As Oasis release their Time Flies... retrospective, Roy Wilkinson recalls various encounters which argues that this most patchy of British groups has much in common with cheap eat catering
Hungry for unlimited sausages? Up for endless potatoes, chipped, wedged, fried and baked? Oasis aren't the only good-time guys to have arisen in the north and successfully supplied satiation on a mass level. Recently the Taybarns all-you-eat chain has been packing them in across the high latitudes, from Barnsley to South Shields. In mildly ethnographic style, Taybarns has been fascinating the London-based media. The press have been intrigued by the "34-metre food line" and an all-inclusive £5.99 meal-deal (weekdays from 11.30am to 5.00pm). Things were perhaps similar with Oasis's initial bloom – a soft south bewitched by these brusque northerners and their mass pop provisioning. But, isn't this latest Oasis best-of a bit like Taybarns in reverse? Paying again for stuff you've already had?
Oasis and their then label Creation once really did run an all-you-can-eat spectacular. All-you-can-drink as well. The backstage bounty at Oasis's 1996 shows at Knebworth was astonishing. An immense marquee was lined with bars, all fully stocked with any drink you could imagine. A barbecue sizzled eternal. To anyone with a pass it was all free, all day. It wasn't that exclusive either. The music-industry types were diluted by numerous family and friends. You could tell this because, when Noel Gallager wandered in, he was instantly mobbed by autograph-seekers. Within this moderately-exclusive marquee, there was a separate VIP quadrant. This roped-off corner was soon besieged by people who all stood there staring at Kate Moss and Patsy Palmer.
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Source: thequietus.com
'Time Flies... 1994-2009' is out now for more details click here.
