Oasis

Right. Oasis. Now we're talkin'. I remember the first time I heard Definitely Maybe. I was 16, workin' a summer job, and my mate put 'Live Forever' on. And I just thought — yeah. This is it. This is our band. In the grey early years of the 90s, British guitar music was searchin' for a pulse. Then from the council estates of Manchester came Oasis — a band that didn't just revive British rock; they inflated it to stadium-sized, swaggerin', headline-grabbin' proportions. And they were ours.

Formed in 91 from the ashes of The Rain. The volcanic relationship of brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher. Noel, the songwriter, had amassed a collection of songs that would form the backbone of Definitely Maybe (94). It burst into the charts at number one — fastest-sellin' debut album in British history. Live Forever, Supersonic, Cigarettes & Alcohol. Songs that captured a generation raised on the belief they could be anythin'. Or at least, they could pretend they were.

(What's the Story) Morning Glory? in 95 made 'em giants. Towerin' anthemic songs — Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger, Champagne Supernova, Some Might Say. Released durin' the height of Britpop and amid a very public rivalry with Blur. Over 22 million copies worldwide. A confidence that felt almost imperial.

Knebworth Park in August 96. Two nights. 250,000 people. Millions more applied. The single largest demand for a concert in British history. Liam with his hands behind his back, microphone tilted up, Noel at his side. Both brothers briefly united in an empire of their own makin'. Knebworth became the definin' image of Cool Britannia. I'd've killed to be there.

Couldn't last. Be Here Now (97) was bloated and excessive — direct product of the cocaine-fuelled hubris. The albums that followed had flashes of brilliance but never recaptured the imperial phase. The Gallagher brothers' feud finally tore the band apart in 2009 when Noel walked out minutes before a show in Paris. I remember readin' about it and just feelin' gutted.

Oasis matter because they reminded a generation that rock music could be aspirational, communal, and unashamedly grand. Their songs are still sung by thousands in pub back rooms and festival fields across the country. Noel and Liam remain the great dysfunctional siblings of British pop culture. And Oasis's golden years remain the benchmark against which every subsequent British guitar band is measured. Sound.