Why Oasis reforming may be a game changer for UK Music

 So after a decade of speculation, to no one's great surprise, Oasis are getting back together. They are a band that I've always had a soft spot for, given that they are avid Manchester City fans and Wonderwall was one of the anthems on the terraces in the 1990's when City were rubbish. I loved the first album, thought the second one was OK and then pretty much lost interest in the soap opera that the band became. Their pomp coincided with a wonderful period for our studio. Everyone wanted to pick up a guitar, join a band and write songs. The charts were full of indy music, great bands, such as Blur, Echobelly, Ride, Suede, etc. Our studio expanded from two studios in 1990 to ten in 2001. Every time we opened a new room, it instantly booked solid for months. London was full of studios. Names such as Survival in Acton, Rocket in Colindale, Station and Blues in Southgate. Now there is just Mill Hill Music Complex. The last man standing, after 45 years. Few of our customers are young lads wanting to be the next indie sensation. I cannot remember the last time a guitar based new band had a hit of note. The industry changed in around 2004, with the advent of the Simon Cowell lead X Factor revolution. All of a sudden, no one wanted to spend years trudging around small venues, playing gigs for tuppence and five men and a dog. 

These days, 90% of the bands that use us have been around for years. Teenagers listen to music that is largely made up of loops and generated in bedroom studios. Rapping, MC'ing, DJ'ing is order of the day. As a musician who plays live gigs, I've seen some great bands on the circuit over the last ten years. I did a blog on the subject on Saturday, listing the best ten I've seen on the period. One of the most striking things about the gigs The False Dots have done in the last two years is that we've got a young following and most of these have not seen live bands. They watch us and are taken aback by the energy a live band can create. Quite a few of the young bands that watch us, have told us they were takenb aback by how we work an audience. One of the best I've seen, nicked a basket load of our tricks the next time we saw them. The point is that so few young music fans are seeing 'proper bands'. Most of the big bands are legacy bands with older audiences. When The False Dots started, we'd see bands doing things and nick their tricks, refining them. They'd do the same. The period when Oasis and Blur were slugging it out for a number one, seems like another age. 

So who will go and see Oasis? Well firstly, it will probably cost a fortune. Mostly it will be same people who saw them back in the day. But it could well be that this generation will take their kids. Who knows, maybe they will get a taste for guitar based music again. I really hope they change their mind and play Glastonbury. This has huge reach. If the industry plays it's cards right, it could reignite interest in bands. From what I've seen at venues such as the Dublin Castle is a huge untapped market for proper bands who can put on a decent show. It has been a very long time since there was any sort of genuinely exciting teen music scene. It won't be bands like Oasis that restart that, but if they inspire a few herberts to start bands and break a few rules, it might just be a game changer.