Brothers Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher have launched a High Court legal battle to stop the auction of more than 100 hours of unheard Oasis recordings, including candid conversations between the famously volatile siblings.
The archive, known as the Desk Tapes, was assembled by Huw Richards, Oasis's former front-of-house sound engineer, who worked with the band from the release of their 1994 debut album until 2001. It comprises 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes and three MiniDiscs, containing recordings of 63 concerts alongside rehearsals, soundchecks and private conversations involving the Gallagher brothers during the band's 1990s peak.
The collection was scheduled to be sold by Littleton Auctions on October 3, with a guide price of 1.2 million to 1.6 million pounds. But following legal proceedings brought by Oasis, the Gallaghers and Sony Music Entertainment, the auction house withdrew the lot from the sale. Managing director Ben Homer said the recordings had been removed in light of the legal action and expressed disappointment that the archive could not be offered as planned.
The tapes had been consigned by Owain Richards, the engineer's son, who confirmed that Oasis had sued him and his father to prevent the auction. He said the parties had agreed to postpone the sale while the ownership and legal dispute is resolved, either through litigation or another orderly process, and insisted his father had looked after the recordings for many years.
The case highlights unresolved questions over who controls rare recordings and archival material created during an artist's career, even when the material was made by a longtime collaborator. Crucially, Oasis retains the intellectual property rights to the recordings, meaning that even a successful buyer would not necessarily have been free to release them commercially, a fact that may affect the eventual value of the archive.
For fans, the withdrawal is a bitter disappointment. The tapes capture Oasis at the height of Britpop, and the prospect of hearing unreleased material from that era had generated enormous excitement. For the Gallaghers, the priority is control. The brothers have always guarded their legacy fiercely, and the High Court battle will determine who gets to decide what the world hears, and when.
The Gallagher brothers have a long history of fiercely protecting their work, and their united front in this case is notable given their famously fractious relationship. Music lawyers say disputes over archival recordings are increasingly common as the value of unreleased material soars in the streaming era. With the High Court now involved, the tapes are unlikely to see the light of day for months, if ever. For collectors, the legal battle only adds to the mystique of the Desk Tapes, and to the price they might one day command.