What's In A Band Name?

Here are the stories behind the monikers

So how do bands end up with their names? Is there a band-naming website? Well, yes, actually, but none of these acts needed it. Gavin Cumine gets etymological

When Lou Reed moved into his new apartment in New York in the early Sixties he came across a book called The Velvet Underground, by Michael Leigh, which detailed various underground sexual practices of the early Sixties.

In 1977 post-industrial Manchester Ian Curtis was reading The House of Dolls by by Yehiel De-Nur. In the novel De-Nur describes joy divisions, which were, allegedly, groups of Jewish women in concentration camps during the Second World War kept for the sexual pleasure of Nazi soldiers.

In the early nineties the band The Rain were looking for a new lead singer and a change of name. They decided to take on local loudmouth Liam Gallagher as singer. Hanging on the wall of Liam's bedroom, which he shared with brother Noel, was an Inspiral Carpets tour poster. Noel at the time was a roadie for the band. On the poster was one of the venues : the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.

The beginning of any band's biography is their name. It is the starting point of a band that will accompany its sound for the rest of their career, through success and failure. Some band-names come around by coincidence, careful thought or just simply for the fact that it is a great combination of words that slip off the tongue easily. Here are some of the best stories behind the names.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

On This Day in Oasis History...

"Supersonic" is the debut single released by British rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It also appears on their debut album, Definitely Maybe. It was released on the 11 April 1994 and peaked at #31 on the official UK charts. It was the song performed by the band on their debut national TV performance on Channel 4's The Word, which aired on 18 March 1994. It remains to this day a favourite song of both the band and the fans (on the Definitely Maybe DVD, Noel cites it as his favourite Oasis song). The single went silver in the UK on June 30, 2006, 12 years and 3 months after its original release.

In spite of its popularity, Gallagher claims the song is basically a collection of nonsense lyrics written in a matter of minutes, just before the band entered the recording studios to record the track. The identity of the character "Elsa" caused some confusion — according to the song She done it with a doctor/On a helicopter/she sniffin' in a tissue/Sellin' the Big Issue. Noel claims, "Someone told me "Supersonic" was about teenage prostitution. Shit!". It has since been revealed that Elsa was a nine-stone rottweiler with a flatulence problem who was in the studio on the day the song was written, hence the line "she's into Alka Seltzer". It was written and recorded at The Pink Museum in Liverpool. The plan was for Oasis to record "Bring It On Down" for their debut single and another bunch of demos. However, "Supersonic" was written and it impressed everyone so much, it was chosen to be the band's first single.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Supersonic" at number 20 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Supersonic" at number 25 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.

The song is included on Oasis' compilation album Stop the Clocks.




UK Video



US Video

Track listings

CD CRESCD 176

01."Supersonic" - 4:44
02."Take Me Away" - 4:30
03."I Will Believe" (Live) - 3:46
04."Columbia" (White Label Demo) - 5:25

7" CRE 176

01."Supersonic" - 4:44
02."Take Me Away" - 4:30

12" CRE 176T

01."Supersonic" - 4:44
02."Take Me Away" - 4:30
03."I Will Believe" (Live) - 3:46

Cassette CRECS 176

01."Supersonic" - 4:44
02."Take Me Away" - 4:30

Japanese EP ESCA 602

01. "Supersonic"
02. "Shakermaker"
03. "Columbia" (white label demo)
04. "Alive" (8 track demo)
05. "D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?"
06. "I Will Believe" (Live)

* "I Will Believe" is believed to have been recorded for a 1993 radio session for the BBC.
* The demo of "Columbia" is the same version as was released on a limited edition white label promo in December 1993, which itself was an edited version of the original demo recorded in Liverpool in the spring of 1993.

Trivia
In the video to the song, King's Cross railway station can be seen in the background.
At the very end of the song "Wonderwall" the opening riff of "Supersonic" can be heard being played on an acoustic guitar.
It was certified Silver (250,000 copies sold) 12 years after its release.
It was covered by Elliott Smith in 2003

Source: Wikipedia

Bored Of Waiting For Oasis UK Tour Dates?

Are you bored of waiting for some UK tour dates, check out best Oasis tribute band in the World Oasish, visit the website www.oasish.co.uk to check out live dates, Audio, pictures and videos.

The band are playing all over the UK ,and are set to again rock the Glastonbudget Festival later this year.

Oasis Be@rbricks In Stores Later This Month

I received a e-mail today from Medicom Toys, about the release of the three Oasis Bearbricks later this month.

Thanks for your interest, the product will be released later this month.

SRP in Japan is 3990 yen/ set.

All the best
MEDICOM TOYS

More Information on the Be@rbricks

Be@rbrick is a collectible toy designed and produced by MediCom Toy Incorporated. The name is derived from the fact that the figure is a cartoon-style representation of a bear, and that it is a variation of MediCom's Kubrick design.

The at sign in the place of the letter a is a visual device that is a part of the Be@rbrick brand, and as such, a trademark of MediCom Toy.

The standard size is seven centimeters high, and these figures are referred to as 100% Be@rbricks. Other Be@rbricks are named for their size relative to the standard: 50% are four centimeters high, 70% are five centimeters high, 400% are 28 centimeters high, and 1000% are 70 centimeters high.

Be@rbricks are most often sold individually in "blind box" assortments, in which figures are packed in small boxes, and the only way to know which particular figure is inside a particular box is to purchase and open the box.

Exclusive pieces such as these are highly-sought after and difficult to obtain for collectors outside of Japan; they are often purchased on the secondary market, especially online auctions.

These Be@rbricks will be available early 2008.

For more information visit these websites

www.medicomtoy.co.jp (Japanese)
www.bearbrick.com (Japanese and some English)
www.medicomtoystore.com (Medicom Toy English Language Website)

Liam Gallagher To Bail Out Pete Doherty

Out of the celeb Soccer Six games...

Pete Doherty - who's in prison for breaching his bail - won't be at liberty to play in the celeb Soccer Six games on May 19 (at Millwall) and 26 (Reading). so Liam Gallagher will step into his boots.

Source: www.mirror.co.uk

Oasis Receive Two Nominations At The NME Awards USA 2008

Oasis have been nominated in the following categories at the NME Awards USA 2008

Here are the NME AWARDS USA 2008 shortlists. We've tallied up your votes from the round of open voting and now's the time to select your final winners.

Best International Indie/Alternative Band

Oasis
Arcade Fire
Arctic Monkeys
Muse
Radiohead

Best Video

Oasis 'Lord Don’t Slow Me Down'
Arctic Monkeys 'Fluorescent Adolescent'
Foo Fighters 'Long Road To Ruin'
Justice 'D.A.N.C.E.'
The Killers 'Tranquilize'

Don't forget - music fans can watch a video stream of the ceremony LIVE from Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre on NME'S MySpace page on the day of the Awards (April 23).

Click here to cast your vote

Source: www.nme.com

The Pigeon Detectives Looking Forward To Meeting Oasis

The Pigeon Detectives, finally get to perform with their heroes Oasis in Canada later this summer, but they hope it won’t be a let-down.

Matt, 23, added: “We’ve met everyone we’d be bothered about meeting apart from Oasis. They could be really nice to us and make our year – or not.”

Source: www.dailystar.co.uk

Exclusive Oasis Track Used For Rock Band's European Launch

Officials from Electronic Arts have officially announced a release date and price structure for MTV Games and Harmonix’s Rock Band in Europe, where difficulties in manufacturing enough bespoke controllers to meet demand has so far limited its release to North America.

Due to continued stock issues, the European launch will initially be limited only to the major markets of the UK, France and Germany, with a release date of May 23rd.

Unlike North America, the game will also initially be limited to release on the Xbox 360, earning an unspecified window of exclusivity before the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii versions are released “later this summer”.

There are also considerable changes to the pricing structure of the game, with no confirmation yet of a single bundle which includes all the peripherals and software.

Instead, Electronic Arts has confirmed to Gamasutra that an “Instrument Pack” will be released containing a guitar, drum and microphone controller for £129.99/€169.99 ($256/$267).

The actual game will be bought separately for an additional £49.99/€69.99 ($98/$110). As in North America, each peripheral will be sold separately, with wireless guitar controllers selling for £59.99/€79.99 ($118/$126) and drum kit controllers for £69.99/€89.99 ($138/$141).

The European version of the game will contain new exclusive tracks not found in the North American version, with three titles aimed at the British market (Blur “Beetlebum”, Oasis “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and Muse “Hysteria”), two at the French (Les Wampas “Manu Chao” and Playmo “New Wave”) and four at the German (Die Toten Hosen “Hier Kommt Alex”, Juli “Perfekte Welle”, Tokio Hotel “Monsoon” and H-Block X “Countdown to Insanity”).

Additionally, all songs currently available for download in North American will be available immediately in Europe from May 27th. Following that date, all new Rock Band downloadable content will be available simultaneously worldwide on a weekly basis. Each new track will be priced at 160 Microsoft Points ($2).

Source: www.gamasutra.com

Noel On Russell Brand's Show Again

This Saturday's Russell Brand show (5th April 08) featured a 20 minute phone conversation with Noel Gallagher.

It'll be on listen-again now, and the podcast is available from today by clicking here.

I'm Feeling Supersonic

I went along to Wembley Stadium yesterday to see my beloved Cardiff City take on Barnsley in the FA Cup Semi Final.

Cardiff won the game 1-0 and take on Portsmouth in the final at Wembley on May 17th.

Fascinating Oasis fact of the day: Current Bass player Andy Bell was born in Cardiff :)

Picture Source: Myself

Two More Dates Added To Canadian Tour

Tickets for Oasis’s Western Canadian dates are proving very popular and selling fast. Following such popular demand Oasisinet is pleased to announce that the band has added two more dates to what has turned into their inaugural Canadian tour. The cities of Winnipeg and Ottawa will now be included in the tour that starts in Seattle, WA and concludes with their headline appearance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto. As with the other dates, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals will be the special guests.

New Dates:

9/01/08: Winnipeg, MB - MTS Center: Pre-Sale tickets on sale 4/9/08 @10AM CST until 4/11/08 @ 10PM CST. Tickets on general sale 4/12/08 @ 10AM CST from Ticketmaster & MTS Center Box Office.

9/04/08: Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place: Pre-Sale tickets on sale 4/8/08 @ 10AM EST until 4/10/08 @ 10PM EST. Tickets on general sale 4/11/08 @ 10AM EST from Capital Tickets, Live Nation, Scotiabank Place Box Office & all Ottawa-Gatineau Area Sports Expert Locations.

The password for the Pre-Sale is: OASISINET

Source: www.oasisinet.com

Kasabian: New Album 80-Per-Cent Finished

They'll get Gallagher's opinion soon....

Kasabian have revealed their new album is only 20-per-cent off being completed.

The band - who have variously described their third long player as “psychedelic” and a “road movie soundtrack” - have been holed up in the studio for some time completing the record, but bass player Chris Edwards reveals there’s now light at the end of the tunnel.

He tells the Sunday Mirror, “We go to the studio, potter around, eat sandwiches and it's hard to get things finished. We're about 80 per cent done now.”

But the album won’t be signed off until they get one crucial final opinion.

Chris explains, “We're going to play it for Noel Gallagher in a couple of weeks. He speaks his mind."

Source: www.gigwise.com

More Fun With Stevie Riks

Interview with impressionist and friend of the site Stevie Riks on the BBC1 show 'Inside Out'.

More On The Noel Gallagher & Gem Archer Track With Weller

Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller have done cover versions as The Smokin' Mojo Filters, appeared on stage together plenty of times and no doubt often call each other up to complain about young people nowadays. But the pair have never written a song together until Echoes Round the Sun, due to appear on Weller's ninth solo album, 22 Dreams.

“Noel came down to the studio with this loop he'd never been able to do anything with. He played the bass and the piano and then Gem [Archer, Oasis guitarist] played guitar on top. It's a top tune,” Weller has revealed.

I've heard it and have to agree: Noel's bass dominates, pounding through the song in thick slabs, pausing only for a basic piano breakdown. Archer's guitar feeds back enjoyably, Bollywood-style strings add drama and the whole thing motors along at a terrific pace.

It's one of many signs that Weller is feeling rejuvenated after his Lifetime Achievement Brit last year. The new album (released 2 June) is a wide-ranging double, with 21 tracks that include trad folk on Light Nights, racing soul on A Dream Reprise, winsome balladry on Black River (which stars another big Britpop name, Graham Coxon) and One Bright Star, an oddity seemingly designed for ballroom dancing. He sounds like he's having fun, playing with his mates and experimenting a little. And why shouldn't he?

Source: www.thisislondon.co.uk

We'll Deal With Noel

Typical, you wait ages for a Noel and then three come along at once.

Unfortunately, Mr Edmonds, 59, is recklessly undoing all the good work Mr Fielding and Mr Gallagher, 40, have done for the name.

And this simply will not do. So we did the decent thing and assisted our favourite two Noels in their plot to murder the bearded sharer of their moniker.

We headed out after the premiere of the Rolling Stones’ rockumentary Shine A Light for grave discussions about how to dispose of the Eighties burp’s jazzy-shirted corpse.

Fortunately, Noel’s brother Liam, 35, saved himself from being implicated in the inevitable investigation by shooting off to the Met Bar with his wife Nicole Appleton, 33.

Fielding told the First Noel: “We’re the only relevant Noels, now that Noel Coward’s dead. So we need to kill Edmonds. There’s no room for him.”

The Oasis legend’s monobrow shot to the deepest south as he mused on this.

And he pointed out that to the better half of the nation, Noel’s House Party means the sort of rock’n’roll debauchery that causes bruises.

But there will always be those who associate it with Mr Blobby, gunge tanks and Z-list guests wielding bad gags.
Sign

He concluded: “Murder; that’ll be a big bonding experience.”

As well as a Christian name and homicidal feelings towards naff presenters, the two ­mentalists also share the same Gemini star sign along with our very own schizophrenic columnist Amy Watts.

And with a heroic amount of pink shots and Charli’s squiffy reasoning, we tooled up Fielding, 34, and sent him off to Crinkly Bottom.

But looking at this picture in the cold light of day, we finally accepted Fielding won’t be able to blow-dry Edmonds to death.

Source: www.dailystar.co.uk

Nicole Leaves Liam

Nicole runs off after Liam Gallagher does embarrassing dad routinue

Liam Gallagher was like an embarrassing dad at the Rolling Stones premiere - so his new wife Nicole walked out!

The couple turned up looking happy enough but it didn't last. The rocker mortified Nicole by singing along, cheering and waving his arms in the air during the Shine A Light film.

It was all too much for Nic, who got up and left.

An onlooker said: "It was hilarious. He was really getting into it and at one point stood up and started clapping and cheering. It was like he was at a gig, not a movie!"

Happily, Peaches Geldof had an embarrassing evening as well. She turned up at Bungalow 8 for the afterparty with under-age sister Pixie and Mark Ronson.

And her plans were made clear when she whispered to a pal: "I have to shag Mark Ronson."

Peaches nestled in alongside Mark, shoving Alex Turner and Alexa Chung out of the way.

Mark then ordered a £200 bottle of Jack Daniels Single Barrel.

But Peaches swung around while showing off and smashed all the glasses.

No wonder she ran off...

Source: www.mirror.co.uk Picture: Getty

Noel Gallagher Goes On The Rampage With Actor James Corden

Oasis star Noel Gallagher got a free pass from his missus on Wednesday - and used it to relive his glory days of long ago.

Sneaking out of London's Groucho Club for a fag with Gavin and Stacey actor James Corden, the pair started rubbing bellies in the street.

Then furry-hatted Mighty Booshman Noel Fielding joined the fun - stalking the dancing drunks with a loaded hairdryer.

Let's hope poor Noel G felt OK in the morning.

Source: www.mirror.co.uk Picture: WENN

Paul And Phil Spin Some Tunes In Belgium

I received these pictures and information from Dennis (Pictured with Paul) today from Phil (Official Oasis Tour DJ) and Paul Gallagher's DJ set in Belgium on the weekend.

Dennis asked them both separately some questions about the Oasis album, he said they were both hammered and said the same thing.

11-12 songs (Noel is yet undecided)
No album title yet
A lot more RNR then the last 2 albums, songs are longer as well, and more guitar orientated.
Phil has heard 4 songs, Paul has heard 7 or so.
They said the Album is out, second week of August.

If its true I don't know, they both said same thing so it must have been rehearsed or something.

Source: Dennis

Recent Pictures Of Liam And Noel Gallagher

More pictures of Liam here, pictures of Noel can be found here.

Source: WENN

The US NME Awards Update

The voting for nominations at the NME Awards USA 2008 is now closed, NME.COM will announce the shortlist of nominations on April 6.

Also Oasis are still #1 in the Greatest Rock ’N’ Roll Band Ever poll on NME.COM, cast your vote by clicking here.