Oasis might be a Manchester band, but Some Might Say many of their formative moments happened in London. We've mapped the biggest.
109 Regent's Park Road, Primrose Hill: Creation Records headquarters
Famously, Oasis were signed by Creation Records' Alan McGee after they wowed him at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow in 1993 — a move that was to save Creation from big debts just in the nick of time. McGee's record label, however, was based at 109 Regent's Park Road, where band members visited from time to time — though they were more likely to be found in the nearby Pembroke Castle pub.
Water Rats, King's Cross: Oasis' first London gig
On the night 27 January 1994, the shimmering guitar of Shakermaker swaggered though this humbly-proportioned venue, as Oasis dipped their toe into the London gig scene. Was it their first ever London show? Accounts differ, but let's just say this moment at Water Rats — mobbed with music journos and industry insiders — was when it became clear something special was happening.
Remembered Jon Savage 30 years later "A couple of numbers in, I get it: they're good. The four musicians, dressed in scally/baggy/sportswear, erect an overdriven wall of sound, while the vocalist—wearing what looks like a Marks & Spencer’s pullover—commands the crowd with a definite attitude." They rounded off the punchy eight-song set with the first public airing of Supersonic (more of which in a sec). Five years later and Oasis — or what was left of them — were back at the Water Rats, for a hastily-called press conference, after bassist Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan decided he'd had enough.
Merck Building, 2 Pancras Square, King's Cross: first Oasis video
In January 1969, the Beatles performed together (sort of) publicly for the last time atop the Apple Corp headquarters in Marylebone. As if picking up the gauntlet 25 years later, Oasis took to a rooftop of the-then Belgrove House — built as King's Cross Coach Station — for the grainy black and white video for their debut single, Supersonic. As such, King's Cross station (the top half of it anyway) gets a generous cameo. Belgrove House has now been demolished, and is currently the under-construction Merck Building; we've written more on that, and Oasis' inaugural video here.
Columbia hotel, Lancaster Gate: well and truly trashed by Oasis
"It suddenly escalated when a Mercedes car in the car park got trashed by something landing on it," remembers Oasis producer Owen Morris, about one of the most notorious episodes in Oasis' altogether notorious history, back in the summer of 1994. "The Mercedes belonged to the Columbia hotel manager." It's not altogether clear which members of Oasis were involved in the trashing of said Marylebone hotel, but the whole group and their entourage were thrown out with a lifetime ban. Everyone immediately relocated to the Hilton next door, who presumably hadn't heard what had just gone down at the neighbouring hotel. "We were happy to get out as the Columbia's a pit," reflected guitarist Bonehead, "It's like somewhere your Granny would stay."
The Columbia Hotel was also the inspiration behind the name of 'Columbia' — one of the stand-out tracks from Definitely Maybe. Noel had visited the hotel in pre-Oasis days, when working as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets.
Berwick Street, Soho: (What’s The Story) Morning Glory album cover
It might be a rather ordinary photo of two blokes strolling past one another in an early-morning Soho, were it not for the fact that this photo has graced the front of some 22 million albums. "The idea was that you had these two guys passing in the street," photographer Brian Cannon told the Big Issue. "You didn't have any idea who they were, where they were going, what they were saying to each other." Noel Gallagher and his little brother were supposed to be the blurry cover stars, but were too hungover for the 5am Sunday shoot (and fair enough really). Brian Cannon is one of the models instead — along with DJ Sean Rowley, and Oasis producer Owen Morris, holding up the album's master tapes in the background. However, Noel has a bit part in as much as the photo is taken at the confluence of Berwick Street and Noel Street.
Supernova Heights, 9 Steele's Road, Belsize Park: Noel's rock 'n' roll palace
"Supermodels lolling against the fridge, white lines everywhere, and endless gabbing about crop circles and conspiracy theories." Supernova Heights — aka Noel Gallagher's "big, fucking heavy" Georgian terrace at 9 Steele's Road was — for a brief incandescent moment — the centre of the the universe as far as the world of rock 'n' roll parties were concerned. Gallagher soon had the place soundproofed, leading to neighbour Bob Hoskins declaring him "the quietest neighbour in Europe."
Not one to shy away from his successes, Gallagher did indeed have 'Supernova Heights' (named, of course, after a song he wrote) emblazoned across the top of the front door, although he didn't always take too kindly to people who came a-knocking, especially when Kate Moss was staying over, and they wanted her autograph rather than his. David Walliams later purchased the house, instantly denuding it of any former kudos.
There are some right old anecdotes about Supernova Heights, more of which in this NME article.
The Good Mixer, Inverness Street, Camden: start of Oasis Vs Blur?
Maybe better known now as a haunt of the late Amy Winehouse, the Good Mixer is also where, purportedly, the whole Oasis Vs Blur spat kicked off, after one of the Gallagher brothers quipped to Blur guitarist Graham Coxon "Nice music, sh*t clothes." However it all started, 30 years on, that spat is still running — in the form of a soon-to-be West End play.
Abbey Road Studios, Maida Vale: where some of Be Here Now was recorded
For a band that has imitated the Beatles in every conceivable way, it's little wonder Oasis ended up recording at Abbey Road studios in north London — although it took them some time. It wasn't until their third studio album, Be Here Now, that Oasis laid down music for some of the songs here, and in predictable Oasis style, things soon turned sour, after other musicians complained about the noise, and Oasis left soon after. When the album came out, plenty of critics complained about that, too.
Beckton Gas Works: D' You Know What I Mean? video
Oasis were back in London to shoot the video for 1997's D' You Know What I Mean?, the first single off the Be Here Now album. This time they were in Beckton Gas Works, where the budget was somewhat juicier than it had been for Supersonic; while the album cover had a Roll-Royce in a swimming pool, this video had helicopters buzzing about. The whole thing was surely influenced by Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, a movie filmed at the same location.
Royal Albert Hall: legendary Liam/Macca meeting
Oasis had played the Royal Albert Hall before this, and Liam Gallagher's had the honour of hanging out with Paul McCartney on a number of occasions, but one rendezvous between the two at the Albert Hall takes the biscuit, with its first-rate exchange. As NME explains:
Macca (to Liam): "Why are you always in a rush? Sit down, sit down."
(Liam sits down.)
Macca: "Do you like margaritas?"
Liam: "Yeah, but I had something before I come out, I don't eat at this time of night."
Macca: "They're fuckin' drinks, you stupid prick."
(End scene.)
Wembley Stadium: big Oasis gigs
In July, August and September 2025, Oasis return to Wembley Stadium for the first time since 2009. Such was the demand for tickets, it led to the infamous 'dynamic pricing' debacle, in which fans suddenly found themselves shelling out far more for tickets than they'd planned to. Let's hope Liam's been gargling, and that the brothers manage to avoid a pre-show fallout. The estimated £400m revenue might help.
Needless to say, this is a selective map of Oasis' London. If we tried documenting every London venue they'd played/every London pub they'd started a fight in, we've still Be Here Now, D' You Know What I Mean?
