Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Developed from an earlier group, the Rain, the band originally consisted of Liam Gallagher (lead vocals, tambourine), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (guitar), Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums). Upon returning to Manchester, Liam’s older brother, Noel Gallagher (lead guitar, vocals) joined as a fifth member, which formed the band’s core and settled line-up. During the course of their existence, they had various line-up changes, though the Gallagher brothers remained as the staple members until the group’s demise.
Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993 and released their record-setting debut album Definitely Maybe (1994). The following year the band recorded (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) with drummer Alan White, in the midst of a chart rivalry with Britpop peers Blur. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? became one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling over 22 million copies worldwide and the Gallagher brothers were featured regularly in tabloid newspapers for their sibling disputes and wild lifestyles. In 1996, Oasis performed two nights at Knebworth for an audience of 125,000 each night, which were at the time the largest outdoor concerts in UK history. 2.5 million people applied for tickets, which remains the highest demand for a show in British history. In 1997, Oasis released their third album, Be Here Now (1997); although it was the fastest selling album in UK chart history, and went on to sell 8 million copies, its popularity tapered off quickly.
Oasis have had eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums. They have won 17 NME Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and six Brit Awards, including one in 2007 for Outstanding Contribution to Music and one for the Best Album of the Last 30 Years–for (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?–as voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners; (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is also the fifth best-selling album in UK chart history, and was the UK’s biggest-selling album of the 1990s. They have been nominated for two Grammy Awards. Oasis have sold over 75 million records worldwide. The band were listed in the Guinness World Records book in 2010 for “Longest Top 10 UK Chart Run by a Group” after an unprecedented run of 22 top 10 hits in the UK. The band also holds the Guinness World Record for the most successful act in the UK between the years 1995 and 2005, spending 765 weeks in the top 75 singles and albums charts
