Was Oasis the biggest band in the world?

They were big, sure......... But not that big. There were plenty of stadium bands back then that would have blown them away with ticket sales etc..... And to prove a point check out this page.... Oasis aren't even mentioned

List of highest-grossing concert tours - Wikipedia

 

Looking at the list for the 90s, the only tours that feature in 1996 (which is the year the crux of this argument seems to focus on) are Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks, both solo acts.

No one is arguing for Oasis to be the biggest band of the decade, but for 1996 I see nothing there that changes the argument about a band being bigger than Oasis at that time.

 

Then your obsession with America is even more silly, and you should know better.

They sold millions in the US, a fact. And they were an arena act based on their prime material from when they were the biggest band in the world, instantly selling out for example Madison Square Garden in 2005 (OASIS SELL OUT GARDEN PARTY - NME ) and 2008 (Oasis is still huge. Who knew? ), facts.

It didn't. As shown they did pretty well in the US, on top of being the biggest band in the rest of the world. Also, again, who's your alternative?

The Police's popularity peak was in early 80's. And they also still played sometimes normal sized venues during their peak tours in Europe, doesn't change them being the biggest band in the world at the time. Also, they had not a fraction of the worldwide cultural impact Oasis had 15 years later.

Tier 2 if you still got fans worldwide lined up to just see an exhibition on that period of time, or to see one of the band members arrive at the airport? Still no evidence any other band than Oasis was the biggest rock band in that period of time...

 

You are chatting absolute nonsense there but don't let the facts get in the way of a silly comment.

 

I am from America and have tons of friends that are huge music fans (none of them big Oasis fans).....Oasis has never been or will ever be the hugest band here. Nothing better than a 2nd or 3rd tier band. Boy bands have generated more buzz over here than they did. They had a brief two year run here and even then they weren't the biggest band of those two years

They were eligible for the hall of fame this year and were not even on the ballot


Here's a end of a piece by a journalist posing the question will the HOF ever vote them in

"But, when it comes to Rock Hall Induction, does a near flawless two-year run as one of the biggest bands in the world outweigh the decade of disappointment that followed?"

according to answers.com, the quickets MSG sellout was by Justin Bieber in 30 seconds of availability

 

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory, their highest selling US album has sold around 6.5 million copies

Hootie and the Blowfish (Cracked Rearview Mirror) sold 16 million US copies

 

You've answered the question (as part of your denial! ):

 

Whoa, hold the phone there! In the UK, Oasis were indeed "bigger" than The Police, but they were also bigger than any group since The Beatles in Britain around 1996-97.

But "worldwide cultural impact"...? Yeah, I don't see it. I'm struggling to see ANY cultural impact Oasis had worldwide.

 

i think this answer ignores the fact that the question was about being the biggest band in the world, not the usa. hootie sold 10 copies outside of america. worldwide, they meant nothing. oasis sold around the world. someone could not be the highest selling act in the usa and still be the biggest act in the world.

 

Not really “one of” is not “the biggest”

Never a big deal here while I freely say they were big over seas. Still doubt the were “the biggest” band in the world

 

Exactly.

 

The title of the conversation is was Oasis the biggest band in the world. The answer to that is clearly “no”. Highly successful, sure

 

You don't see "any" cultural impact worldwide? Thousands of people in Europe (especially Italy) and South America still wear Oasis haircuts and Parkas to this day, 25 years later.
I grew up in Portugal, where the Oasis impact was very very tiny compared to the UK and Italy, but there were still tons of kids at school wearing Umbro tracks and Oasis haircuts at the time. I was one of them!
If you're looking for cultural impact, this is exactly what cultural impact is. To say that there was none is really denying the reality.

Don't take offense at the question, but where did you leave then?

 

That is true, however the OP refers to only the mid-90s. "a near flawless two-year run" goes even further than 15 minutes of fame. And "one of" vs "the," is close enough for me.

 

You're missing the point. Hootie were bland, middle of the road, and stood for nothing.

Oasis were massively, MASSIVELY exciting, anthemic, cliched, charismatic, cartoonish, inspiring, infuriating, hilarious, and of the moment.

I'd say from early '96 right through it all started falling apart that September, Oasis were indeed the biggest band in the world. Doesn't matter if Hootie sold more records or if, say, Van Halen sold more concert tickets - they didn't matter. They left no mark. They weren't part of any sort of zeitgeist.

 

I think I have repeated this post 3 or 4 times already on this thread, but here we go again.

In short, YES. Oasis were the biggest band in the world for a while in 1996, bar America. It all culminated in Knebworth and then the band released an album loaded on cocaine and the momentum passed.

However, if you were in America at the time and you didn't witness any of this, it might be difficult to accept that Oasis were indeed the biggest band in the (rest of) the world back then. Hence all the bickering on this thread.

It's as simple as that.

 

Biggest band of the 90s.

 

Out of curiosity I checked percentages of sales for Oasis, Meatloaf and Nirvana. I know the US market is huge, so what is typical US sales market share? (Per Chartmasters figures)

Meatloaf: 43% US
Nirvana: 45% US
Oasis: 18%

How about, say, Japan?

Meatloaf: 1/3% Japan
Nirvana: 1/3% Japan
Oasis: 8%

 

People from England that didn't spend any time much time in the US during the mid 90s: "Oh yeah, they were the biggest".
Most everyone else: "Nope."

 

Just so I understand the figures you're quoting, does that mean, for example, that 43% of Meatloaf's worldwide sales were in the US, with the rest being elsewhere?

 

Where as people from the US are world famous for their regular globetrotting?

I'd say the rest of the world, on balance, gets a far better look at what's going on in the US, than the US does at what's going on outside itself.

 

And I don't tell people from England how things were in England... just sayin'.

 

If it's any consolation, any cultural impact would've been fairly vacuous as it mostly revolved around attire(most of which was later era mod influenced anyway) and presentation. It's similar to all the people who jumped on the hippy band wagon in the 60's and started dressing the part.

There was no cultural impact in the sense that it motivated change, discussion or liberation of any kind and didn't have a lasting affect to any great deal. It mostly turned people who were prone to being a-holes into bigger ones.

The only thing more pathetic than watching pimply faced morons walking around London pretending to be Liam, during that time, was going to the Hawley in Camden and seeing someone dressed and pretending to be like Amy Winehouse (after her death).

 

Yes...per my own calculations. I've said before that I use Chartmasters as my go-to-stats source. Go to artists/ pick one in the list/go to page 3 (usually) on the table of contents/ then towards the bottom, worldwide sales all-types.

Meatloaf's total is 58,350,000. The US sales (from within that overall number) are 24,975,000. Which I calculated at 43% (I hope I'm correct!). Japan: 195,000.

Chartmasters has not studied everyone, by the way. So it isn't an all-inclusive list. But they are continually adding artists (along with analysis).