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The 17 most valuable cassette tapes sold on Discogs from the world of rock and metal
The 17 most valuable cassette tapes sold on Discogs from the world of rock and metal

Scotsman

time10-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Scotsman

The 17 most valuable cassette tapes sold on Discogs from the world of rock and metal

Were you one of those people who caught Ozzy Osbourne's final performance at Back To The Beginning last weekend (July 5, 2025)? Me too! And perhaps it's also led to you dusting off that old box of cassette tapes, whether to show a younger generation that yes, we did use to listen to music on that 'archaic' format (by today's standards), or maybe just to reminisce about a time that you could walk into Woolworths, pick up the latest heavy metal release, and have enough change to get some lolly mix. Or that might just be me... But with a newer generation of music fans gravitating towards all the things us 'older lot' used to consider the cutting-edge of technology, it might be worth taking a look at how much some of those cassette tape releases are worth. Thanks to the Discogs app, it's as easy as scanning a barcode or typing in the catalogue number on their website. You never know – as it stands, that Death Angel tape you have lying around somewhere is actually worth something, or at least sold for an incredible price through the online marketplace. So, for hard rock, metal, and that cacophony of noise in between (the type your parents loathed when you'd play it on the car stereo), what have been some of the most expensive sales on Discogs for the lovable, if not sometimes infuriating (like getting your tape chewed up), magnetic strip of musical history? 1 . Alice In Chains - MTV Unplugged (£51.09) An iconic live document. This 1996 Spanish cassette album (CBS ‎– COL 484300-4) captures one of Alice in Chains' most powerful and poignant performances, a definitive acoustic set that remains highly sought after by fans and collectors of specific regional pressings. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 2 . Metallica - Nothing Else Matters (£58.03) The power of an anthem. This 1992 US cassette single (Elektra ‎– 4-64770), featuring SR and Dolby HX Pro, stands out for its high value, demonstrating how an iconic song from a global metal titan can drive significant collector demand even on a single format - that's two songs on one tape for that amount! | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 3 . Rage Against The Machine - Renegades (£72.64) A late-era rarity. This 2000 US cassette album (Epic ‎– ET 85289) is valuable due to its production year, as commercial cassette releases were largely phased out in major Western markets by this time, making this a scarcer collectible for Rage Against The Machine fans. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 4 . Slipknot - Slipknot (£72.99) A modern metal debut. This 1999 US cassette album (Roadrunner Records ‎– RR 8655-4, Stereo), from a band that exploded into mainstream consciousness, holds significant value due to its iconic status and the relatively lower production numbers for cassettes in the US during that period. Rumour has it we may see an expanded edition in late 2025... | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales

The 17 most valuable cassette tapes sold on Discogs from the world of rock and metal
The 17 most valuable cassette tapes sold on Discogs from the world of rock and metal

Scotsman

time10-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Scotsman

The 17 most valuable cassette tapes sold on Discogs from the world of rock and metal

Were you one of those people who caught Ozzy Osbourne's final performance at Back To The Beginning last weekend (July 5, 2025)? Me too! And perhaps it's also led to you dusting off that old box of cassette tapes, whether to show a younger generation that yes, we did use to listen to music on that 'archaic' format (by today's standards), or maybe just to reminisce about a time that you could walk into Woolworths, pick up the latest heavy metal release, and have enough change to get some lolly mix. Or that might just be me... But with a newer generation of music fans gravitating towards all the things us 'older lot' used to consider the cutting-edge of technology, it might be worth taking a look at how much some of those cassette tape releases are worth. Thanks to the Discogs app, it's as easy as scanning a barcode or typing in the catalogue number on their website. You never know – as it stands, that Death Angel tape you have lying around somewhere is actually worth something, or at least sold for an incredible price through the online marketplace. So, for hard rock, metal, and that cacophony of noise in between (the type your parents loathed when you'd play it on the car stereo), what have been some of the most expensive sales on Discogs for the lovable, if not sometimes infuriating (like getting your tape chewed up), magnetic strip of musical history? 1 . Alice In Chains - MTV Unplugged (£51.09) An iconic live document. This 1996 Spanish cassette album (CBS ‎– COL 484300-4) captures one of Alice in Chains' most powerful and poignant performances, a definitive acoustic set that remains highly sought after by fans and collectors of specific regional pressings. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 2 . Metallica - Nothing Else Matters (£58.03) The power of an anthem. This 1992 US cassette single (Elektra ‎– 4-64770), featuring SR and Dolby HX Pro, stands out for its high value, demonstrating how an iconic song from a global metal titan can drive significant collector demand even on a single format - that's two songs on one tape for that amount! | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 3 . Rage Against The Machine - Renegades (£72.64) A late-era rarity. This 2000 US cassette album (Epic ‎– ET 85289) is valuable due to its production year, as commercial cassette releases were largely phased out in major Western markets by this time, making this a scarcer collectible for Rage Against The Machine fans. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 4 . Slipknot - Slipknot (£72.99) A modern metal debut. This 1999 US cassette album (Roadrunner Records ‎– RR 8655-4, Stereo), from a band that exploded into mainstream consciousness, holds significant value due to its iconic status and the relatively lower production numbers for cassettes in the US during that period. Rumour has it we may see an expanded edition in late 2025... | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales

'He's like Puss in Boots': A detailed timeline of Liam and Noel Gallagher's explosive decades-long feud
'He's like Puss in Boots': A detailed timeline of Liam and Noel Gallagher's explosive decades-long feud

Cosmopolitan

time04-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Cosmopolitan

'He's like Puss in Boots': A detailed timeline of Liam and Noel Gallagher's explosive decades-long feud

It's not unusual for siblings to quarrel, but no pair of siblings has had such public arguments quite like Liam and Noel Gallagher. The two leading members of the band Oasis are finally burying the hatchet after 16 years to reunite on tour, which kicks off tonight (4 July). The duo formed the iconic band all the way back in the early 1990s and became one of Britain's best musical acts, but despite their mega success, after years of feuding on and off stage the pair finally split and Oasis was over for good in 2009. Well that was until last year, when the band announced they would be returning for a 41 date tour this summer. But before we start searching for resale tickets and looking up the set list for the new tour, what actually caused the brothers' many arguments? Here's a full timeline of their feud and all the bizarre insults they've thrown at each other over the years. In the early 1990s Liam Gallagher approached a band then known as The Rain and joined, but suggested changing the name to Oasis. Noel then joined later on after watching the band perform in Manchester. During a now famous interview with NME, the article revealed the extensive way the brothers would argue and traded intense insults at each other. A 14 minute single called 'Wibbling Rivalry' was then released soon after. In the summer of 1994 Oasis were touring America, and were performing one night in Los Angeles. During the performance Liam sniped at Noel during a song and then hit him over the head with a tambourine before making fun of the audience and storming off stage. Noel then quit the band that day before rejoining a few days later. One of the brothers' most notable feud moments happened in 1995 when they were recording their second album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? The album recording was taking place in Wales, and at one point Liam invited a bunch of people he had just met at the pub to see the band in action. Noel and Liam then argued about this, which led to Noel allegedly hitting Liam with a cricket bat that happened to be in the studio. Liam later recalled of the incident: "The whole studio got smashed to pieces, everything just got blitzed to bits. It was probably me not giving a f**k and him trying to write f**king 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' and me going, 'Bollocks, let's have it.'' The cricket bat was later auctioned off. Following the biggest gig of their careers so far playing to 250,000 fans at Knebworth Park, the band were set record an episode of MTV Unplugged. Liam dropped out citing laryngitis as the cause. However, Liam then showed up at Royal Festival Hall where the recording was taking place and went on the balcony where he was seen smoking, drinking and heckling Noel. Liam then tried to get onstage at which point Noel told him to "piss off". The band were then due to go on tour in America at which point Liam pulled out again but then turned up three days in. The tour was then cancelled two weeks later. The band were due to play a show in Barcelona, however had to cancel the gig due to the drummer Alan White injuring his arm. The band then went and drank, and at some point in the evening it was alleged Liam had questioned the paternity of Noel's daughter Anaïs, who he shares with ex-wife Meg Matthews. The moment reportedly led to an altercation between the brothers and Noel quitting the rest of the band's tour. Despite their many fall outs the band carried on, but was not without its problems. During a show in 2005, Liam walked off the stage mid-way through 'Champagne Supernova'. Though still together in the band at this point, the pair were well used to saying negative things about each other in interview.s In early 2009 Noel was reported to have told Q Magazine that his brother Liam is "the angriest man you'll ever meet. He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup". 10 years later, Liam responded to the insult by posting a video of himself on Twitter eating soup with a fork and thanking for buying tickets to his shows. While performing in Europe, it was one fateful performance in Paris that caused the band to finally breakup for good. Noel alleged the pair had physically fought before starting their world tour and they were now travelling separately to the shows. In 2015, he told Esquire of the state the pair were in: "The last six months were f***ing awful, it was excruciating. "Me and Liam had a massive, massive, massive fistfight three weeks before the world tour started, and fights like that in the past would always be easy to rectify but for some reason I wasn't going to let it go this time. I was just like, 'F**k this ****.' And there was an atmosphere all the way around the world." Noel also went onto say he was frustrated with Liam's approach to the band, claiming Liam was using the band's profile to sell parkas. "Then he [Liam] starts his own clothing label and starts dedicating songs to it on stage and I'm like, 'Really, is this what it's come to?' He's modelling parkas on stage which you could buy on his website. And it's just like, 'This is not for me,'" he explained. Ahead of the show in Paris, it was alleged Liam had started welding a guitar at Noel like an axe. In 2015, Noel said of the alleged incident: "[Liam] goes out the dressing room, for whatever reason, he went to his own dressing room, and he came back with a guitar, and he started wielding it like an axe, and I'm not f**king kidding." Following this Noel decided to quit the band for good. He revealed his decision on Oasis' website, explaining: "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer." Shortly after the band's breakup, Oasis were awarded a BRIT award for the best album of the last 30 years for (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Liam was the only one there to collect the award and went onto thank all the members of the band apart from Noel. Following the breakdown of Oasis, both brothers formed new groups. Liam's is Beady Eye, while Noel's is High Flying Birds, which his brother then decided to nickname 'High Flying Turds'. He then went onto say his brother looked like he belonged in the boyband Westlife. Speaking to Q magazine he said: "He blew it. He could have said, I was a dick, he was a dick, that's life, it's 2011, here's my f**king record. "Listen, our Kid's a mouthy f**k too. He said we had a year to come up with a band name and came up with Beady Eye. "He had three and came up with the High Flying Turds. I don't know who dressed him but he looks like something out of Westlife." Later on that year Liam was asked if he'd ever reunite the band with his brother, to which he replied: "I'd rather eat my own s**t than be in a band with him again. He's a miserable little f**k … If the fans want it, though, I'd do it.' Over the years it appears the brothers' interactions with each other are brief, however, Liam does take to trolling Noel on social media, frequently posting pictures of his sibling and captioning them "potato". Following the horrific attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, Liam performed on stage at the One Love Manchester concert to honour the victims. He then tweeted about Noel's lack of appearance, saying: "Noel's out of the f**king country weren't we all love get on a f**king plane and play your tunes for the kids you sad f**k." Noel then responded in an interview with The Sunday Times, claiming he wasn't asked to perform. "Young Mancunians, young music fans, were slaughtered, and he, twice, takes it somewhere to be about him. He needs to see somebody," he said in response. In July 2019, Noel's wife Sara MacDonald was asked if she would watch Liam's performance at Glastonbury, to which she declined and described Liam as a: "fat t**t doing his tribute act." Following this Noel then claimed Liam had sent a 'threatening' message to Noel's daughter Anaïs. Noel shared a screenshot of the alleged message which said: "Tell your step mam to be very careful." Noel went onto write on his own social media about the screenshot: "So you're sending threatening messages via my teenage daughter now are you? You always were good at intimidating women though eh." Liam went onto apologise publicly saying: "My sincere apologies to my beautiful mum Peggy and my lovely niece Anaïs for getting caught up in all of this childish behaviour I love you both dearly." While appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, Noel denies claims he said no to a £100m reunion. Speaking on the show Noel said: "There isn't £100m in the music business, right, between all of us … If anybody wants to offer me £100m now, I'll say it now, I'll do it. I'll do it for £100m.' Liam then responded on Twitter saying he would do it for free. During yet another interview when he was asked about the reunion between himself and his brother and the band, Noel said it wouldn't happen and compared Liam to Puss in Boots from Shrek. He told Rolling Stone Music Now podcast: "Well, I know for a fact he doesn't want it either, but he likes to paint this picture of, you know, this little f**king guy who's sitting with his suitcase packed by the door, you know, like the little f**king cat from fucking Shrek, you know, the little fucking Spanish cat with these big f**king teary eyes. 'I'm [gonna] go and do it now for you fans. I love you.' It's like, well, fucking call me then. And he hasn't called me. And until he does, it's f**king going nowhere.' After 15 years since they last performed together on stage as Oasis, Liam and Noel announce the band is getting back together for a worldwide tour in 2025. Heading to the tour? Check out the set list here.

Liam and Noel Gallagher's bitter feud and real reason for Oasis split
Liam and Noel Gallagher's bitter feud and real reason for Oasis split

Daily Record

time01-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Daily Record

Liam and Noel Gallagher's bitter feud and real reason for Oasis split

Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher have finally put their differences aside to reform Oasis, with the band set to embark on a stadium tour in 2025 after years of feuding. When the warring Gallagher brothers finally put the past behind them, they answered Oasis fans prayers and promised the reunion they've been yearning for for years. Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher are set to head out on a world wide tour which kicks off this Friday in Cardiff, and will see then head to Edinburgh's Murrayfield for three nights in August. ‌ The brothers are infamous for their public feuds and fallouts during their time in Oasis and even after Noel's departure in 2009, they continued to trade barbs in interviews and online, with Liam's subsequent attempts at reconciliation notably falling flat. ‌ So, what went wrong? Liam, 51, and his elder sibling Noel, 57, have been at loggerheads since Oasis soared to fame in the '90s. The initial signs of strife between the Gallagher brothers surfaced during their debut tour of the US in 1994, with Liam infamously tweaking the lyrics of Noel's songs to wind up both his brother and the American audience. The tension escalated to a physical altercation involving a chair being hurled, leading Noel to storm out of the tour. The following year, during recording sessions, Liam's decision to bring a pub crowd into the studio incensed Noel to the point where he struck Liam with a cricket bat. In that era, an NME interview with the brothers descended into chaos as they repeatedly exchanged "F**k off" insults. Another infamous incident occurred in 1996 during Oasis' MTV Unplugged gig when Liam withdrew last-minute, only to taunt Noel from a VIP box while Noel performed his parts. A semblance of peace seemed to return with the new millennium, but it was shattered during a Spanish tour when a drunken brawl broke out. Noel punched Liam, splitting his lip, after Liam cast doubt on the legitimacy of Noel's daughter Anais with Meg Matthews. ‌ This clash led Noel to temporarily quit Oasis, although he rejoined shortly after. 'Diva fit' Liam famously threw what Noel termed a "diva fit" during a performance in Japan, culminating in him storming off stage mid-show. But it was in 2009 that tensions reached boiling point. On August 28, 2009, their longstanding feud exploded just before a scheduled Paris gig, prompting lead guitarist and songwriter Noel to dramatically leave the band. ‌ In a statement, Noel declared he could no longer work with Liam "a day longer". Reflecting on his brother to NME, the elder Gallagher remarked: "I don't know who the guy is who's in these interviews, he seems really cool, because the guy I've been in a band with for the last 18 years is a f**king knobhead." While Noel has carved out a notable solo career and started The High-Flying Birds in 2011, Liam couldn't resist taking a swipe at them on Twitter, calling the group the "High-Flying Turds". ‌ Following Oasis disbandment, Liam garnered acclaim for his own musical endeavours, with his 2017 album 'As You Were' drawing particular praise. However, even as time passed, the siblings' discord showed no sign of mending; this was evident around the release of the 2016 Oasis documentary 'Supersonic'. When asked if he thought Noel would attend the film's premiere, Liam quipped: "Oh no, Noel won't be here. He's in one of his really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really big houses. Probably eatin' tofu while havin' a face peel, isn't that right, man of the people?". ‌ The subsequent year brought with it a glimmer of hope for an Oasis reunion at the Manchester One Love concert, which was organised to honour those who perished in the Manchester Arena bombing. However, when the anticipated reunion did not come to pass, Liam publicly blamed his brother on social media. Liam expressed his disappointment on Twitter: "Manchester, I'd like to apologise for my brothers absence, last night.... It ain't about Oasis, it's about people helping other people and he's once again shown his true f**king colours." Since that time, Liam has openly discussed his wish to reconcile, if only for their mother's benefit. ‌ In a 2017 interview with Radio 1, he reflected: "I'll speak to him some day. It's all very sad, but we'll get over it... I guess it mustn't be nice for my mum." And during a conversation with DJ Jo Whiley on Radio 2, Liam remarked: "Our kid [Noel] has been called many times to get the band back together. "It just so happens this time he wants it is when he has an album out. The way I see it, I won't be calling him, he will be calling me. I want him to call. It would be lovely for my mum. I'm not arsed about the band. It would be lovely for two brothers to be talking and for my mum. ‌ "The families have not seen each other and my kids haven't seen his kids, I haven't seen his kids, all that would be great. And then maybe we could get the band back together or maybe not but that would be nice." During his Reading Festival performance, Liam Gallagher belted out a selection of Oasis classics from their seminal first album. Before launching into 'Half The World Away', which not only featured on their debut but also became the iconic theme for 'The Royle Family', he declared to the crowd: "I wanna dedicate this song to Noel f**king Gallagher." Here's hoping they manage to stay pals for the entire tour. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

‘Loop the f**king loop': New book reveals how Oasis imploded at the height of their fame
‘Loop the f**king loop': New book reveals how Oasis imploded at the height of their fame

News.com.au

time16-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • News.com.au

‘Loop the f**king loop': New book reveals how Oasis imploded at the height of their fame

They were the biggest band of their generation, on the edge of world domination … then it all went wrong. As the reunited Gallagher brothers prepare to tour Oasis once again, music industry veteran JOHN ROBB recounts the disaster that deprived Aussie fans of seeing their heroes, in this exclusive extract from his new book Live Forever – an eyewitness account full of interviews with the major players in one of rock's biggest dramas. Yin and yang, hello goodbye, up and down, one step forwards and one step back … only Oasis could follow up a triumph like their enormous gig at Knebworth in August 1996, with a near disaster not even two weeks later. The volatile nature of the band, of course, was one of their magnetic qualities for outsiders. They never faked anything and their hearts were certainly on their sleeves; it saw them often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and then somehow thrive in the following chaos. The biggest crime in pop culture is to be boring, and Oasis were never boring. On 23 August they were due to film an MTV Unplugged appearance that would become more famous for the inherent chaos that was always bubbling up just beneath the surface. Launched in 1989, the MTV Unplugged sessions were a big deal at the time. Featuring a filmed acoustic live session from a band, they had often been iconic, from Neil Young delivering a stunning take of his Harvest Moon classic to the most famous one of them all, Nirvana whose unplugged was eventually released as an album and is arguably their finest performance. Filmed at the Royal Festival Hall, even the rehearsals for the Oasis show were fraught with problems, with singer Liam Gallagher complaining of having a bad throat and walking out, and guitarist brother Noel having to cover most of the vocals. When it came to filming time, Liam hadn't turned up. The rumour was that he had been out drinking for a few days. Almost inevitably, he had been hanging out with Owen Morris the night before, as the producer remembers: 'The night before Liam didn't do MTV, he had been in my hotel room getting wasted, and I got the f**king blame! It was the first time I had seen him for eight months so we went to the pub and drank too much Guinness. And then Liam decided he didn't want to f**king sing on that MTV thing. I didn't know he was gonna f**king go loop the f**king loop, right?' Now that it was obvious the iconic singer was not going to do the session, MTV scrambled for a plan B. They had already taped a full rehearsal with the band and there was talk of using that footage mixed with a Noel-led performance, but the cost of editing meant they elected to go with the guitarist singing the whole session. Cameras on, Noel announced, 'Liam ain't gonna be with us tonight cause he's got a sore throat. So you're stuck with the ugly four,' and carried it off perfectly, bringing his own more plaintive takes on his lyrics compared to his younger brother's captivating vocals with a now watching Liam sat in the upstairs seats heckling, which further cranked the tension as the 'ugly four' delivered the session. Whatever was going on, it made for riveting viewing and added to the helter-skelter dynamics of the band that defied boredom and conventional careerism with moments of madness like this. With (What's the Story) Morning Glory? in the top 5 of the American charts, the tour should have been a triumph. The sheer scale of Knebworth and the huge success of the album and 'Wonderwall' had put them on a supernova footing. The discipline required to get to the top, forged in those endless hours of rehearsing in the Boardwalk seemed to be dissipating though. The internecine tension between the two brothers, amped by the pressure and further cranked by the cocaine and the post-Knebworth malaise, were playing out in lots of different ways. 'The Knebworth thing was with us when we went on that plane to America,' says Noel. 'I guess subconsciously we must have felt we had done it with Morning Glory riding high in the American album charts and 'Wonderwall' in the top five.' The MTV filming had been a warning sign and now the band had to play their first date on the American tour with no singer, who had decided, last minute, that he needed to go house hunting with his new partner, Patsy Kensit, after moving out of the flat he had been renting. This left Noel to front the band at the first gig in Chicago and sing the whole set and songs like 'Champagne Supernova' for the first time ever, after supports from the Screaming Trees and the Manic Street Preachers. Even the Stones at their most decadent hadn't been this unruly. After joining the tour for the second date at the large Glass Palace venue on the edge of Detroit, Liam had the now famous confrontation with the late Mark Lanegan, the then lead singer of the Screaming Trees. The stand-off was sparked when he called Lanegan's band the 'Howling Branches' and it descended from there. On paper it may have seemed an odd bill but, like Nirvana, with whose totemic frontman Noel felt an alignment, Mark Lanegan was close to Kurt Cobain; and Oasis and they and Screaming Trees had things in common. Both had a melodic take on anthemic noise and an ability to weave introspection into the high-decibel void. Both singers were renegade Irish blood transposed into alien nations and reacting in their own ways. It's a shame they bumped into each other at the wrong time in their lives and fell out so badly as there could have been much mutual respect with Mark Lanegan being a fan of Oasis, but it wasn't to be, and the festering ill will carried on until Mark's death in 2022. The tension carried through the next few shows before arriving in New York where Oasis were appearing on the MTV awards on 4 September. On the show, the band performed a loose version of 'Champagne Supernova' with a clearly discontented singer adlibbing 'up your bum' into the song and spitting on the stage. It's as electric in its tension and unpredictability as prime-time Doors. The tour staggered on for a few dates with Noel grimly grinding the shows down before it all finally imploded on 10 September, two hours before stage time in Charlotte at the Bristow Nissan Pavilion, when the guitarist pulled the tour and flew home on Concorde. The rest of the American tour and follow-up legs in Australia and New Zealand were pulled. Oasis had imploded. It was big news. 'Liam had an argument with (rhythm guitarist) Bonehead about a leather jacket and we were all on f**king drugs and I was saying, 'Calm down!' and we blew out four really big gigs,' explains Noel. 'At that point the band could have gone one way or another. There was mayhem when we got back to England, there was chaos at the airport. I couldn't believe the amount of press that was there. We had only cancelled a few f**king gigs. 'It was insane. We had to get driven from the airport to a secret hideaway and we were now in the tabloids all the time. After that, the drugs started to take over. We shouldn't have gone on that tour in the first place. What we should have done after Knebworth was just f**king disappeared. 'It was the classic thing, which we never, ever learned in Oasis, which was biting off more than you can chew, but when you're cocky little working class lads and someone says, 'There's another six-week tour of America, you might be tired …' I would say, 'Tired? What are you f**king talking about? We're f**king there, mate!' But when you get older you realise it's the adults surrounding the band that should have not let that happen.' Noel knew the damage had been done. 'You can get away with unprofessionalism in the UK but the Americans could not understand how we could blow out gigs or be too pissed to meet that guy at the record shop who would rack the records. 'Marcus (Russell, the band's manager) was based in England and we never had an American manager and we were left to our own devices. We were on Epic records in the USA and it doesn't get any more corporate than that. Their two biggest acts were Whitney Houston and Celine Dion and then there was us. They didn't get it for a long time, even with the album at number two in the charts. They think you are trying to trick them somehow because you're playing 'Rock 'n' Roll Star' and no one is moving except for the drummer. 'Musically we could have smashed it, but they are so attuned out there to people like Chris Martin and Bono who give a lot to a crowd, but Liam is into his stillism, which was great of course but they find that offensive out there. They are into showmanship and a stage show and they couldn't believe that 'you guys just stand there!' If you act like Mick Jagger they get it but they were so intimidated by the way we were on stage. They didn't know what to do if you were not performing like a ludicrous idiot. (Record company executive) Alan McGee always said we were too Mancunian for America and 'it's no surprise that none of you from that city have ever done anything there!' 'We were expected to go and repeat the staggering success of the UK – I'm sure McGee and Marcus were not thinking that but someone at Sony was. I had already been to America with the Inspirals and I knew that New York and LA were great but the rest of it can be like a Wednesday afternoon in Bury. 'Our reputation preceded us for being somewhat tetchy, 'Here, these are the guys that fight all the time.' Yet we didn't fight all the time although we do like an argument, particularly in the press, but it's often tongue in cheek, but because Americans have a different sense of humour they think it's all real!' Band PR Johnny Hopkins saw the genuine band dynamics: 'There was so much love between the brothers at first, and the atmosphere around the band in those early years was just beautiful and hilarious. Maybe it changed after Wibbling Rivalry (an infamous recording of Noel and Liam arguing) which created an expectation.' The cultural differences between the UK and USA baffled both sides. Noel explains: 'They said we were going through the motions because we were not as big in the USA, but I found that quite insulting. In England we call that nonchalance. I remember a girl from the label was driving us around to do press in Seattle and she asked me what Creation Records was like. She was horrified when I said they get us drugs and have their own drug dealers.' Despite this pervading feeling of car crash, the band were actually the most successful UK band in the USA for years; and decades later, when they reformed in 2024, they sold out their biggest ever shows in minutes because, in the end, it's the songs that really matter.

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