When Oasis dreamt of Eurovision in a converted toilet block in Tunbridge Wells
Published: 05:00, 22 October 2022
Updated: 10:18, 01 November 2022
Forget Knebworth; back in March 1994 Oasis were just a support band playing to 50 people in a converted toilet block in Tunbridge Wells, and the big dream was Eurovision.
Liam Gallagher - later to become famous as the king of the parka - was wearing a ' big jumper that could have come from M&S', and eyeing up a fan's fleece-lined denim jacket, while his brother Noel threatened to buy the venue and sack the barman, because he couldn't get served at the bar.
That's all according to the few that were there at The Forum. Just a month later the band were rocketing up the charts on the fast track to becoming rock royalty and one of the biggest British bands of all time.
Rock royalty or not, the Gallagher brothers were of course less than statesman-like on their visit to Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Co-owner Mark Davyd would often have a drink with bands after a gig, but the bar had just closed at 11.20pm when a thirsty Noel approached, two minutes late, and demanded a gin and tonic - echoing the lyrics of their soon-to-be-hit, Supersonic.
"The barman (Spike) said, 'No, we’re closed, I can’t serve you'." recalled Mark. "Noel said to him, 'When I’m rich and famous I’m going to buy this place, and I’m going to sack you.'"
He never did of course - because as fans later found out Mr Gallagher is not one to Look Back in Anger.
Not that anyone knew it at the time - Don't Look Back in Anger hadn't even been written at that point and Oasis were just on the cusp of fame.
Supersonic and Shakermaker were the new tunes, which hadn't even been released as singles when Oasis came to the Forum on March 26, 1994, playing for a fee of £75.
In hindsight, the rest of the set doesn't sound too shabby either - comprising of stone cold classics Fade Away, Digsy's Dinner, Live Forever, Bring It on Down, Up in the Sky, and Cigarettes & Alcohol.
And yet many people at the venue were there just to see the headliners - the less-remembered Scottish rockers, Whiteout - and some remember Whiteout being the better band of the night.
Forum regular Benjamin Frost is not one of them though.
"It was a decent gig!" he recalled. "I got a ticket because Oasis had played Supersonic on The Word, the previous week. Cost me £3.50 if I remember rightly. The tour was with Whiteout - a co-headline tour, and the Tunbridge Wells date was a few nights after their famous 100 Club show.
"It was Oasis's turn to be the support act for the Forum show - so they were on early, and there can't have been more than 50 people there.
"They had their big PA in there, so it was the loudest show I'd ever been to at the time - I couldn't hear much for a week. I stood right by the stage, towards the right hand side, bang in front of Noel Gallagher.
"I was 17, and had seen quite a few bands at the Forum before, but this was a real "blew me away" gig - it was obvious that they were something very special."
While Oasis might have been still polishing their act musically, Benjamin recalls the Gallaghers had their off-stage act down to a fine art.
"I did talk to Noel afterwards," he remembers. "They were all stood at the bar during the headline band. I said to Noel "I thought you guys were great", and he said something like "yeah, we were, weren't we?"
The rest of the world was soon to concur. Just two weeks after the Tunbridge Wells gig, on April 11, Supersonic was released as a single, and hit the charts like its name suggested it might.
As Noel recalled in the Supersonic documentary: "We'd done gigs before that, and there were people coming along where they had read about us, but nobody knew any of the songs.
"On the day that Supersonic came out, bang the crowds were right there, and I remember people singing the lyrics to Supersonic. They're singing your words back that you nonsensically wrote down at 3 O' Clock in the morning."
Back at the Forum though, all that was yet to unfold, and it was another song that Noel hoped would bring him world domination - or at least European domination - according to Forum regular Stephen Geer.
"I won't forget the evening as a whole because I interviewed Noel Gallagher in the famous toilets about his hopes for the future," recalls Stephen. "His key focus was 'All Around The World' - that was going to be his entry to Eurovision."
Whether Noel was joking or not, Stephen could see the guitarist was deadly serious about the band's ambitions.
"He talked the talk and came across as enigmatic and full of passion," he added. "He believed in his abilities and wanted to be a pop star. Well that happened. They were the support band that evening to a group called Whiteout - I still have a sew on badge they were giving out that evening.
"Who was the best act that evening? Oasis probably. Reason being they had a hunger and a desire that superseded a band from Scotland who had the tunes but not the scope to achieve stardom."
Stephen recalled Liam Gallagher seemed "very much the star in making", and almost got on the wrong side of the singer - who would later become renowned for occasionally not having a right side.
"I remember we even had on odd conversation about his girlfriend at the time who I had been talking too and he wasn't that impressed," he added. "The joys of being relatively young. This was a huge gig in the pantheon of Forum gigs. It was a memorable evening. Shame I lost the dictaphone with the interview on. At least I have a few photos.
"Oasis were just a few of the bands I was fortunate to meet at the forum. Overall having that time just with Noel is a fantastic memory to have."
Also in the crowd was John Spavins, who saw a friendlier side to Liam.
"From memory it wasn’t a particularly well attended gig, so we were able to stand at the front, just a few feet away from Liam and Noel for their whole set," recalled John. "Afterwards, the Gallagher brothers came over and asked us if we knew where the Hotel du Vin was (that’s where they were staying overnight) and Liam said to my mate, who was wearing a denim jacket with a fleece collar, “nice jacket mate!”
"Liam’s comment meant nothing to us at the time but my mate’s been bragging about it ever since!"
Another Forum regular, David Jarvis was editor of The Forum's in-house fanzine - and had asked Steve Geer to review the show.
"From memory he talked more about “attitude “, about “the vibe “, about “the importance “ of the moment, rather than whether they were any good or not," said David. "Supposedly, Noel was refused a drink at 11.22pm by Spike, the bar manager, because time had been called at 11.20pm. He responded by saying: “When I’m rich and famous I’ll buy this place and sack you!”. That’s a good story, whether he said it or not isn’t important."
In fact David wasn't the only editor at the gig - the KM Group's Robert Barman was also in the crowd, although like Oasis had not yet risen to prominence in the press.
"A friend had suggested driving down to the venue because he wanted to see a band called Whiteout, so me and my now wife went with along with him and his partner," said Rob. "I seem to remember being quite near the front, although everywhere was quite near the front at The Forum.
"You never expect too much from support acts but Oasis were immediately very promising and their songs sounded great. I recall thinking the singer's throat must have taken a bit of a pounding as he was so committed to his vocals.
"They didn't dress anything like rock stars - maybe because they weren't yet - and Liam Gallagher was wearing a big jumper that could have come from M&S. He looked way too warm but this was a man who went on to regularly wear anoraks in the Top of the Pops studio.
"Whiteout dressed very much like rock stars - in a Bay City Rollers sort of way - but I never really heard of them again. Oasis you couldn't avoid for the next couple of years."
Indeed, two years after playing to 50 people in the converted toilet block at Tunbridge Wells, Oasis would be playing to 250,000 over two nights at Knebworth and went onto reach a level of fame, influence and notoriety that few other bands can claim.
But they never did win Eurovision - if that ambition doesn't bring the Brothers Gallagher back together for one last shot at the big time, surely nothing will.
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Chris Hunter