour of going on sale last August.

The band staged a massive homecoming gig at the Odyssey on December 21 and set their own record, when they sold the largest amount of tickets for one show at the venue - 10,401. Amazingly, the band beat the previous record set by Coldplay, by just one ticket.

When it comes to record holders, Irish boy band Westlife still lead the way as the most successful act to play the Odyssey.

The award-winning pop group played 12 consecutive nights at the venue and in total, have performed 45 times at the Odyssey.

Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Scans From Argentinian Rolling Stone

Oasis On The Cover Of Argentinian Rolling Stone

Oasis feature on The Cover Of Argentinian Roling Stone magazine.

The magazine includes the rise of the band, a full discography and much more.

Tony Blair Was Worried Oasis Would Trash Downing Street

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was worried that Oasis would "do something crazy" when they attended a reception at 10 Downing Street in 1997.

The then newly-elected leader was holding a music industry reception when he discovered that the band's guitarist Noel Gallagher was attending.

However, according to the diaries of his spokesperson Alistair Campbell, which were published yesterday (July 8), Blair had no idea how the Oasis man had been invited, and was then worried he might be the victim of a spot of rock 'n' roll behaviour.

"TB (Tony Blair) was worried that Noel Gallagher was coming to the reception tomorrow. He said he had no idea he had been invited," wrote Campbell. "TB felt he was bound to do something crazy. I spoke to (Creation Records boss) Alan McGee and said can we be assured he would behave."

The record label boss assured them it would be fine, explaining had they invited frontman Liam they might have been in trouble.

"Alan said he would make sure he did. He said if we had invited Liam, it might have been different," said Campbell.

"(Noel) Gallagher arrived with his wife Meg, McGee and his girlfriend. Cherie (Blair[/b) met them and took them upstairs to see (the [b]Blair's children) Kathryn and Nicky, who was pretty gobsmacked when Gallagher walked in.

"He said he thought Number 10 was 'tops', said he couldn't believe that there was an ironing board in there."

Source: www.nme.com