Key facts
- Over 100 hours of Oasis recordings are being auctioned.
- The collection, compiled by former sound engineer Huw Richards, spans 1994-2001.
- Littleton Auctions has set a guide price of £1.2m to £1.6m.
- The band members have expressed concerns and previously sought the return of the recordings.
- Oasis retains intellectual property rights, limiting commercial use of the recordings without their consent.
An extensive archive of Oasis recordings, encompassing over 100 hours of material including concerts, rehearsals, and candid conversations between Noel and Liam Gallagher, is slated for auction with a guide price of £1.2 million to £1.6 million. The collection was compiled by the band's former sound engineer, Huw Richards, who worked with Oasis from 1994 to 2001.
The archive consists of 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes, and three MiniDiscs. Littleton Auctions in Evesham, Worcestershire, is managing the sale, scheduled for October 3. The auction house's managing director, Ben Homer, confirmed that the 'Oasis camp' is aware of the auction and has expressed concerns, which he described as 'entirely understandable given the scale and significance of the material.'
Homer stated that the auction house is proceeding through the appropriate legal channels and that the recordings possess verified provenance. He highlighted the potential for collectors and institutions to acquire material documenting a pivotal era in British music history. The collection reportedly includes the only known recording of Oasis's 1996 Loch Lomond concert, alongside numerous rehearsals and informal discussions involving band members and crew.
Owain Richards, Huw Richards's son and also a sound engineer, indicated that previous discussions with Oasis's management about acquiring some of the recordings had 'fizzled away.' He noted that the band had desired the tapes' return rather than their sale. He emphasized his father's meticulous preservation of the audio, which dates from a time before widespread mobile phone recording, calling it 'a piece of history.'
While the audio is considered in good enough condition to be mastered for a live album, the buyer cannot commercially exploit the recordings due to Oasis retaining the intellectual property rights. The auction follows a surge in interest in the band since their reunion last year, which saw Noel and Liam Gallagher perform together for the first time in 15 years.