Why I Wrote ‘Some Might Say’

A short piece I recently wrote for Live4ever. Call it personal PR, if you will.

Live4ever’s Richard Bowes has just written his first book, Some Might Say – The Definitive Story Of Oasis. Here, he outlines why it was a tale that needed to be told:

You undoubtedly have your opinions on Oasis. 26 years on from their debut single, they still cast a huge shadow over British rock music. They changed the genre (whether or not that was for the better or for the worse is subjective), and their impact was undeniable. Seismic, even.

The twin titans that were Parklife and Definitely Maybe raised the standard for guitar-led music from 1994 onwards, albeit for a brief, golden period. Top 10 singles were expected rather than the hoped for and then, once Oasis infiltrated the mainstream, they became a part of British life. Everyone knows the Gallagher brothers.

Yet where Blur opted to retreat and the majority of other ‘Britpop’ bands floundered, Oasis sustained their success: 23 UK top 10 singles out of 26, with only four of those failing to make the Top 5. Each studio album a Number One. Sold out tours, right until they split in 2009. An astonishing degree of chart success that bettered anything Queen or The Who (for example), two of the most successful British bands of all time, achieved. Liam Gallagher’s rebirth over the last few years only serves to demonstrate the continued interest in Oasis, even if it is hugely driven by nostalgia. The perception that Oasis were a 90s phenomenon is true to a certain extent, but that’s only a part of the story.

That story, from start to finish, has never been documented. There’s a wealth of books that cover their early years but, hopefully to your amazement, there is yet to be one published that spans their career from start to finish. There is now. Not only that, but with access to a wealth of exclusive interviews, there are some stories from their imperial period which had not yet been told. I felt that the story needed to be told. Inevitably, there will be things I missed, but I believe it’s as comprehensive a record about one of the biggest British bands ever as there could be.

At least until the revised edition.