Noel and Liam Gallagher are heading into a legal battle together, this time over a potentially valuable collection of unheard recordings from Oasis’ glory years.
The brothers and other claimants connected to Oasis have taken legal action involving a vast archive of recordings assembled by Huw Richards, a former sound engineer who worked with the band between 1994 and 2001.
Known as “The Desk Tapes,” the collection offers an unusually extensive audio record of Oasis during one of the most celebrated periods in British rock.
The archive contains 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes and three MiniDiscs. The material reportedly includes recordings from 63 concerts, along with soundchecks, rehearsals and candid conversations involving the band.
More than 100 hours of rehearsal material are said to be included.
Littleton Auctions in Worcestershire had planned to offer the collection for sale, estimating its value at between £1.2 million and £1.6 million. Those plans are now on hold.
Legal proceedings filed in London’s High Court have resulted in the recordings being withdrawn from the auction that had been scheduled for October 3.
The case involves more than just the Gallagher brothers. Oasis and Sony Music Entertainment UK have also been identified among the claimants in reports based on court records, while Richards’ son and Littleton Auctions are among those named on the other side of the dispute.
Richards has reportedly expressed disappointment and confusion over the legal action, maintaining that he had previously approached the Gallaghers about the archive.
Whatever happens next, the collection represents far more than a stack of old tapes. It potentially provides an extensive behind-the-scenes record of Oasis during the years when the Manchester band went from emerging Britpop contenders to one of the biggest rock acts in the world.
For fans hoping that some of those recordings might eventually emerge from the vault, however, the wait just became considerably longer. The Desk Tapes will remain off the auction block while the legal questions surrounding them are sorted out.
