OasisOasis are a British rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. It began with 4

members, Liam Gallagher (vocals and tambourine), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony

McCarroll (drums, percussion). Not long after, noel Gallagher (Liam’s older brother) joined, initially as the group’s sole songwriter. Noel gave the band lots of ideas, and by 1994, the released there first single, Supersonic. Later

this year oasis released their first album ‘definitely maybe’ which entered at number one as was (at the time) the fastest selling debut album of all time.

4 years on• Over the next four years the media portrayed a ‘Britpop’ battle between

oasis and blur, despite oasis not being Britpop. This caused lots of problems and controversies. There second album ‘(what's the story) morning glory’ was a commercial success, becoming the fourth best-selling album in UK Chart history with over four million copies sold. The 3 biggest singles to come out of this album were wonderwall, champagne supernova and don’t look back in anger. There third album Be Here Now sold over 696,000 by the end of saturday. It was the fastest-selling album in British history.

Other albums• Their 4th album standing on the shoulders of giants sold well,

much like there 5th, heathen chemistry, although critics deemed it to be average compared to previous efforts. Album number 6, don’t believe the truth was deemed their best since (what's the story) morning glory. In 2006 the band released stop the clocks, a compilation album of their best songs.

Controversies

• Despite being a very critically and commercially successful band, oasis often took the headlines for the wrong reasons. On numerous occasions it has been reported that lead singer Liam has been taking cocaine and crystal met, as well as alcohol abuse. In 1996 he was caught in possession of cocaine, and in 1997 on radio he advocated the use of drugs, stating ‘drugs do work’. He has also been involved in a great deal of fights and incidents, often involving the police. As well as Liams behavior issues also extend to his brother, whom he frequently falls out with. They were constantly fighting, causing noel to quit the band temporarily, before finally quitting in 2009, stating that he could no longer work with his brother. Noel has also had issues in the past. The most notable is his comment saying that he hoped Damon Albarn and Alex James of Blur would "catch AIDS and die”. He later apologized for this.

Type of music• Oasis were most heavily influenced by The Beatles, and

are considered British rock. Other influences include The Stone Roses, T. Rex, Sex Pistols, Slade, Who, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, The Stooges, The La's, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, R.E.M., Humble Pie, The Jam, Pink Floyd, The Verve and Led Zeppelin