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“He is not playing them live”: The Oasis songs Noel Gallagher forbid Tony McCarroll from playing

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It’s never an easy thing to ask a member of a band to leave. The idea of a band of brothers going across the world playing to legions of people is always the dream when starting out, but there comes a point where everyone starts realising that the core lineup is never going to go the distance. Although Noel Gallagher knew that Oasis had the potential to be massive, he also knew that Tony McCaroll would have been no good for them if he tried to play certain songs. 

Looking through the band’s history, though, McCarroll had been around longer than Noel had when he first joined The Rain. The idea of the band having anyone called Gallagher in it only came when they decided to bring in Liam on vocals. By that time, Noel was still working with Inspiral Carpets as a glorified roadie and professional stoner.

Once Noel started fine-tuning his songs, though, he had a pretty good idea of how the band could eventually become the biggest band in England. There were the makings of a great rock and roll outfit, but McCaroll’s punk drumming style was holding them back. Even when working on songs like ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’, Noel recalled how hard it was trying to get the stereo image right with McCarrolll getting more and more erratic behind the kit.

That said, his drumming was absolutely perfect for the kind of music they made. It’s a bit rudimentary in places, but looking at the way that he worked off the band, his simplistic fills made a lot of their songs iconic, like the iconic intro to ‘Supersonic’ or the manic delivery of ‘Bring It On Down’.

Still, Noel had something else in mind for the next album that meant much more than catering to punk rock. He imagined himself ascending to the level of rock and roll legend, and that meant writing drum parts that McCarroll could never have played if he tried.

When talking about the final nail in the coffin for ditching McCarroll, Noel said that listening to some of their epics was the reason why he needed to be let go, saying, “I probably made up my mind knowing that ‘Champagne Supernova’ and ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ and ‘Wonderwall’ were coming up. He is not playing on them, and if he is playing on them, he is fucking not playing them live because I have got bigger ideas for that.”

And it’s not like Noel was far off the mark in that respect. There are pieces of the songs that might have worked well on their own, but when putting McCarroll’s drumming style next to what Alan White was doing, it was like night and day, especially on ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ when he hits those trademark fills to lead the band back into the final chorus.

Even if McCarroll wasn’t long for Oasis, his reputation as one of the foundational pieces of their development can’t be overstated. He may have become the loose end by the end of his time in the band, but no one will ever forget the way that he made them feel when he came storming in on the first few beats of ‘Live Forever’.

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