No reunion sadly but they will celebrate anniversary with special releases of their best work
Andrew Trendell

09:04 26th February 2014

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After an overnight whirlwind of rumour and speculation, Oasis have revealed that their 'big announcement' is not in fact a reunion but the re-issue of their first three albums.

Overly optimistic fans spent the evening getting their hopes up about a reunion when the Gallaghers revealed that big news was coming this morning in a video on Facebook:

 

Now, the band have revealed that to celebrate the 20th anniversary of seminal debut album Definitely Maybe, they will be reissuing their first three albums (Definitely Maybe, What's The Story Morning Glory and Be Here Now) as expanded editions featuring rarities, demos, live tracks and much more. Watch a video of the 'Chasing The Sun' series announcement below. 

The releases start with Definitely Maybe On 19 May. In addition to a remastered copy the album, the three-disc set includes an assortment of rarities, demos, and live recordings from the era. There will also be a deluxe box set and the remaster will be available as a single disc release and on vinyl. See the full tracklist below. Pre-orders are ongoing via iTunes.

The full Definitely Maybe 20th Anniversary Reissue Tracklist is:
01. Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
02. Shakermaker
03. Live Forever
04. Up in the Sky
05. Columbia
06. Supersonic
07. Bring It On Down
08. Cigarettes & Alcohol
09. Digsy’s Dinner
10. Slide Away
11. Married With Children

01. Columbia (White Label Demo)
02. Cigarettes & Alcohol (Demo)
03. Sad Song
04. I Will Believe (Live)
05. Take Me Away
06. Alive (Demo)
07. D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?
08. Supersonic (Live)
09. Up in the Sky (Acoustic)
10. Cloudburst
11. Fade Away
12. Listen Up
13. I Am the Walrus (Live)
14. Whatever
15. (It’s Good) To Be Free
16. Half the World Away

01. Supersonic (Live)
02. Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
03. Shakermaker (Live)
04. Columbia (Eden Studios Mix)
05. Cloudburst (Demo)
06. Strange Thing (Demo)
07. Live Forever (Live)
08. Cigarettes & Alcohol (Live)
09. D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman? (Live)
10. Fade Away (Demo)
11. Take Me Away (Live)
12. Sad Song (Live)
13. Half the World Away (Live)
14. Digsy’s Dinner (Live)
15. Married With Children (Demo)
16. Up in the Sky (Live)
17. Whatever (Strings)

Original 1993 Demos cassette
Side One:
1. Cloudburst
2. Columbia
3. D’Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?
4. Strange Thing

Side Two:
1. Bring It On Down
2. Married With Children
3. Fade Away
4. Rock ‘n’ Roll Star

Supersonic 12 inch single, Record Store Day limited edition
A: Supersonic
B1. Take Me Away
B2. I Will Believe (Live)

Below: 10 things you didn't know about 'Definitely Maybe'

  • Frustrated by various scrapped recording sessions for their debut album, Oasis handed the tapes for 'Definitely Maybe' to engineer/producer Owen Morris to mix in desperation. In a few days, Morris' mixing yielded the beefier sound Noel was after.

  • 'Live Forever' was released as Oasis' third single on 8 August 1994, just prior to the release of Definitely Maybe. It became the band's first top 10 hit and one of the defining songs of Britpop, reaching No.7. The cover art for the single is a photo of John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool.

  • Speaking on Oasis' 'Stop The Clocks' DVD, Noel said Live Forever was written while he was working on a building site as a response to depressing lyrics in US grunge music, such as Nirvana's 'I Hate Myself and I Want To Die'. "Seems to me that here was a guy who had everything, and was miserable about it," said Noel. "And we had fuck-all, and I still thought that getting up in the morning was the greatest fuckin' thing ever."

  • The photograph of the band on the front of 'Definitely Maybe' was taken in guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs' house. Pictures in the room include footballers Rodney Marsh and George Best (Bonehead was a Man Utd fan, whereas the Gallaghers were Man City fans). There is also an LP sleeve of Burt Bacharach shown, as Noel is a big fan.

  • Eagerly anticipated, 'Definitely Maybe' was released on 30 August 1994 and went straight to No.1 as the fastest selling debut LP of all time in the UK. This record was later broken by Arctic Monkey's debut LP in 2006 and then by Leona Lewis 'Spirit' album in 2007.

  • Oasis are reportedly named after a leisure centre in Swindon (Oasis Leisure Centre) - a venue that was listed on an Inspiral Carpets tour poster.

  • Fan favourite 'Slide Away' was considered as a fifth single from the album, but Noel Gallagher eventually refused, saying: "You can't have five [singles] off a debut album." Noel wrote the song about the difficult relationship with his then girlfriend Louise Jones.

  • Noel temporarily quit Oasis (for the first time) while touring Definitely Maybe in the US. Noel was angry after a drug-induced incident onstage which saw Liam hit him with a tambourine. He rejoined only days later, writing the song ''Talk Tonight'' (Some Might Say b-side) about his time spent away from the band in San Francisco.

  • The band had to pay out $500,000 in damages after being successfully sued by Coca-Cola for single 'Shakermaker's similarity to the version of 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony)' that was featured in a Coke TV advert. "Now we all drink Pepsi" Noel later quipped.

  • "Your music's shite, it keeps me up all night" - a line from the final song on the album 'Married With Children', is allegedly something one of Noel's ex-girlfriends told him after she heard some early versions of Oasis songs.

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Photo: WENN