Oasis and me: How the Gallaghers changed the lives of their fans

BBC News

01-07-2025

Since they burst into the public eye more than three decades ago, Oasis have been central to their fans' lives.From love stories to heartache, from teenage high-jinx to family drama, from being young, free and reckless to getting older and facing life's challenges, the music made by Liam and Noel Gallagher has been the soundtrack of many lives.Ahead of the band's reunion shows, some of those fans have shared the stories of how Oasis have impacted their lives with an exclusive series presented by Noel's daughter Anaïs Gallagher for BBC Sounds.
'Liam gave me a platinum disc'
In 1996, teenage Oasis superfans Anthony Lanni and Paul Hannington travelled from Stevenage to London with one aim - to meet their hero Liam Gallagher. Anthony, who is now 43, said what followed was an afternoon beyond their wildest dreams. "I was just 15 when this happened," he said."There wasn't much to do so we just figured let's go on this random quest to London and see if we can go and meet him."
The pair had tracked down Liam's home address, but on arrival, their courage was tested as there was no indication the singer would be leaving his house.After waiting outside for about 15 minutes, Paul suggested to Anthony that he should knock on the front door. "I was just this cheeky chappy and just thought 'go on then, why not?'," he said. The response the pair received was typically Gallagher-esque."To say he wasn't happy puts it mildly."I remember him saying 'you don't just come and knock on my door alright'."
The door then slammed in the teenagers' faces, leaving them unsure what to do next.But 10 minutes later, the door opened again. "He sort of apologised for being a bit rude and started chatting to us," Paul said. Regaining their wits and warming to the unexpected interaction, Anthony spotted a number of platinum discs on the wall behind Liam and decided to ask for one. "He handed [one of them] to me," he said."He said, and I'll never forget these words, 'if you don't ask, you don't get'."He said I can keep it."It's giving me goosebumps just talking about it. I was in sheer disbelief."
Paul said he could not believe what his friend had achieved in that moment."I felt a bit left out and I said 'what can I have?'," he said."I was just joking really and he reached out and picked up a hole punch off the desk beside the front door and said 'how about that? You can have this'."I looked at it and I thought 'yeah – I'll take that'."
'Oasis brought my mum back to me'
As a teenager, Karen Kelly would listen to Oasis on repeat, blasting the songs from her bedroom in New Ross, County Wexford in Ireland.However, as much as she loved them, the volume was not as warmly appreciated by her mum Helen, who would bang on the ceiling with a brush telling her to turn the music down."She said she liked some of their songs," she said."She couldn't help it, as that's all that was coming out of my house."But when Don't Look Back in Anger came out, I used to catch her in the kitchen with the piano at the start and she would be tapping the toe and the head would be going."
Years later, she started to notice her mother was struggling with her memory, before she was eventually diagnosed with dementia."We've got to the stage where she doesn't know who I am at the moment," she said."It's sad because the mother I knew isn't there any more."That's how bad it's gotten. It's hard."It's true what they say with dementia. You lose them twice."
One day, her father called to say her mother was having a bad day. She decided to take her on a drive to do "car karaoke" and Don't Look Back in Anger came on."I looked over and the head was going," she said."The next minute she started singing. "My mouth was open."
She said with tears flooding down her face, she joined in, singing in unison."She sang every word," she said."She hasn't a clue who I am, doesn't know my name from Adam but she knows Don't Look Back in Anger, which I think is magical."She said it was a moment she would cherish forever. "To have a few minutes where the two of you just connect through a song... I think it's just about the most amazing thing ever."
'Channelling Liam helped me come out'
Comedian Susie McCabe, 45, discovered Oasis through her older brother's record collection."I'm a working class little lesbian from the east end of Glasgow who tells jokes for a living and absolutely adores all things Oasis," she said. "I will never forget the first time I heard 'Definitely Maybe'. "I had found my band. "Just from them opening chords, I was absolutely hooked."It was music for me and it was music for my generation."
At 17 years old, she said she channelled the swagger of Liam Gallagher to share her sexuality with her family. "His influence gave me the chance to be me," she said. "At this point in time, I'm pretty much aware of what my sexuality is going to be – that's a tough time. "But suddenly you could listen to that music and you could have that swagger and you could have that strut."You knew at some point you were gonna need to strut into your family home and break the news to your family that you're gay."
She said listening to Oasis's music made her feel like there were no barriers."What Liam gave us was a belief that people like us could actually make it," she said. "That guy gave you permission to be you."That's probably one of the most important thing he could have ever have done for a generation."
'I wasn't going to be the only Oasis fool'
Lily Dimelow could not believe her luck when her father Dean Hughes managed to book Oasis to play at their pub in North Wales.She had been a huge fan since she first heard one of their songs during a karaoke session when she was nine. "It was Don't Look Back In Anger," she said."My cousin Joey sung it. "It was just the fact the whole crowd got up to sing it with him. It was like everyone was just connected in the building."So when her father revealed the pub's latest booking, she said she was "absolutely buzzing".
Unbeknown to her though, things were not quite as they seemed."I remember booking the Oasis tribute," Dean said."I told her it was Oasis [but] I didn't think she would believe me. "She sucked it up like a sponge."As soon as they started, I just looked at Lily and her eyes lit up."
Mad For Oasis: Anaïs Gallagher explores the legacy of the band, telling stories of the music through the eyes of the fans
Lily, from Warrington in Cheshire, said it was an amazing night, but she did not have the nerve to approach the band."I was really shy as a kid so I definitely wasn't going to go over and say anything to them especially after seeing some of the interviews I'd watched," she said.The then-11-year-old was elated and could not wait to go to school to tell her friends.She said that three years later, the penny dropped when she went to watch an Oasis tribute band. "I sent a video to my dad and he was like 'that's the one we had on in the pub, I think'," she said.
She said that rather than trying to get even with Dean, she decided to pass the prank along and trick her younger siblings at a family festival years later. "I wasn't going to be the only one who was made a fool of so I had to pass it on," she said. She told her siblings the real Oasis were in fact on stage. "It's nice that she's carrying it on," Dean said."It's becoming a bit of a family tradition."I can't wait for her to get shouted at when they find out."
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