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Oasis · S1 E2
The Rain
Bonehead, Guigsy, and Tony McCarroll form a band in south Manchester. They have the amps, the rehearsal space, and no singer worth a damn.
A basement rehearsal room under the Boardwalk club, Little Peter Street, Manchester. The band is called The Rain, they've got guitars, drums, and amps, but the one thing they don't have is a voice.
Oasis, Columbia live at Knebworth (1996). Raw, relentless, and built on a riff that doesn't stop, played here in front of 125,000 people. This is what The Rain became once they found the right singer and the right songwriter.
Columbia, Oasis (1994)
One of the earliest songs Oasis ever wrote, originally released as a white label 12-inch in 1993 before being re-recorded for Definitely Maybe. The track is built on a single hypnotic guitar riff that drives forward without mercy for over six minutes. Owen Morris cranked the production to the point where the sound distorts at the edges. Listen to the way it builds: no real chorus, just a groove that gets louder and meaner until it collapses.
The Rain
In 1990, three mates from south Manchester decide to start a band. Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs plays guitar, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan plays bass, Tony McCarroll hits the drums. They've known each other since school and local football teams. They recruit a singer named Chris Hutton, but his voice doesn't fit what they're hearing in their heads.
Sources
Tony McCarroll, Oasis: The Truth, 2003
The Boardwalk, Manchester
21 Little Peter Street. The club where Oasis rehearsed in the basement and played their first ever gig. It closed in 1999 and now carries a blue plaque with a smiley face.
“When I heard 'Sally Cinnamon' for the first time, I knew what my destiny was.”
— Noel Gallagher, on hearing The Stone Roses
TAP TO REVEAL: What guitar has Bonehead played since before Oasis even existed?
Madchester
Manchester in 1991 is the center of the musical universe. The Stone Roses have released the greatest debut album anyone can remember, Happy Mondays are on Top of the Pops, and the Hacienda is the most famous club in the country. Every kid in south Manchester wants to be in a band.
Sources
NME
Madchester documentary, 2009
D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?, Oasis (1994)
A Shakermaker B-side where Noel sings lead, looking back at the days when being in a band was still just a fantasy. It's the sound of mates sitting around in Burnage talking about what they're going to be when they grow up. Before the record deals and the sold-out stadiums, this is what dreaming sounds like.
D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?, Oasis (1994)
Follow along with the words. Noel wrote this about the friends you make growing up who dare you to dream bigger. Before everything else, Oasis was just a group of mates from Manchester who refused to aim low.
What was the band called before Liam Gallagher joined?
Bonehead knows a kid from Burnage. He's got no musical training, no experience, and an attitude that could start a fight in an empty room. But when he opens his mouth to sing, the room goes quiet.
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