Entertainment
Oasis drummer: Who played with the band first? And why does everyone want to know?
Following the big reunion announcement and details of tour dates, Oasis later revealed that some tickets will be made available in a pre-sale ballot.
Cue thousands of fans rushing to register to be in with a chance, knowing how great demand will be when the full ticket sale begins on Saturday morning.
On Wednesday morning, after many said they had not received confirmation of their ballot entries, Oasis issued another statement reassuring those hoping to get tickets.
“We are aware that many of you are still waiting on a confirmation email. Rest assured they are on their way, as we process an unprecedented volume of entries,” the band said. Everyone who has filled out the ballot form by 7pm UK time on Wednesday will receive a confirmation of entry, they added.
To try and prevent touts spoiling the fun, there are some questions to try and ensure the pre-sale tickets only go to true Oasis fans.
“Hate touts? Please help us keep this fair and fan-focused by answering the following series of questions,” the pre-sale ballot says.
This photo of Liam and Noel Gallagher, their first taken together in decades, was released to mark the reunion announcement. Pic: Simon Emmett
Those signing up are being asked how many times they have seen the band live, as well as a bit of trivia: Who was the drummer in the initial Oasis line-up?
It’s multiple choice, with fans given the option of either Chris Sharrock, Tony McCarroll, or Alan White – and the answer has to be right to qualify.
Most Oasis fans will know the answers – and anyone who does not has gone straight to Google.
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Pic: oasis.os.fan
Who is Tony McCarroll?
McCarroll was Oasis’s original drummer. In fact, he was in the band even before Noel Gallagher – before Oasis, they were called the Rain, and the group was founded by Liam Gallagher, along with McCarroll, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan.
So far, it has only been confirmed that Liam and Noel will reunite, with no details yet of the musicians who will join them on stage.
The band went through numerous incarnations over the years, with various drummers. White was Oasis’s longest-serving drummer, from 1995 to 2004, replacing McCarroll after he was dropped following the release of Definitely Maybe.
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Sharrock, who was in the band from 2008-09, and has joined both the Gallagher brothers in their respective solo projects, seems the most likely presence to join the reunion tour to play drums.
There was also Zak Starkey, who does not feature as a multiple-choice answer for the pre-sale. Starkey was The Who’s drummer and also the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. He performed with Oasis from 2004 until 2008.
After McCarroll left the band, he sued Oasis for loss of earnings and accepted an out-of-court settlement in 1999.
He had been asking for millions of pounds for his work on Definitely Maybe and Some Might Say, the first single from the second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
In the years since, he has remained largely out of the public eye, although did release an autobiography, The Truth: My Life As Oasis’s Drummer, in 2010.
In 2021, he revealed he had suffered a heart attack but was recovering, thanking the NHS for his treatment. “We are more than fortunate to have such a service!” he wrote on X, which was Twitter at the time.
He has not commented publicly on the reunion announcement.