Oasis: All Around The World (partially lost recordings of GMEX performances of British rock band; 1997)

Tickets for the GMEX concerts.

Status: Partially Lost

The Be Here Now Tour was a concert tour by the British rock band Oasis in support of their third album "Be Here Now" which was released two weeks before the start of the tour on August 21st, 1997. Anticipation for the album was through the roof after the huge success of their previous album "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" and rumours of the band breaking up following the sour conclusion of the Morning Glory tour began circulating, with performances at KROQ's Weenie Roast and opening slots on U2's PopMart Tour and reports of journalists singing gag orders emerging in the media did nothing but intensify anticipation for the album and when it was released it was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception, but over the course of the tour reception grew negative (with the song "Magic Pie" being called the worst Oasis song of all time^[1]) and by the end of the tour in March 1998, the band began attracting negative press for their drug-fuelled antics on the tour (with some antics almost landing Liam Gallagher in jail) and the band retreated from the public eye for the next couple years. Over 25 years after its release, the album has a divisive legacy not only with listeners but with members of the band as well with guitarist Noel Gallagher criticizing the album (even stating a month before the album's release that the production was bland^[2]) and lead singer Liam Gallagher praising the album (stating that Noel was trying to be the producer and Owen Morris was holding him back^[3]).

History

Outside of the drug-fuelled debauchery surrounding the tour, the tour hosted some gigs that are held in high regards with fans like in Newcastle, Glasgow, Dublin, New York, Chicago and Manchester. The two gigs at the GMEX in Manchester on December 13th and 14th are considered the highlights of the tour as they were professionally recorded with the second night being broadcasted on MTV under the title "Oasis: All Around The World". Footage of that night's performance of "Acquiesce" would later be used for the song's first music video. The whole footage of the MTV broadcast of the concert (as well as a soundboard bootleg of the gig) can easily be found today. Though strangely, no footage or audio from the first night has surfaced and only a small number of photos of the first night can be found. It was even speculated that the first night wasn't recorded, but Matt Coyde (who was a Hot Head Technician for the MTV broadcast) revealed in an email exchange with live4ever use "oasiscam" in July 2009 that "We shot both nights as the first night being a test record in case anything went wrong with the broadcast the next night."^[4]. This not only confirms that the first night was recorded professionally but would echo what would happen at their gigs at Wembley stadium three years later (where the first night was professionally recorded as a test just in case anything with the next night went wrong which would be broadcasted on Sky One the same night, something did go wrong as Liam showed up very drunk to the second night and sabotaged the gig so badly, it would be called the worst gig the band has ever done by the press, audience members and fans alike).

Availability

While the second night has never been re-aired or re-released since it's initial MTV broadcast, clips shared by the band on the album's 25th anniversary in 2022 suggest that they are in possession of all footage from the tour (including the GMEX gigs)^[5]. As of the writing of this article, no audio or clips of the first night can be found today.