For music writers and journalists, the landmark Oasis announcement has provided endless scope to create a new rhetoric about the dynamics of the Gallagher brothers. With eccentric behaviour, sibling rivalry and bucketloads of attitude, in many ways Noel and Liam were gods gift to the British press as they forever created their own narrative. The punch ups, the public spats and of course the music each offered “inkies” infinite inspiration for a story. Unlike most pop stars, the Gallagher brothers weren’t fussed by non stop media interest and instead embraced the opportunity to write their own story.
Writer and journalist David Quantick spent the early years of his career at the NME alongside a generation of writers who went on to dominate pop culture including Paul Morely and Danny Baker. Leaving the NME just before Britpop started to grip the nation, Quantick has a very analytical approach to the Oasis phenomenon devoid of any kind of sentimentality for a past generation. Instead he has followed the Gallagher’s story from the release of Shaker Maker in 1994 to their latest high profile return and has concluded that they are not interested in their fans at all. No meet and greets, no pictures with ardent supporters, not even a interactive press interview to make some sort of connection. They somehow managed to create this enigmatic bubble around them which sheltered them from all the normal fan interaction for the simple reason that they didn’t care.
Working for the NME throughout the 1980’s, Quantick observed the obvious trend in the popularity of the magazine when white men with guitars were dominating the charts. Therefore when it came to the mid nineties with the explosion of Britpop, music magazines enjoyed a golden period with so many strong protagonists who controlled the conversation. Despite leaving the heavyweight music magazine during the early nineties when he joined the writing team for Radio 4’s seminal satirical sketch show On The Hour, Quantick stayed fascinated by the real life soap opera which was Britpop. Having made friends with many people within this scene, he still had a ringside seat to the Oasis phenomenon and was intrigued by the stark contrasts between Oasis and Blur. Irrespective of how many bands were involved in the Britpop scene, David was quick to conclude that the only narrative that mattered was that of Blur versus Oasis.
Having known Alan McGee at Creation since the 1980’s, Quantick had seen the trajectory of the record company from a grass roots outfit to one of the most successful labels in the world. However, throughout all of this, Creation was able to maintain its independence which proved key to its success and appeal. There’s no doubt that McGee was absolutely integral to Oasis’s success and it’s interesting to note that this wasn’t McGee’s first success story as Primal Scream and Ride also owe a huge amount of their success to the forward thinking philosophy of McGee. Therefore for Quantick, Oasis was nothing more than a product of Creation’s updated philosophy.
Of all the figures featured in this celebration, Quantick’s perspective on the Oasis story is the most neutral and analytical. For someone who has presided over every musical landmark of the past five decades, he is extremely nonchalant about the history and indeed legacy of Oasis. As a result of this, he may be a surprising choice for a celebration of the iconic band. However, his journalistic integrity together with a selection of informed opinions creates a fascinating account of this musical genre. It’s clear that the Oasis reunion has rekindled a lot of memories and feelings from the fans who have grown up with the soundtrack to Oasis’s soft rock sound. But arguably their stardom was also assisted by the writers and journalists who helped to transform them from four guys in a band to a musical phenomenon
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