I was there when Liam & Noel got career-defining call – I wish I'd kept thank you gifts from opening for Oasis in '94

The Irish Sun

3 days ago

Oasis fans paid just £6.75 to see the Manchester lads play their initial Irish gig at the Tivoli Theatre
IRISH SUPPORT ACT I was there when Liam & Noel got career-defining call – I wish I'd kept thank you gifts from opening for Oasis in '94
AN Irish drummer who supported Oasis on their first tour of Ireland has recalled the moment Liam and Noel Gallagher got the call to say they had gone to No.1 in the UK charts.
The year was 1994 when punters paid just £6.75 to see the Manchester lads play their initial Irish gig at the Tivoli Theatre in Dublin.
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Drummer Peter Kelly supported Oasis in Dublin in 1994
Credit: COLLECT
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The drummer shared memories of Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher in Dublin
Credit: Koh Hasebe/It was just weeks after the release of their debut album Definitely Maybe.
And supporting them that night were indie band Catchers, from Portstewart, Co Derry.
Speaking for the first time about opening for Oasis at that Irish gig, drummer Peter Kelly told The Irish Sun: 'I remember Noel played guitar to these two vintage orange amplifiers and the sound was incredible in this small club.
'It was probably the last time anyone would see Oasis in a club that size.
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'It was all stadiums and arenas from that point on. No one had any idea how big Oasis would become.'
Now 52, Peter has been living in Australia for the past 22 years, where he works as a business administrator.
Peter said the memories of supporting Liam and Noel returned when his boss told him he had just paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to see Oasis on their reunion tour in Melbourne.
Peter told us: 'I said 'I'll tell you a story about Oasis' — and my boss couldn't believe how much cheaper the tickets for Oasis were back then.'
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Signed to Setanta Records, Catchers had landed singles of the week in the NME and Melody Maker, when they were asked to open for Oasis on their Irish tour.
They played the Tivoli Theatre in the Liberties, on September 3 and the Limelight Belfast the following night.
Ex-Celtic star goes wild as he does the huddle at Oasis gig with 70,000 fans
Peter told us: 'I'll always remember, at the Belfast show, Oasis got the call to say that Definitely Maybe had gone to Number One in the UK charts.
'They went mental. I was there when Liam and Noel got that news and saw how happy they were. There was no turning back after that call.
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'It's incredible to think I was there in the room when a crew member came in and gave them that news.'
The Gallaghers had reason to be grateful to Peter.
The previous night in Dublin, Oasis drummer Tony Gallagher broke his snare drum bashing out early hits, Supersonic, Shakermaker and Live Forever and had to get a replacement from the Catchers.
Peter told us: 'Oasis asked could they borrow my snare drum and I said 'no problem'.
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"Oasis gave me some drum skins as a thank you gift, I wished I'd kept them now.'
Hanging out with Oasis, Peter recalls Liam Gallagher was wound up with swagger and attitude.
He said: 'I didn't approach Liam because Liam was unapproachable. But Noel was the total opposite.
'I remember sitting on the stairs with him backstage in the Tivoli chatting about The Frank and Walters - who were friends of ours - who he had toured with when he roadied for The Inspiral Carpets. Noel was great.'
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HIGH ALERT
For the gig in Belfast, Peter recalls how the two bands nearly didn't make it over the border as their convoy was stopped by the RUC.
The year was 1994 — four years before the Good Friday Agreement — and the North was still on high alert.
Peter said: 'The RUC stopped our van, made some calls and told us the registration on our van belonged to a Honda 50, not the van we were in.
'It was a scary moment because you couldn't be driving up North with dodgy registration plates.
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'But Oasis had gone through the checkpoint first so when the RUC man asked if we were with Oasis, and we said we were the support band, he waved us through and we were on the road to Belfast.'
Peter recalls the audience at the front of both Irish shows heaving as they witnessed Oasis on fire belting out their hits.
He said: 'The effect Oasis had on the audience was just incredible.
"Hearing all those songs from Definitely Maybe in a packed little venue with Liam and Noel at full throttle… incredible.'
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As the opening act, Catchers couldn't have been more different from the Manchester headliners.
Singers Dale Grundle and Alice Lemon created beautiful harmonies together on pristine pop songs like Cotton Dress.
Peter said: 'No, it wasn't the sort of crowd we'd usually play for but we lived to tell the tale.'
SUPERSTAR MATES
The administrator recalled how Oasis were joined by superstar mates on the dates.
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Peter said: 'I remember talking to this guy about music backstage in Dublin for ages. He had a shaved head.
'It was only then he introduced himself as Evan Dando of The Lemonheads, who were a pretty huge band back then.'
It's mad to think back to those days. I was 21 at the time and having a ball."
Catchers would later go on to tour with Pulp and Edwyn Collins after recording their debut album Mute with Cure producer Mike Hedges.
The record won them a devoted following in France, before they signed with US label Warners Discovery and moved to the US.
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The group split after second album Stooping To Fit in 1998.
Peter ended up working in a London pub where he met his future Australian wife.
They travelled to Oz in 2003 and he has remained there ever since.
Peter said: 'It's mad to think back to those days. I was 21 at the time and having a ball.
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Looking at the tickets now — £6.75 to see Oasis at the Tivoli. You'd pay a lot more now. A lot!'
You can hear Catchers at catchers.bandcamp.com
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Fans paid just £6.75 to see the Manchester lads play
Credit: COLLECT
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The Gallagher brothers performed at the Tivoli Theatre in 1994
Credit: COLLECT
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