If you love Oasis, you’ll love this.
“I really do believe that some things are fucking meant to be”.
Those are Alan McGee’s famous words in the documentary Supersonic when he recounts the day that he signed Oasis to Creation Records. At the time, the brothers Gallagher were just young musicians that were generating quite the buzz on the circuit.
Hungry, determined, and incredibly self-confident that they were on the road to greatness, a trip to play King Tuts in Glasgow would change the landscape of rock ‘n roll.
On a Sunday night with only 12 people in attendance, Oasis were the support act for a band called Sister Lovers – Noel Gallagher knew their lead singer Debbie Turner quite well and she invited them along.
After arriving at the venue, Oasis were actually refused entry to the gig because nobody knew who they were, or if they were actually on the billing. In an act of solidarity, Turner said that if Oasis don’t play, Sister Lovers don’t play.
A few hours later, Alan McGee was about to offer Oasis a recording contract with Creation Records – the biggest indie label in the world – on the back of the four tracks that they played that evening -Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, Bring It on Down, Up in the Sky, I Am the Walrus (cover of The Beatles’ classic)
As you can see below, those songs sounded almost exactly like the recorded version on Definitely Maybe.
“Debbie didn’t even know that I was coming up to that gig but being an evil, twisted fucker, I thought that I’d show up to put her on edge, said McGee.
“I really do believe that some things are fucking meant to be. I was standing there with my kid sister Susan and she immediately went ‘ you should sign these’ and I’m like ‘let’s hear the second song’ and I went ‘I am signing these’. After the third song, I said ‘I’m definitely signing these,’ he added.
Well, Alan McGee, one of the most important names of the British music industry of the last 30 years, will be doing an exclusive Q&A session in The Sugar Club Dublin on 28 May.
Aside from discovering Oasis, McGee also worked with some of the most significant bands of the last three decades including Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, the Jesus and Mary Chain and The Libertines to name but a few.
He also managed a number of acts including The Happy Mondays and Cast.
McGee will be interviewed by Robert Fiddaman before a short Q&A session with the audience. For those interested, tickets cost €20 and they’re available here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpozn3nedMs
Clip via familiar to billions
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