Truth about King Tut's Glasgow gig that got Oasis signed finally exposed
Oasis were polite and 'not very rock'n'roll' when they begged to get onstage the night they landed a record deal.
The night the Gallagher brothers were signed to Creation Records by Alan McGee at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut is part of rock 'n' roll folklore, but the legend that they threatened to smash up the venue if they didn't get to play has been debunked by the venue's owner Geoff Ellis.
The date was May 31, 1993 and Oasis turned up to the Glasgow live venue with fellow Manchester band Sister Lovers but had no place on the bill. The story goes that Liam and Noel Gallagher made it clear they would wreck the place if they didn't get to play and the promoters relented and their four-song set - which included Rock 'n' Roll Star - impressed the watching McGee so much that he told Noel he wanted to sign them on the spot.
Now, Geoff - who is the CEO of DF Concerts which has owned and run King Tut's for 35 years - says that is a rock 'n' roll myth to make Oasis seem like a dangerous band and actually Liam and Noel politely asked if they could play too and accepted a few beers as a fee.
Appearing on The Money Trench podcast, Geoff said: 'I got a call from our venue manager, Ali Murdoch who said, 'Look, there's an extra band turned up for tonight, they've turned up with Sister Lovers who are from Manchester as well. And they want to play as well. Are you okay with that?'
"And I said, 'Well, yeah, I mean, you know, can our sound engineer cope with four acts? 'He said, 'Yeah … So it's no issue, we just need your acquiescence really.' No pun intended. So I just said, 'Well, yeah, you know, but we're not paying them by the way.' But I said, 'Give them some beers, look after them.'
'Then Andy Saunders - who I had been at Middlesex Poly with - who was Creation's press officer at the time, he came up with a good story of them threatening to do whatever to the venue if they didn't get on the bill, you know, but that made a great story because them politely asking, 'Is it OK if we go on?' didn't sound as rock and roll!"
Geoff also defended the pricing of tickets for the Oasis Live 25 shows - some of the most expensive and sought after tickets for gigs this year. Geoff, who is promoting Oasis' shows in Scotland, insists the pricing was fair as demand was more for the Oasis then it was for Taylor Swift 's record-breaking Eras Tour. He said: "Demand wise there's been nothing like it. I was told that the demand for tickets massively exceeded Taylor Swift, which was phenomenal demand as well, you know.
'Artists need to earn money and should earn money, and that money goes into the ecosystem. With ticket prices, you know, they are higher across the board than there were a few years ago. But that money is staying within the industry.
'It's staying, the PRS are getting their share, HMRC is getting their share. And there's less leakage going to the secondary market and people clearing up there. So and that money, you know, trickles down to the rest of the ecosystem as well.'
The promoter says the Oasis shows are going to be a music event like no other because you are going to see generations of music fans coming together to see the Gallagher brothers perform for the first time in 16 years.
He said: 'What's exciting, I think, is all the new people who haven't seen Oasis, you know, they were either born after they split up or were too young to go. And to hear those kids be excited, you know, people are 18, I mean, my son's 22, daughter's 21, they've bought tickets to go and they're really excited. They've never seen Oasis. They've seen Liam, they've seen Noel, never seen Oasis. So, they're excited and that's great because that keeps people invigorated with live music.'
Noel and Liam will walk on stage for the first time together in public, since the band split nearly two decades ago, on July 4 at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. There will also be dates in Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin as part of the tour.
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Kingsway from its junction with North Road to its junction with Duke Street . from its junction with to its junction with . Cowbridge Road East from its junction with Cathedral Road to its junction with Westgate Street . from its junction with to its junction with . Tudor Street from its junction with Clare Road to its junction with Wood Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted via Fitzhamon Embankment ). from its junction with to its junction with (access for residents and traders will be permitted via ). Plantagenet Street and Beauchamp Street from their junctions with Despenser Place to their junctions with Tudor Street (access for residents and traders will be permitted). and from their junctions with to their junctions with (access for residents and traders will be permitted). The following roads will be closed in their entirety: Duke Street , Castle St , High Street , St Mary Street , Caroline Street , Wood Street , Central Square , Westgate Street , Quay Street , Guildhall Place , Golate , Park Street , Havelock Street and Scott Road . , , , , , , , , , , , , and . Station Terrace and Guildford Street from the junction with Newport Road to the junction with Churchill Way will be access for buses only during the times of the road closures. This is to ensure that there is reliable access for buses to the satellite points in Churchill Way. and from the junction with to the junction with will be access for buses only during the times of the road closures. This is to ensure that there is reliable access for buses to the satellite points in Churchill Way. Additionally, Penarth Road will be closed 30 minutes before the concerts finish and for up to an hour after they finish, on safety grounds - for train passengers arriving and departing from the train station. 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