Oasis recordings head to auction despite band’s concerns

More than 100 hours of previously preserved Oasis audio recordings are heading to auction, despite concern from the band’s members, Liam and Noel Gallagher. The collection includes recordings from concerts and rehearsals.

The tapes were kept by Huw Richards, who worked as Oasis’ sound technician from the release of the band’s 1994 debut album, “Definitely Maybe,” until 2001. His son, Owain Richards, is now selling the material. Littleton Auctions will hold the sale on October 3, and the collection is expected to raise up to £1.7 million, nearly 14 million Danish kroner.

Auction house director Ben Homer told The Guardian that Oasis had reacted to the sale. “The Oasis team is aware of the auction and has expressed concern, which is entirely understandable given the scale and significance of the material,” he said. Owain Richards, who also works as a sound technician, previously contacted the band’s management after Oasis searched for some of the recordings.

Richards told The Times that the band wanted the tapes returned rather than sold elsewhere, but discussions eventually stalled. He said his father had carefully stored the recordings. They come from a period when concertgoers did not routinely document shows with mobile phones.

Oasis has sold millions of albums worldwide and is known for songs including “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Supersonic.” The auction announcement follows the Gallagher brothers’ decision in 2024 to reunite the band after a major split. Oasis formed in 1991 and broke up in 2009 amid personal and professional disagreements between the brothers. Fifteen years later, they said they had buried the hatchet and re-formed the band. Since then, Oasis has played a major reunion tour and appeared in a new documentary, “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.”

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The Oasis team is aware of the auction and has expressed concern, which is entirely understandable given the scale and significance of the material.