Ten years ago Oasis burst onto the music scene, managed by a music fan from Ebbw Vale. Claire Hill talks to Marcus Russell about the ups and downs of life in the fast lane

WHEN Marcus Russell first saw Oasis it was a pretty unremarkable gig - he thinks they were supporting the now defunct band Dodgy. More than 10 years ago the music Noel and Liam Gallagher were drawing upon was the music that the band manager from Ebbw Vale personally loved. While he might have been personally drawn to the band watching them in the Hop and Grape - a small room in Manchester University Students' Union - he never thought they would go on to sell millions. Now they have, and you would think that Russell might add some hyperbole to the story of the discovery of Oasis. But the reality is there has never been any need.

As soon as Oasis's Definitely Maybe hit the shops in 1994 it started a meteoric rise to fame, newcomers to the music scene followed them and for much of the '90s they had a strong grip over the UK. But how was it looking after the band whose members have a tempestuous relationship with each other and with the media? Russell, sitting in his office in London said, "It was easy. "They were very keen to work. They were very easy to manage and they were rigidly punctual. We'd arrange them to be somewhere and they would be all there ready waiting to go on stage or start work."

Oasis looked like they just exploded onto the scene, joining the forerunners of Britpop, but the reality was more mundane. "We built up their profile through building up fans and playing live, within about a year we had built it up so they were really well known." Unusually for bands they did not drag their demo to hundreds of record companies, instead settling for their first offer from Alan McGee's Creation, with the backing of Sony. "We got the best of both worlds with that, Creation for the UK and Sony Recording for the rest of the world. "We never went to any recording companies to get a deal and no companies were interested in signing Oasis. "I never took another phone call, no-one was interested and we were happy with that." The band have always been accused of being cocky or arrogant, but Russell maintains that was just confidence about their music. "We knew what we had."

Ten years down the line the album has been reissued and the band have put together a 4 -hour DVD, which Russell sees as "groundbreaking". A lot of the DVD has been made up with fan footage that the band members had never seen until the past 18 months. "We posted on the website for anyone who thought they had something interesting to share and quite a lot of the fans responded. "We were surprised by how much there was, from TV shows to backstage footage. "Some of it is rough and ready, some are promo videos and others are appearances on the BBC. "It is the kitchen sink and we are very happy with it."

This is a memento of the past, but after a shaky Glastonbury performance and a recent scrapping of all the songs from their latest album, what is Oasis's future?
Strong guitar songs coupled with Liam's drawling voice have not changed during the band's 10-year history. And as they step into their new decade, Russell cannot see the arrival of a marked difference.

"They do not like doing things that are just trendy for that moment, they don't do remixes of their songs and you can probably tell they hate videos. We are looking to the new album now and then a year of touring. "They are not trying to reinvent themselves, but they are working with some good producers and I think they have just written a whole new bunch of songs." After Heathen Chemistry the new one will be their seventh, but Russell, who also manages The Finn Brothers, Mercury Rev and Johnny Marr, isn't that worried about sales. "Playing live has always been our yardstick."

The current line-up, Liam and Noel Gallagher with Gem Archer and Andy Bell, is a strong one, Russell believes. "Over 10 or 12 years a band would not have been able to sustain itself without things changing. "I think with Liam and Noel, you get what you get in any family. If you told any brother or sister that they would have to live and work with each other for the rest of their life there would be issues and differences. "The creative core of Oasis is always Liam and Noel."

source: icwales

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