Was Oasis the biggest band in the world?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by WildHoneyPie9, Jul 30, 2017.

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  1. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....


    This is just baiting.

    Joshua Tree released 9 March 1987.
    Slippery released August 18, 1986 but took a lot longer to "break".

    Using Australia as an example (as we are both from there) and assuming album sales matched single chart positions, both were the biggest band in the world at the same time for you - 1987? What criteria are you using?

    As to the world view: If you don't crack America you can't claim the heavy weight championship of the world, although probably 60% of the music I like is or has been made by "U.S." bands, and I really like the U.S., there are quite a lot of citizens of the world who would find that claim offensive and I am one of them.
    Where is the largest country in the world in your analysis?
     
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  2. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    An an Australian, Oasis were very big here in the 95-96 period. Not to the UK standard, but they were still big.

    The issue, certain, Oasis fans have is that the massive success they had in select markets gets extrapolated to the world. But to claim the championship belt you need to back that up in the biggest markets. Clearly the USA and Brazil were territories where Oasis did not dominate.
     
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  3. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, Green Day type level, that is where Oasis ranks.

    Far far below Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, Who, Pink Floyd, Eagles, AC/DC, The Police, Queen, U2, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses.
     
  4. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    China is a communist country.
     
  5. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    You are a slave to your own definition and splitting hairs. I will give them 15 minutes in the sun (but thats all). Its is a very subjective question. I think a better one is whether they had the right to make the claim to that title - and I think at a point in time - they did.
    So did the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Queen (perhaps), the Police, U2, REM, Chilli Peppers, Coldplay, Bon Jovi (maybe), Radiohead and Springsteen and E Street (maybe) at other times. I would not argue against any of these and some have had more than one moment.
     
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  6. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    Not part of the world then?
     
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  7. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I'm going to listen to Oasis just because of this thread! :D
     
  8. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    I am not American ;)
    I do not live in America ;)

    Oasis fans, great at extrapolating, biggest in Manchester equals biggest in the world, and the biggest since the Beatles.
     
  9. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Yes, China is part of the world. Not hard to find on a map.

    China is a communist country that regulates what is and what is not sold. Providing access to Oasis albums I doubt would be high on their priority scale.
     
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  10. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    :D They're now the second biggest economy in the world. But what matters, because it's the time frame in question, is the mid-90's. That puts China out, I'm going to guess, of the rock statistical sweepstakes.
     
  11. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    If only What's the Story Morning Glory did not sound like complete poo; some great song contained. But dear oh dear, that CD is the worst sounding CD I have ever heard in my entire life.

    Brickwalled wall-of-sound; just painful. I ended up getting rid of my copy, hurt my ears every time I put it on.
     
  12. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    OK, Oasis were never the biggest band in the world, but there's a lot of people here massively underestimating how big they were. For a short time they were an absolute phenomenon in Britain, playing massive concerts and selling them out very quickly. They have a very strong claim to being the biggest band since The Beatles here. That's not an achievement that should be dismissed in The Beatles own country. They weren't as big afterwards but so what? It's not as if Animals sold as well as Dark Side of The Moon or Mirage sold as well as Rumours. No matter how big a band is, they have an era when they really peak and the mid 90s was Oasis time.

    When they reunite, which they inevitably will, watch how big the shows are and how quickly they sell, over 20 years past their peak.

    Personally, I'm not a big fan. The first album is great, the second was good enough to capture the mood of the nation at the time and sold incredible amounts. After that there's a handful of good tunes, but they never progressed and put out some very naff records.
     
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  13. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    Which is my point. The stats don't tell the story. For some places, there are no stats. Oasis were everywhere but it was a "had to be there" at that time thing. I was a Bon Jovi fan in 1987 and it was the same. U2 were equally ever-present at the same time. There was no other such band at "the Oasis time" which is in the date range quoted by the OP not the date of some concert in RIO in 2001. I have 2 or 3 Oasis albums (from that period) but do not regard myself as an avid fan.
     
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  14. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    You are not alone in that view: from Wikipedia attributed to Owen Marsh who produced it:
    I was compressing very heavily as a definite artistic decision: it was more about trying to imply noise and power rather than worrying about competing with better recorded music. And a lot of the mixing on Def maybe and Morning Glory was about hiding the not so great playing (by certain members), so the "compressed mush" was actually essential in my opinion. It was about delivery the songs, Liam's vocals etc as best as possible, given the general overall ineptness of the backing tracks and sonic production.

    Now someone can weigh in on their musical abilities ... :)
     
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  15. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Which some people will, but who cares? It's rock 'n' roll. It's not meant to be some show off virtuoso crap. It's noisy and straight to the point.
     
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  16. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    It didn't sound good and I noticed that at the time. But it was never supposed to be an audiophile album and millions of people just enjoyed it regardless.

    I remember reading that Oasis CDs were deliberately mastered loud so they stood out on pub jukeboxes. This was obviously pre MP3 and iPod. Perhaps they were more innovative than we give them credit for!
     
  17. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    This is correct.

    They were MASSIVE in the UK in the 94-97 period. Undisputed. A phenomenon.

    I would not put them second all-time to the Beatles in their home market. Led Zeppelin is the 2nd biggest band ever worldwide, and would still claim 2nd biggest status even in the UK during their peak.

    Zeppelin had 8 number one albums in a row in the UK.

    But Oasis is right in their with a reasonable claim in the UK market.
     
  18. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    But no Led Zep album sold in the UK like Morning Glory did. Every Oasis album went to number one too.

    Of course Oasis were never massive worldwide, but there are people here who do not have a clue making sarcastic 'biggest band in Manchester' comments and comparing the scale of their success to the Cranberries.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2017
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  19. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    It's the distortion and unrelenting wall-of-sound that's the issue. An album that is not pleasant to play loud.

    Maybe an LP version is not so bad?
     
  20. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    No Need to Argue by the Cranberries has sold a claimed 17 million albums worldwide to your Oasis WTSMG 22 million. I hate to break it to you, but indeed that is comparable.
     
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  21. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    What about all their others? What about concert ticket sales? 5 million copies is a considerable gap too.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2017
  22. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I bought it on vinyl. I wasn't impressed. The wall of noise is part of the production. It's always going to sound like that, for better or worse. Personally I never liked that sound.
     
  23. dlb99

    dlb99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Yes, it is a gap, but one that is not so slanted as the make the comparison irrelevant. Someone previously was claiming that Oasis was 10 times as successful as the Cranberries. No. They are somewhat comparable. Oasis bigger, but not as lop-sided as you would think especially since the Cranberries actually were decently successful in the US.
     
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  24. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    The Cranberries were massive for certain. They didn't inspire the same passion and loyalty Oasis did though, which is why they never played huge concerts, hardly ever got magazine front covers, never made the news and are near forgotten now. It's the loyalty of Oasis fans that made them get away with some awful records in a way The Cranberries never could. Oasis could take any old crap to number one! Liam Gallagher did it this month. An unofficial interview record on a small label even made the charts. Morning Glory was a top 5 album in the US too. The Cranberries never had a number one single either.

    It's getting rather pedantic, but taking the whole thing, the hit singles, the 7 number one albums, the concert ticket sales, video and DVD sales, radio play, the media interest, the hype, the news articles, how big the 'Britpop' era was then and their influence on culture (how many people were going around with that awful Liam haircut?!) as well as longevity, then ten times bigger than The Cranberries appears to be an underestimation.

    Both of them have CDs that clutter up charity shops now though!
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2017
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  25. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I jumped back into the thread after a long absence. Why are we discussing the Cranberries? Does Oasis need a foil? :D
     
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