'Oasis were up for days and broke up on stage because of drugs I gave them'
Joel Gion, the 'tambourine-playing frontman' of California psychedelic rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre, released his explosive memoir In The Jingle Jangle Jungle: Keeping Time with The Brian Jonestown Massacre last year - detailing the first decade of the iconic, yet volatile, band.
One of the stories Joel tells in the memoir is the infamous Whisky-a-Go-Go in California in the '90s when the outfit opened for Oasis on their first US tour, a show immortalised for many Oasis fans in the 2016 documentary Supersonic. Oasis perform at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go (Image: YouTube)
The Mancunian Britpop icons had headed across to the pond for their Definitely Maybe tour in 1994, at a point when the band was making headlines for their raucous behaviour and rock star lifestyle.
This reached a climax on September 29 at the iconic Whisky-a-Go-Go. Some of Oasis had been using "major blackbelt amphetamines" before the infamous show which ended in a complete disaster, pushing Noel to quit the group for a few days.
During the chaotic drug-fuelled set, which quickly became one of the most talked-about trainwreck shows from the group, some of the songs were barely held together, with Liam also changing lyrics in the set.
Joel, in an interview with the Irish Mirror, said he was 'sinking in his seat' while watching the Supersonic documentary, knowing that the outfit had taken drugs belonging to him.
"We had a Reckless Records store in San Francisco on Haight Street at the time, and I worked there. I saw them listed in the paper at this quaint little rock club, and I've been buying the first three singles as they came out. Joel Gion in his younger days with the Brian Jonestown Massacre
"So the record wasn't out yet, it was out in two weeks, we got on this bill, just in that two weeks, you know, the Supersonic video came out, and then MTV grabbed it, and then they were huge.
"They could have played a place five times as big, and as well as they're playing this little club with us. This whole story is in my book, I recount this one and it was also double bizarre because Blur and Pulp were on tour together at the same time.
"So we had Blur and Pulp and Justine (Frischmann) from Elastica was there because she was going out with Damon (Albarn) so they had this whole scene going on in the pool room and we're waiting to go on, it's like Britpop central of the planet.
"It sounds crazy, but it's all completely legit. I was into drugs and they were into drugs so I tried to give them (Liam and Noel) some drugs. They didn't want to do the kind of drugs I had, well Noel didn't. Liam Gallagher (L) and Noel Gallagher (R) of Oasis perform during the opening night of their Live 25' Tour at Principality Stadium on July 04, 2025 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
"Then my friend who was bringing my drugs ran into Liam outside after the soundcheck and he wanted to do my drugs that she had so he did my drugs and then these drugs are pretty strong, we are talking about major blackbelt amphetamines. I don't do that stuff now, I haven't for a long time."
He added: "So they were up for three days and broke up on stage at the Whisky because they were just going mad. When I watched the movie Supersonic in a theatre in San Francisco and during that scene, I was just like sinking in my seat!"
Liam and Noel Gallagher announced last August that they would perform together for the first time since Oasis' dramatic split in 2009.
The Oasis Live '25 tour kicked off in Cardiff's Principality Stadium in July, before moving on to Manchester, London and Edinburgh. The band have two sold-out performances in Dublin's Croke Park on Saturday August 16 and Sunday August 17.
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