Oasis was one of the most important bands that emerged from Britpop music style of the 90’s. In this post, we take a look at some of the influenced that shaped the Gallagher brothers, Liam & Noel.
The following graphic shows some of Oasis’ main musical influences, as well as their impact on today’s music scene. There have been a lot of speculations about an Oasis reunion, but songwriter Noel Gallagher has commented on many occasions that he is not willing to perform with his brother ever again.
Said all this, let’s dive into some of Oasis’s main inspirations.
Which artists influenced Oasis?
The LAs and The Stone Roses
There are two main and direct influences on Oasis’ mid-nineties sound: one of them is The LAs, who released their only hit single There She Goes in 1990. The other band is The Stone Roses, the one actually included in this infographic. Liam Gallagher has cited The Stones Roses’ song I wanna be adored as an inspiration. On his side, his brother and ex-bandmate Noel Gallagher said that Cinamon Girl was the track that turned him into a fan of the band. In fact, Oasis first album, Definitely Maybe from 1994, sounds similar to The Stone Roses self-titled debut album from 1989. Both releases feature psychedelic delay guitars, a “quite spacey” sound, and especially, great tunes.
The Smiths
Another big influence on Oasis’ successful Britpop sound was The Smiths. Many tracks from this eighties band, led by Morrissey, have been covered by Noel Gallagher (There is a Light that never goes out is a good example). The Smith‘s guitarist Johnny Marr is one of Noel’s personal idols, and he even had him as a collaborator on The Ballad of the Mighty I, the final track of his solo album Chasing Yesterday, from 2015. Also, Marr gave Noel a special guitar, which was previously played The Who’s Pete Townshend.
The Who
Speaking about The Who, they are also a big influence on Oasis. Noel has explained that The Who were an inspiration on Oasis’s track Lyla, from Don’t Believe the Truth (2005). The guitarist also commented that this album owes a lot to the British rock sound from the sixties, with The Who being a clear inspiration. Apart from this, Oasis recorded a version of the classic My Generation from The Who, as a B side from their single Little by Little (Heathen Chemistry, 2002). Related to this matter, Pete Townshend also said he admires Liam and Noel.
The Rolling Stones
In the documentary Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Britpop, Noel Gallagher explained that the inspiration for Oasis’ classic song Live Forever came from The Rolling Stones’ Shine a Light, originally released on Exile on Main St. (1972). In addition to this, Oasis recorded a version of Street Fighting Man, another Rolling Stone’s stand-out track.
The Beatles
Well, this is quite obvious, but let’s dive into some details about The Beatles’ influence on Oasis. The Beatles’ classic album Revolver (1966) is one of Noel Gallagher´s favorite albums. On his side, Liam Gallagher is such a fan of John Lennon that he even named his son after him. As it is widely known, Oasis has covered The Beatles live and in the studio on several occasions.
Bands influenced by Oasis
Coldplay
One of Oasis most popular “alumni” is Coldplay. The band has covered the song Live Forever with Liam Gallagher. Coldplay’s frontman, Chris Martin also mentioned Oasis’ track Cast No Shadow, from (What´s the Story) Morning Glory?, as a big influence on him.
The Killers
Another famous Oasis fan is Brandon Flowers. According to the singer from The Killers, he decided to start his own band after attending an Oasis concert back in 2002, in Las Vegas. The Killers have covered the Britpop titans many times live, performing tracks such as Live Forever, Wonderwall and Acquiesce. For additional information on this band, please visit our post about The Killers’ musical influences.
Arctic Monkeys
Both the drummer and the singer from Arctic Monkeys, Matt Helders and Alex Turner, performed in an Oasis tribute band during their adolescence. Oasis has been an influence on their lyrics about the working class way of life, their neighborhood, and the real situation on the streets.
The Libertines
Last but not least, we have the British successful band The Libertines. Back in 1997, a really young Pete Doherty was filmed on video as he was part of the crowd looking to buy Oasis’ third LP, Be Here Now. At the time he just used this event to make funny comments on camera. Many years later he would clarify that jokes aside, Oasis were one of the bands he listened to the most, even though at the time of the footage he was just pretending to be a fan.
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A little extra content here: here you can see Brandon Flowers reaction when he was surprised on stage by Liam Gallagher.