Creation Records co-founder and Oasis svengali Alan McGee recently discussed the possibility of an Oasis reunion commemorating the twentieth anniversary of their debut. In an interview with BBC Radio 4′s Today, he admitted that he believes Oasis will reform eventually. When asked if he thinks Oasis will ever come back, McGee said, ‘Yeah, I think they’ll come back at some point. I don’t think it’s going to be next year or anything. If they get back together I’m sure it would be for a mega bucks tour.’
Reunion speculations and supposed insider sources have been rampant all summer. The Daily Mail was the latest to make the bold claim that Noel and Liam Gallagher were in ‘top-secret talks’ to reform Oasis in 2014. It was alleged that Oasis had already been approached by promoters ‘willing to pay huge sums’ for them to play two shows marking the twentieth anniversary of Definitely Maybe. ’Talks are said to be fragile but the package on the table may prove irresistable to Liam,’ a source told the paper. However, Liam was not the Gallagher who was against reuniting. He had told the NME in June that he felt Oasis had ‘unfinished business’ and that they might ‘bury the hatchet for a quick lap of honour’ to celebrate the milestone. ‘I’ll do it for nowt,’ he continued, ‘but if someone’s going to drop a load of fucking money, I’d do it for that too.’
A spokesperson for Noel Gallagher responded to the latest reunion rumors with a statement to the NME that Oasis would not reunite for a series of gigs at Knebworth in 2014. Ultimately, any reformation decisions would be made by Noel, who has staunchly denied such suspicions all summer. In an interview with the Sun last month, Noel negated any rumors that the brothers would make up in time for an Oasis headlining slot at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival. Noel has said that he would only consider reforming his band if he were broke. ‘Maybe people keep thinking that if they say it, it will eventually happen. It’s not going to happen…One can never say never, because one might be skint. But I’ve got no intention. I’m not interested.’
Oasis officially split four years ago because of rising tension between the brothers. The pair have not been onstage together since August 2009 when a backstage fight at the French Rock en Seine Festival resulted in Liam breaking Noel’s guitar. Their appearance was immediately cancelled, as was the subsequent European tour. Noel promptly issued a statement which announced that ‘I quit Oasis tonight..I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.’ Since Oasis’ official split, Noel has gone on to front Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and Liam Gallagher has continued with Beady Eye.
Alan McGee is one of the biggest names in British independent music. He is a co-founder of the highly influential Creation Records, which he ran from 1983 until 1999. Following the demise of Creation, he founded the Poptones label which he worked on until 2007. This year, he debuted his latest venture, 359 Records, in collaboration with Cherry Red Records. McGee is most famous for signing Oasis to his Creation label in 1993. It was a lucrative move. The success of Oasis was unprecedented for an act on any independent label, and their sophomore album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, became the biggest-selling British album of the decade. McGee has also worked with the Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, and the Libertines.
