Live Demonstration

Last updated

Live Demonstration
Livedemonstration.jpg
Demo tape with the tracks written
Demo album by
Oasis
ReleasedJune 1993
RecordedMarch–May 1993
StudioDock Road, Liverpool and Mauldeth Road West, Manchester
Genre
Length35:15
Producer
Oasis chronology
Live Demonstration
(1993)		 Definitely Maybe
(1994)

Live Demonstration is a demo tape made by British rock band Oasis in 1993, prior to their rise to fame. The tape helped secure a recording contract with Creation Records, [1] with most of the tracks ending up on the band's first batch of releases, including their debut album, Definitely Maybe .

Contents

The Live Demonstration cassette was reissued in a limited amount on 12 April 2014 for the 20th anniversary of Definitely Maybe. The reissue appears almost identical to the original, down to the handwritten cassette label, Union Jack artwork, and Noel Gallagher's 1993 contact information; the notable differences are that the reissued spine says "Oasis" whereas the original says "Oasis Live", the copyright marking "Ⓟ & © 1993 Big Brother Recordings Ltd" on the cassette itself, and liner notes written by Mark Coyle on the inside of the J-card.

Overview

In 1992, Oasis were an up-and-coming live act in Manchester, with a small following, but no signs of a record contract. Realising their potential, Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher contacted Tony Griffiths of the Liverpool band The Real People. The two had met on a North American tour with the Inspiral Carpets, on which The Real People had been the opening act and Gallagher had worked as a roadie. Gallagher asked him if Oasis could use their studio to produce a professional sounding demo which they could then send to record companies. Griffiths and his brother Chris claim to have taught the band a lot about recording songs during that period. Around a dozen songs were recorded at the studio at Dock Road, Liverpool in Spring 1993, [1] of which six songs ended up on the final demo tape. The versions of "D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?" and "Married With Children" were recorded at the home of co-producer Mark Coyle.

It is estimated that 10 cassette copies were sent out with a J-card insert depicting a swirling Union Jack and the now famous Oasis logo designed by Tony French. [2] More cassettes were handed out without the picture sleeve, but with instead, a handwritten set of notes.

In May 1993, the band were invited to play a gig at the famous Glasgow nightclub King Tut's, by a band who shared their rehearsal rooms. [3] Oasis found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey to Glasgow. Among the people at the club that night was head of Creation Records, Alan McGee, who knew some of the other acts playing. Upon seeing Oasis for the first time, he was apparently so impressed that after the show, he went up to the band and offered them a record deal on the spot. A copy of the demo tape was handed to McGee that night, of which the contents made McGee even more determined to sign up the band. A couple of months later, Oasis signed a 6-album deal with Creation Records.

As Oasis' fame grew in the 1990s the tape soon became an item desired by collectors and copies started changing hands for hundreds of pounds. In the 2016 edition of "Rare Record Price Guide" published by Record Collector, an advertisement by Omega Auctions (on page 1) states a copy has since been sold for more than £6,000.

The strength of the tracks on Live Demonstration was proved by the fact that four of the songs eventually ended up on Definitely Maybe; [2] ("Married with Children", "Rock 'N' Roll Star", "Bring It on Down" and "Columbia"), with three others appearing as B-sides ("D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?", "Fade Away" and "Cloudburst"). The other song, "Strange Thing", saw its first commercial release in May 2014, with the release of the 20th anniversary edition of Definitely Maybe.

Track listing

Back of an original Live Demonstration cassette Live Demonstration (Oasis) tracklist.jpg
Back of an original Live Demonstration cassette

All songs were written by Noel Gallagher.

Side one
  1. "Cloudburst"
  2. "Columbia"
  3. "D'yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?"
  4. "Strange Thing"
Side two
  1. "Bring It on Down"
  2. "Married with Children"
  3. "Fade Away"
  4. "Rock 'n' Roll Star"

Official releases

Related Research Articles

<i>Definitely Maybe</i> 1994 studio album by Oasis

Definitely Maybe is the debut studio album by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchelor, whom band member Noel Gallagher knew from his days working as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, though sessions were unsatisfactory and Batchelor was subsequently fired.

Oasis (band) English rock band

Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. They were originally known as the Rain before evolving into Oasis, and initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan, and Tony McCarroll (drums). Upon returning to Manchester, Liam's older brother Noel joined as a fifth member, finalising the band's core line-up. During the course of their existence, they had various line-up changes, though the Gallagher brothers remained as the staple members.

<i>Be Here Now</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Oasis

Be Here Now is the third studio album by English rock band Oasis, released on 21 August 1997 by Creation Records. The album was recorded at multiple recording studios in London, including Abbey Road Studios, as well as Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey. Although most tracks retain the anthemic quality of previous releases, the songs on Be Here Now are longer and contain many guitar overdubs. Noel Gallagher said this was done to make the album sound as "colossal" as possible. The album cover features a shot of the band members at Stocks House in Hertfordshire.

Live Forever (Oasis song) 1994 single by Oasis

"Live Forever" is a song by English rock band Oasis. Written by Noel Gallagher, the song was released as the third single from their debut album Definitely Maybe (1994) on 8 August 1994, just prior to that album's release. Gallagher wrote the song in 1991, before he joined Oasis.

Whatever (Oasis song) 1994 single by Oasis

"Whatever" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. Written by the band's lead guitarist, Noel Gallagher, it was released on 18 December 1994 as the band's first non-album single. A subsequent lawsuit awarded a co-writing credit to Neil Innes.

Cigarettes & Alcohol 1994 single by Oasis

"Cigarettes & Alcohol" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It was released on 10 October 1994 as the fourth and final single from their debut album Definitely Maybe (1994), and their second to enter the UK top ten in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 7, eventually spending 79 weeks on the charts. On 13 March 2020, 26 years after release, the song was certified Platinum, indicating 600,000 sales.

Supersonic (Oasis song) 1994 single by Oasis

"Supersonic" is the debut single by the English rock band Oasis. Written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, it was released on 11 April 1994 as Oasis' debut single and later appeared on their debut album Definitely Maybe in August 1994.

Shakermaker single by Oasis

"Shakermaker" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. The song was first released as a second single on 20 June 1994 and later released on Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe (1994). The single peaked at number eleven in the UK. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2013, having previously been their only single of the 1990s not to be certified in the UK. As of 2021, it remains the only single from the band's first two albums not to reach at least platinum status in the UK, and their only single of the 1990s not to be certified gold.

Some Might Say 1995 single by Oasis

"Some Might Say" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was released as the first single on 24 April 1995 from their second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. "Some Might Say" provided Oasis with their first number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Sweden. The song is also the last to feature all 5 original members, as original drummer Tony McCarroll left shortly after the song's release.

Let There Be Love (Oasis song) 2005 single by Oasis

"Let There Be Love" is a song by the English rock band Oasis from their sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth (2005). Written by Noel Gallagher, it is the fourth Oasis song to feature Liam and Noel on lead vocals, the first being "Acquiesce", the second being "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" and the third being "Born on a Different Cloud". It was released on 28 November 2005 as the third and final single from the album in the United Kingdom, and the second single in the United States.

Acquiesce single by Oasis

"Acquiesce" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. The song originally appeared as a B-side to Oasis' first UK number-one single, "Some Might Say", on 24 April 1995. Its popularity led to it being included on the B-sides compilation album The Masterplan, released in 1998, after being voted for inclusion by fans of the band on their official website.

Rock n Roll Star 1994 song by Oasis

"Rock 'n' Roll Star" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It is the opening track from their debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994). Like the majority of the band's songs from this era, it was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, who said that "Rock 'n' Roll Star" was one of only three songs in which he wanted to say something: "I've pretty much summed up everything I wanted to say in "Rock 'n' Roll Star", "Live Forever" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol", after that I'm repeating myself, but in a different way".

<i>Live by the Sea</i> 1995 film

Live by the Sea is a live video recording by the English rock band Oasis, released on DVD, VCD, and VHS. It features Oasis' gig at the Southend Cliffs Pavilion on 17 April 1995, as well as the videos for "Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "Cigarettes & Alcohol". The title is a pun on a line from the song "(It's Good) To Be Free".

The Real People are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1988. The band currently consists of Anthony "Tony" Griffiths, Chris Griffiths, Martin Lappin (guitar) and Tony McGuigan (drums).

"Talk Tonight" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written and sung by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It was originally released on 24 April 1995 as the B-side of their UK number one single "Some Might Say" along with "Acquiesce" and "Headshrinker" and appears on the B-side compilation album, The Masterplan, released in November 1998. In the United States, it was released as one of the B-sides to "Wonderwall". This song also appears in remastered form on the 2014 deluxe version of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?.

<i>Stop the Clocks</i> 2006 greatest hits album by Oasis

Stop the Clocks is a compilation album by English rock band Oasis. It was released on 20 November 2006 by Big Brother Recordings. The "retrospective collection" is an 18-track double album with the featured songs chosen by Noel Gallagher. It went 5× Platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales better than any Oasis release since Be Here Now (1997).

Slide Away (Oasis song) 1994 promotional single by Oasis

"Slide Away" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, taken from their debut studio album Definitely Maybe (1994). It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher and serves as the tenth track on the album.

Definitely Maybe Tour was a world concert tour by English band Oasis in support of their hugely successful debut album Definitely Maybe. The tour, which spanned the UK, Europe, Japan, the US and Canada, included 143 shows over a period of several months in 1994 and 1995 amidst 10 different tour legs. The tour started on 6 February 1994 with a short concert at Gleneagles, Scotland, and ended on 22 April 1995 at the Sheffield Arena. The latter show featured an acoustic debut of the future hit "Don't Look Back in Anger", and was also the last concert to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll.

The High Flying Birds Tour was the debut solo concert tour by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, which took place in 2011 and 2012. The tour was in promotion of the album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rare Oasis Demo Cassette Appears On Ebay". stopcryingyourheartout.com. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Live Demonstration". themeaningofsoul.com. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Vh1 Behind the Music
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.