Last August, 14 million people applied for 1.4 million tickets for Oasis’s first gigs in 15 years. In spite of Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing (which pushed some tickets from £150 to £350), the whole lot sold out in minutes. Those lucky enough to get them are counting down the days until July. But in the meantime, business for Oasis tribute bands is booming. Why go all the way to Wembley when you can belt along to an Oasis tribute band in your local pub, metres and not miles away from “Liam” and “Noel”?
There is certainly no shortage of them. Our (rough) count shows at least 40 Oasis cover bands in the UK alone. But Oasis tribute bands are just as popular in Europe, the US, Canada and Japan, where the band have long had a huge following.
With this in mind, we tracked down the best international “Liams”, “Noels” and even the odd “Tony McCarroll” to discuss feuds, dodgy moptop hairpieces, and how everyone sings every word even when they can’t speak English, let alone do a Mancunian accent.
Maine Road Liège, Belgium
Matteo “Liam” Terzi, 39 We formed in 2018. We’re called Maine Road after Oasis’ iconic gigs at Maine Road, Manchester in 1996. I work in a chocolate factory by day. Being Liam comes quite naturally. When he’s not singing, he’ll stand completely still and stare into the crowd. In the Supersonic documentary, he says that he loves seeing people going crazy, thinking: “I don’t have to be part of this,” and can just concentrate on the music. People in Belgium either speak French or Flemish but it’s common for local artists to sing in English as a compromise. I grew up in Italy, and our Noel grew up in Belgium. When you sing Oasis songs, the language doesn’t matter. It’s the feelings and emotion that create the unique connection.
Oasissy Leith, Scotland
Annabel “Liam / Noel” Cooper, 42 We formed in 2018. We’re a bit Oasis, bit cissy, extremely gay cabaret drag act. It writes itself because some of the stuff Liam and Noel say is so stupid anyway. We usually go down well, although some cis-gendered men don’t get the joke.
Biff “Liam / Noel” Nicolson, 36 You’ll hear Oasis tunes, but we sing them badly and play with the lyrics, like Morning Glory Hole. I had a dream as a seven-year-old to perform as Oasis at school and wasn’t allowed. This is making childhood dreams a reality without being able to play a musical instrument.
Osiris Marseille, France
Alex “Liam” Rancurel, 37 We formed in 2020. Our bass player is former footballer Éric Di Meco, who won the Champions League with Marseille in 1993. He was playing in a band with some other friends, but stuff more like AC/DC, and wanted to start an Oasis band. I don’t think my voice sounds as cross as Liam’s. It’s not hard to learn the words as I have to speak English every day for work anyway.
Chris “Noel” Cesari, 41 Noel has always been my idol. His guitar parts aren’t complicated, but his voice is quite high pitched, which is more difficult. We haven’t had many more bookings since Oasis have reformed. Maybe that’s because Britpop isn’t so big in France?
The Boys in the Bubble Milan, Italy
Matt “Noel” Orsini, 36 We formed from the ashes of three other Oasis cover bands so now we’re like a best of and cover the whole of Italy.
Claude “Alan White” Devi, 47 In Italy, tribute bands are usually named after songs or lyrics, like Supernova or Columbia. The Boys in the Bubble is a lyric from Turn Up the Sun, the first track on Don’t Believe the Truth. We’re not named after Paul Simon!
Andy “Liam” Lola, 33 Being Liam is all about the voice, his clothes, style, tweets and attitude. It’s not easy speaking English, but it’s not too hard to sing in English because you have only to imitate Liam.
Parklife Toronto, Canada
Deena “Liam” Petcoff, 28 I have a pretty low voice for a woman so we’ve only had to change the key of She’s Electric, which Liam never sings live anyway. I was worried: will I have to beat someone up? People find it entertaining and think: she’s really doing the Liam thing on stage. Some women love Oasis, but they are very much a bro band. About 75% of our audience are dudes in bucket hats who’ve brought their girlfriends along.
Alex “Tony McCarroll” Spears, 28 There are some underrated Oasis drum parts. Wonderwall is cool, but most of the songs are Ringo-esque. Live, Liam’s tambourine takes the front seat. Anyway, drummers are inherently disposable. Even Noel Gallagher said that he can’t wait to be in a dance band so he can just cue up a drum machine. I’m still waiting for the day that someone gets upset we’re not a Blur cover band, even though we try to make it clear.
Faux-asis Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phil “Liam” Hanson, 41 We formed in 2017. I’m from Manchester but have been in Dubai for 11 years. There’s a big expat community, a fair chunk are Brits, but the music scene’s not great. It’s either Indian and Filipino bands playing heavy metal, or commercial house bands doing Sweet Child o’ Mine then Bruno Mars. We’ll get British people in their 20s, 30s, 40s who have had a few too many drinks and want to relive Britpop. Liam is a force of nature so you just have to throw yourself into it. It helps once you’ve got the clothes and the shades on.
Adam “Noel” O’Neill, 31 Our first gig was to 20 people. A year later, we were headlining the Dubai rugby sevens to 50,000. I’ve got the same guitars as Noel, but unless I’m singing, I have to remember to keep my mouth closed. I’m from Glasgow, so I certainly don’t sound like him.
Oasus Orange County, US
Seth “Liam” Romano, 42 We formed in 2021. Most Americans only know three Oasis songs: Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back in Anger and Champagne Supernova. When we play, all these diehard Oasis fans come out of the woodwork. Liam’s stance at the microphone is important. Also, his mannerisms are funny. Liam and Noel can be such buffoons when you hear them being interviewed. I think I can do the Mancunian accent, although I’ve been told I can sound a bit too Liverpudlian. I also have to wear a hairpiece that I got off Amazon because my hair isn’t long enough to have bangs at the front.
Oeisis Buenos Aires, Argentina
Martin “Noel” Pacheco, 34 Oasis are big in Argentina. They’re playing in Buenos Aires this November. It’s great fun pretending to be them. I think we look like them, or at least, we do from afar.
Mauro “Liam” Matteucci, 37 I’ve watched thousands of Oasis music videos and on-stage performances. Being Liam is all about the clothes, the walk and the hair. I have to get my hair cut like this and I dye it, else it would be white at the front.
MagicPie Jakarta, Indonesia
Gamal “Noel” Nasser, 42 I’m a millennial, but our audiences are gen Z. It’s remarkable seeing all these kids singing every word to Noel’s B-sides like (It’s Good) To Be Free and mimicking Liam’s “sunshiiines”. We were originally called There and Then after the 1997 live DVD, but no one could pronounce it, so we had to change our name to Mejikpay, to reflect the Indonesian pronunciation. Now we’re MagicPie, with the English pronunciation. Britpop entered the Indonesian music scene with the Stone Roses, Pulp and Blur. Oasis stole the audience because of the brotherly rivalry and the hype against Blur. I like Blur – but you need a high technical ability to play like Graham Coxon. We don’t play Magic Pie either. That’s too hard as well.
Oasisrael Tel Aviv, Israel
Michael “Liam” Libman, 39 Our first gig was in a shopping mall in 2018. People were going nuts, even though they didn’t realise we were covering Oasis and thought it was our own material. The secret to being Liam is don’t give a fuck. We have a Hebrew word – āraś, which you could translate as “swagger”. Our last show was at a tribute band festival in front of 2,000 people. I asked the organiser: “Is it OK if I throw a beer at the crowd?” He said: “You can do anything you want.” The day Oasis announced their reunion, we got calls from radio and TV stations wanting to interview us. It was amazing. Now there’s all this momentum. It’s like sex … and we’re the foreplay as people get ready for the real thing.
Assaf “Noel” Eyal, 40 I first heard (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? when I was 10 and turned into a fanboy. People come to see a show, not just hear the songs. I copy Noel’s clothes, like his red and white Penfield jacket. I have the same guitars and straps, and we have the globe from Definitely Maybe. Michael is like Liam. He always comes to the rehearsals late. The only thing he has to remember is his tambourine and usually he forgets that.
O+asis Tokyo, Japan
Wani “Liam” Shinohara, 26 We formed in 2019. It’s pronounced “Otasis”. Japanese people listen to a lot of bands from the UK and US who often come over to play the Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic festivals. I was in drama club at school, so I’m used to playing somebody else. I’ve never seen Oasis live, but I’ve watched hundreds of their videos on YouTube. I try to be Liam: I’d say my voice is 50% of the way there. Most Japanese audiences don’t speak English, so I concentrate on Liam’s physical movement, how he speaks between songs, the vibe. Japanese people can sympathise with their lyrics, attitude and their idiosyncrasies. The American military base near Tokyo books Japanese cover bands. You have to apply and they’ve always refused us, because Oasis weren’t big enough in America, but we’ve just had our first booking.
Kaoru “Noel” Ueda, 45 I’ve loved Oasis since high school. I’ve seen them live, which encouraged me to start my own Oasis band. Noel’s guitar parts aren’t that difficult to copy, but he still has his own philosophy in the way he plays. My English is not as good as Wani’s – I can sing more English that I can speak.
Noasis Adelaide, Australia
Darren “Liam” Spiby, 55 We formed in Derby in 1995 for a pub chain. Our first gig was to 500 screaming teenagers. When I moved to Australia in 2013, the UK Noasis crowd robbed our name, so one Noasis is trademarked in Australia, the other in the UK. They don’t come here as Noasis, we don’t go there. In true Gallagher style, the feud goes deep. My son Tom is Noel and my other son Dan plays bass. It’s a family affair. We don’t walk about with the swagger, the tabs and the F-bombs. But come showtime, out come the parkas, the Adidas, the Penfield and the Epiphones.
Source: theguardian.com
