Who was Oasis’ first drummer?
Fans have been looking up Oasis‘ first drummer following the band’s 2025 UK and Ireland reunion tour announcement yesterday (August 27).
Liam and Noel Gallagher have finally put their differences aside and are set to embark on their first run of live shows in 16 years next summer, dubbed ‘OASIS LIVE 25’.
The highly anticipated tour is currently made up of numerous dates at Manchester’s Heaton Park, London’s Wembley Stadium, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Dublin’s Croke Park, and Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.
However, more gigs are expected to be announced soon due to huge demand.
Tickets go on general sale at 9am BST/8am IST this Saturday (August 31) – you’ll be able to buy yours here (UK), and here (Ireland).
You can also sign up for a ballot to access a pre-sale on Friday (30) before 7pm BST today (28). When registering, fans are asked to answer a series of questions in a bid to “keep this fair and fan-focused”.
Customers will be quizzed on how many Oasis shows they’ve been to (according to the form, “this will not have any bearing on your ballot application”) and “Who was the drummer in the initial Oasis line-up?” (Your answer for this question must be correct to qualify for the ballot).
Those hoping to secure tickets in the pre-sale are also required to provide an email address, their full name, phone number, city/town and date of birth.
The conversation has since turned to Oasis’ first drummer, with fans wanting to ensure that they are successful in their pre-sale registration.
The musician in question is Tony McCarroll – who was a founding member of the Britpop giants along with Liam, Noel, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs and Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan. He played the drums on Oasis’ seminal debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’ (1994).
Additionally, McCarroll played on the group’s 1995 single ‘Some Might Say’ from their follow-up record ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ as well as the standalone song ‘Whatever’ (1994).
The drummer was fired from Oasis ahead of their second album’s release, with Alan White then stepping in to replace him. White is the longest-serving drummer in Oasis’ history, but departed the band in 2004.
Noel publicly criticised McCarroll’s drumming abilities after his dismissal, claiming that “he wouldn’t have been able to drum the new songs”. In the music video for ‘Live Forever’ (1994), Oasis are seen burying McCarroll alive.
In an interview about the recording of ‘Definitely Maybe’, producer Owen Morris explained (via The Independent): “Tony was quiet and always polite to me, but seemed out of his depth…so I think Tony did well to survive as long as he did in Oasis.
“And I loved Tony’s drumming. It was simple, certainly, but his timing was immaculate and he hit the shit out of them. Tony’s simple patterns allowed the space for Bonehead’s strumming rhythm guitar playing to really work.”
Morris continued: “I loved the sound of Oasis with Tony drumming. There was magic in the dumbness of the rhythm tracks. The band never sounded the same after Tony left.”
McCarroll’s time in Oasis was covered in Mat Whitecross’ 2016 documentary film Supersonic.
“You’d have to feel for the boy,” said soundman Mark Coyle in the doc. “I’ll put my hand up with the rest of the band and say I gave him a terrible time as well.” The drummer was interviewed for the film too.
McCarroll filed a lawsuit against Oasis after he was fired, alleging that he was “unlawfully expelled from the partnership” and claimed he was owed royalties of £18million, as part of the group’s five-album deal with Creation.
He later accepted an out-of-court settlement of £550,000 in 1999, and gave up all claims for future royalties.
In 2010, McCarroll published a memoir titled The Truth. Speaking to NME about the book at the time, he explained: “There’s a lot of things I need to put right. For some reason, as I stated in the book, Noel seems to want to have a go, which I can’t quite get my head around. I thought ‘Right, here’s my opinion mate’. Right back at ya.”
He continued: […] There is another side to the Oasis story which I think needs to be appreciated. It wasn’t all about one person. Without the chemistry we initially had, it wouldn’t have even lasted that long.
“As a wall of sound what we had was already established [before Noel joined]. But fair play, the songs that he brought to the table [were] fantastic. They got us off the ground as such. You can’t knock that. But I credit the whole of the first era… without Bonehead, Guigs, myself, Liam, Oasis would be nothing.”
Despite his firing and everything that went down, McCarroll told NME that he felt “lucky for being a part of” Oasis: “For me, the special thing was that it was five normal lads from Manchester. It was the worst and best years of my life, I suppose.
“Fair play for the success. But it all changed. It just turned into a commercial success. I mean, I’m going up against a bloody global brand at the end of the day.”
Elsewhere in the interview, McCarroll revealed that he was in attendance at Oasis’ last gig before they broke up in 2009.
“I don’t purposefully follow [Oasis] concerts,” he said. “But I’ve been going to V [Festival] for the last eight or nine years or so, and it just so happened that last year they were playing, and I went ‘Right, I’ll have a look at this’. You know, I can’t knock it for what it’s turned into.”
Zak Starkey – who is the son of Ringo Starr – replaced Alan White in Oasis, before Chris Sharrock stepped in for a brief stint between 2008 and 2009. Sharrock then played in Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye and is now a member of Noel’s High Flying Birds.
In 2021, McCarroll suffered a heart attack and told fans he had to have a “stent fitted”. He subsequently confirmed that he had recovered and was “all good”.
Liam Gallagher revealed in 2018 that he once tried to reunite the original Oasis line-up, including McCarroll but without Noel.
Fans are currently speculating who could join the formerly estranged brothers on stage next summer, with no other musicians currently confirmed for the tour. Previous reports claimed “no other original Oasis member is expected to join the reunion”, and that “the members of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will step in”.
However, it is now expected that Bonehead will be hitting the road too. The musician plays in Liam’s solo backing band, and called for an Oasis comeback last year. “I’m ready, got me dancing shoes,” he said at the time.
Meanwhile, Oasis have reassured fans over this week’s pre-sale ballot for next year’s concert tickets after an “unprecedented volume of entries” resulted in confirmation emails being delayed.
Additionally, Ticketmaster has outlined its strict rules for purchasing tickets ahead of the sales – confirming that customers will only be able to order four tickets per household and card.
Oasis’ 2025 UK and Ireland tour dates are:
JULY
04 – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
05 – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11 – Manchester, Heaton Park
12 – Manchester, Heaton Park
19 – Manchester, Heaton Park
20 – Manchester, Heaton Park
25 – London, Wembley Stadium
26 – London, Wembley Stadium
AUGUST
02 – London, Wembley Stadium
03 – London, Wembley Stadium
08 – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
09 – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16 – Dublin, Croke Park
17 – Dublin, Croke Park
In other news, details have emerged about Liam and Noel’s secret reunion photoshoot – where a new press shot of the formerly estranged brothers was captured.
“For their fans to see them together again will be an amazing sight,” a source explained. “The atmosphere in the room was fizzing, it was electric.”
Recently, there was a surge in streams of Oasis’ music on Spotify as speculation heightened over the 2025 comeback announcement.
Rumours are now circulating about who could support Oasis next summer – with the likes of Kasabian and Blossoms being among the acts mentioned. As well as this, fans have been revisiting the band’s final 2009 setlist to get an idea of what they might play in 2025.
Check out NME’s dream setlist for the upcoming massive gigs here.
There have also been whispers of a potential Oasis headline set at Glastonbury – where the Gallaghers last topped the bill in 2004. Plans are currently “underway” for further reunion dates outside of Europe too.
‘OASIS LIVE 25’ is reportedly set to make a staggering £400million, and will follow the expanded ‘Definitely Maybe’ 30th anniversary reissue, out this Friday (August 30).
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Tom Skinner
NME
