Inside the world's first Oasis college masterclass – but can YOU beat the final exam quiz?

Scottish Sun

4 days ago

THE first ever Oasis Masterclass has been held ahead of the super group's three sell-out gigs at Murrayfield this week.
Lecturers Chris Kennedy and Amy Butler from Glasgow Clyde College forensically dissected Noel and Liam Gallagher's impact on the world of music from when they first exploded onto the scene in the 1990s.
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Sun man Matt adopts the classic Liam pose as he joins the class of Oasis fans.
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Lecturers Chris Kennedy and Amy Butler from Glasgow Clyde College forensically dissected Noel and Liam Gallagher's impact on the world of music.
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Jasmine Kennedy and Emma Marshall, both 16, reckon the Masterclass has prepared them for their first Oasis gig at Murrayfield in August.
They covered everything from them being signed on the spot in Glasgow's King Tut's to the highs of playing to 250,000 fans at Knebworth the feud that kept the brothers apart for 16 years.
Chief Features Writer MATT BENDORIS dusted down his parka and dug out his bucket hat and John Lennon specs to join the class of superfans.
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THE MASTERCLASS
I THOUGHT I would qualify as an Oasis fan having seen Liam and Noel four times during their 90s heyday - but it turns out I was a lightweight compared to this lot.
Dad Garry Walker from Clydebank has been to see the band 40 times, but worse was to come when even his 10 year old son Alex trounced me in the multiple choice exam at the end - and he hadn't even been born when the split-up in 2009.
But that was for later, first we were taken on the ultimate Oasis journey by Chris Kennedy, himself a veteran of 80 Oasis and post-Oasis concerts when the feuding Gallagher's went their own ways.
Chris, 50, told the class: 'We hope to impart new information to younger fans and rekindle some fond memories for the older guard.
'But the real aim is to get is all in the mood and up to speed for the upcoming reunion gigs.'
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He begins in 1991 when bassist Paul McGuigan, guitarist Paul Arthurs, drummer Tony McCarroll, and singer Chris Hutton formed a band called the Rain.
But Hutton was soon replaced with Liam Gallagher who wanted an immediate name change to Oasis.
Not after a desert watering hole as I thought, instead it was in honour of the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon - a venue on an Inspiral Carpets tour poster that hung the brother's Manchester bedroom.
Hundreds of Oasis fans queue down Scots street to bag gig merch as buzz begins ahead of Edinburgh shows
Oasis played their first gig on August 14, 1991 at Manchester's Boardwalk Club watched by Noel - who was working as a roadie at the time - who was impressed by what he saw.
Chris says: 'Noel said he would only come onboard if he was given complete creative control.
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'But in return Noel boldly promises 'global stardom'. A promise he would go on to keep.
'His musical approach is crafted on simplicity and as one music critic noted, 'so devoid of finesse and complexity that it came out sounding pretty much unstoppable.'
'We Oasis fans know this as the 'wall of sound'.'
But the moment the class is all waiting for is the date that is seared into Oasis folklore - May 31, 1993 - the day they played King Tut's Wah Wah Hut for the first time, even though they weren't on the bill.
Chris says: 'They caused mayhem and managed to get a slot and played just four songs including Rock 'n' Roll Star, Bring It On Down, Up in the Sky and I am the Walrus.
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'It would change their lives because in a bizarre twist of fate Alan McGee was at the gig and promptly signed them to his Creation Records label.'
Chris then plays the only video footage of the historic gig, explaining how it had been accidentally shot by a Japanese tourist, who sent it to McGee years later.
CAN YOU ANSWER THE COLLEGE EXAM QUESTIONS ON OASIS?
1. Which band did Noel roadie for before joining Oasis?
A) The Stone Roses, B) The Happy Mondays, C) The Smiths, D) The Inspiral Carpets
2. How many gigs had Oasis played before they were signed at King Tut's?
A) 36, B) 14, C) 25, D) 18
3. Where did Oasis warm up for their first headline tour in 1994?
A) The 100 Club, B) Gleneagles Golf Club, C) The Cavern Club, D) King Tut's
4. During the Definitely Maybe tour in Los Angeles what did Liam hit Noel over the head with?
A) Guitar, B) Microphone, C) Tambourine, D) Marcacas
5. During the recording of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? What did Noel hit Liam over the head with?
A) Bottle of beer, B) Cricket bat, C) Tennis racquet, D) Golf Club
6. What was unique about the Whatever single they released in 1994.
A)It was a non-album single, B) It was a cover version, C) It featured Bonehead on vocals, D) It was an instrumental
7. What type of car in submerged in the swimming pool clever of Be Here Now album?
A) Rolls-Royce, B) Mercedes, C) Lamborghini, D) BMW
8. Half The World Away was used as the theme tune to which BBC comedy?
A) The Office, B) The Mrs Merton Show, C) The Royle Family, D) Gavin and Stacey
CHECK THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE FOR ANSWERS
The lecturer goes on to wax lyrical about them playing the first T in the Park festival in 1994, weeks before the release of their debut album Definitely Maybe, which became an instant rock classic with tracks including Supersonic Live Forever and Cigarettes and Alcohol.
Their next album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? also ticks all the boxes for Oasis fans, followed by where I come in, covering their double date concerts at Maine Road - then home to their beloved Man City - and Loch Lomond in 1996.
However Chris maintains that their gig the following week at Knebworth, where they played to a record 250,000 fans, was one of their defining moments.
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He says: 'They could have sold out Knebworth 10 times over as an estimated 2.5 million people applied for tickets.'
On he takes us through the band's timeline of tours and seven studio albums, before the group begin to crumble, ending with a bust-up backstage in Paris in 2009 that saw them split - until now.
Now it was time for Amy to take us through a multiple choice exam to find out exactly how much we'd taken in.
But it was the youngest student Alex who stunned us all when he knew the answer to one brain teaser - what was the band's only non-album single.
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Oasis are playing three sell-out gigs at Murrayfield this week
Credit: PA
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Matt gets to the point of the Liam and Noel Oasis masterclass.
That definitely - no maybe about it - wasn't in the curriculum and so there are no spoilers, the correct answer, with all the others, is at the bottom of the Glasgow Clyde College quiz we've reproduced on this page.
Afterwards Alex says: 'I did my homework before coming here as we thought there would be a quiz. I had studied their singles so I couldn't believe when that came up.'
But dad Alex, who has his own vehicle business, was just delighted that the lecture jogged some music memories.
He admits: 'I sort of lived the rock and roll lifestyle so my recall of the dates of the gigs I went to are a little hazy.
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'But the lecture was excellent. I thought I knew everything there was to know about Oasis, but I still learned a lot tonight.'
Pals Jasmine Kennedy and Emma Marshall, both 16, from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire reckon the Masterclass has prepared them for their first Oasis gig at Murrayfield in August.
Jasmine says: 'I already thought I was a big fan, but after that I feel like a superfan. It has prepared me all the more for Murrayfield as now I know their entire backstory.'
While Emmas adds: 'I've been raised on their music but I didn't know that they had become big so quickly.'
Chris was delighted that his lecture was so well received by both the young and old.
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He says: 'Now they're all ready for Murrayfield which will be an amazing experience for those seeing them again or for the first time.
'I said they should all take some photos then for a couple of hours, put their mobiles away then put their life in the hands of a rock and roll band.'
And although some of the students don't have tickets for the Scottish gigs, no one left the campus empty handed as they were given a gift bag with a Liam facemask and bottle of Oasis drink along.
But crucially it also contained replicas of the Raybans the frontman now wears - which means I can ditch the John Lennon specs and the Parka and finally get up to date for the Oasis reunion.