Editing Oasis (band) (section)

===1995–1996: ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'', international success, and peak popularity===
In April 1995, "[[Some Might Say]]" became their first number-one UK single. At the same time, McCarroll was ousted from the band. He said he was "unlawfully expelled from the partnership" for what he called a "personality clash" with the brothers. The Gallaghers were critical of McCarroll's musical ability, with Noel saying: "I like Tony as a geezer but he wouldn't have been able to drum the new songs."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.supanet.com/entertainment/music_feature/news/52861/Almost_famous.html|title=Supanet entertainment music feature|publisher=Supanet.com|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622220353/https://www.supanet.com/entertainment/music_feature/news/52861/Almost_famous.html|archive-date=22 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/288881.stm|title=£550,000 for sacked Oasis drummer|work=BBC News|date=3 March 1999|access-date=3 February 2008|archive-date=30 June 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030630093536/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/288881.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Alan White (Oasis drummer)|Alan White]], formerly of [[Starclub]] and the brother of the percussionist [[Steve White (drummer)|Steve White]], who was recommended to Noel by [[Paul Weller (singer)|Paul Weller]]. White made his debut with Oasis on a ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' performance of "Some Might Say".<ref name=":2" />

Oasis began recording material for their second album that May in [[Rockfield Studios]] near [[Monmouth]].<ref name=":2">Harris, pg. 226</ref> During this period, the British press seized upon a supposed rivalry between Oasis and another [[Britpop]] band, [[Blur (band)|Blur]]. Previously, Oasis had not associated with the Britpop movement and were not invited to perform on the [[BBC]]'s ''Britpop Now'' programme introduced by Blur's singer, [[Damon Albarn]]. On 14 August 1995, Blur and Oasis released singles on the same day, setting up the [[Britpop#"The Battle of Britpop"|"Battle of Britpop"]] that dominated the national news.<ref>{{cite news |title=When Blur beat Oasis in the battle of Britpop |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/only-in-britain/blur-beat-oasis-in-chart-battle/ |access-date=17 September 2019 |work=The Telegraph |archive-date=25 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325233841/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/only-in-britain/blur-beat-oasis-in-chart-battle/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Blur's "[[Country House (song)|Country House]]" outsold Oasis's "[[Roll with It (Oasis song)|Roll with It]]" 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week.<ref>Harris, pg. 235</ref> Oasis's management argued that "Country House" had sold more because it was less expensive (£1.99 vs £3.99) and because there were two versions of the "Country House" single, with different B-sides, forcing fans to buy two copies.<ref>Harris, pg. 233</ref> Creation said there were problems with the barcode on the "Roll with It" single case, which did not record all sales.<ref>Author unknown. "Cockney revels". ''[[NME]]''. 26 August 1995.</ref> Noel Gallagher told ''[[The Observer]]'' in September that he hoped members of Blur would "catch AIDS and die", which caused a media furore.<ref>"Noel Gallagher in Blur Aids outburst". ''Melody Maker''. 23 September 1995.</ref> He apologised in a formal letter to various publications.<ref>Harris, pg. 251</ref>

[[File:EpiphoneSupernova.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Noel Gallagher]] played an [[Epiphone Sheraton]] guitar with [[Union Jack]] paintwork during the tour promoting ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'']]
McGuigan briefly left Oasis in September 1995, citing nervous exhaustion. He was replaced by [[:simple:Scott McLeod|Scott McLeod]], formerly of the Ya Ya's, who was featured on some of the tour dates as well as in the "Wonderwall" video before leaving abruptly while on tour in the US. McLeod contacted Noel, saying he felt he had made the wrong decision. Noel replied: "I think you have, too. Good luck signing on."<ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/glastonbury2004/story/0,,1242267,00.html|title=Not here now|work=The Guardian|date=19 June 2004|last=Robinson|first=John|access-date=9 March 2008|location=London|archive-date=2 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002042228/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/jun/19/glastonbury2004.popandrock|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although a softer sound initially led to mixed reviews, Oasis's second album, ''[[(What's the Story) Morning Glory?]]'', was a worldwide commercial success, selling over four million copies and becoming the [[List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom|fifth-best-selling album]] in UK chart history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-60-official-biggest-selling-albums-of-all-time-revealed__15551/|title=The UK's 60 official biggest selling albums of all time revealed|last=Copsey|first=Rob|date=4 July 2016|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709012251/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-60-official-biggest-selling-albums-of-all-time-revealed__15551/|archive-date=9 July 2016|url-status=live|access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref> By 2008, it had sold up to 22 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6151050.stm|title=Queen head all-time sales chart|work=BBC News|date=16 November 2006|access-date=9 March 2008|archive-date=4 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204064437/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6151050.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The album produced two more singles, "[[Wonderwall (song)|Wonderwall]]" and "[[Don't Look Back in Anger]]", which reached numbers two and one. It also contained "[[Champagne Supernova]]", which featured guitar and backing vocals by [[Paul Weller]] and received critical acclaim. The song reached number one on the US [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart. In November 1995, Oasis played on back-to-back nights at [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre|Earls Court]] in London, the biggest ever indoor gigs in Europe at the time. Noel played a customised Sheraton guitar emblazoned with a [[Union Jack]], commercially released by [[Epiphone]] as the "Supernova".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mason |first1=Tom |last2=Randall |first2=Lucian |title=Noel Gallagher - The Biography |date=2012 |publisher=John Blake |isbn=9781782190912 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zatDwAAQBAJ&dq=Noel+Gallagher+-+Epiphone+Sheraton+guitar+Union+Jack&pg=PT91}}</ref>

[[File:Oasis at Knebworth.jpg|thumb|left|260px|An aerial shot of the audience of 125,000 people prior to one of Oasis's two performances at [[Knebworth Festival|Knebworth]] in August 1996]]

On 27 and 28 April 1996, Oasis played their first headline outdoor concerts, at [[Maine Road]] football stadium, home of [[Manchester City F.C.]], of whom the Gallagher brothers had been fans since childhood.<ref>Alan McGee (2013) "Creation Stories: Riots, Raves and Running a Label". p. 31. Pan Macmillan,</ref> Highlights from the second night featured on the video ''[[...There and Then]]'', released later the same year (along with footage from their Earls Court gigs). As their career reached its zenith, Oasis performed to 80,000 people over two nights at [[Balloch Country Park]] at Loch Lomond in Scotland on 3 and 4 August, before back-to-back [[Knebworth Festival|concerts at Knebworth House]] on 10 and 11 August. The band sold out both shows within minutes. The audience of 125,000 people each night (2.5&nbsp;million people applied for tickets, and 250,000 were actually sold, meaning the possibility of 20 sold out nights) was a record-breaking number for an outdoor concert held in the UK and remains the largest demand for a show in British history.<ref>Harris, pg.&nbsp;298–99</ref><ref name=liveforever>{{cite video | title = Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop| medium = DVD| publisher=[[Passion Pictures]] | location = London|year=2004}}</ref>
{{Quote box
| quote ="What Oasis has done in Britain, unifying an entire country under the banner of a single pop act, a band could no longer achieve in a country like the US. In Britain the band reigns unchallenged as the most popular act since the Beatles, there is an Oasis CD in roughly one of every three homes there. Last month, the band drew 250,000 people to Knebworth for the biggest outdoor concerts in the country's history. The group's battling brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher, appear as regularly as royalty on tabloid covers."
| source = — [[Neil Strauss]], September 1996, writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on the group's escalating popularity<ref>{{cite news|last=Strauss|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Strauss|title=Sounding Like the Beatles, And Acting More Popular|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/10/arts/sounding-like-the-beatles-and-acting-more-popular.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=28 March 2015|date=10 September 1996|archive-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403022055/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/10/arts/sounding-like-the-beatles-and-acting-more-popular.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| align = right
| width = 22em
}}
Oasis were due to record an episode of ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' at the [[Royal Festival Hall]] but Liam pulled out, citing a sore throat. He watched the performance from a balcony with beer and cigarettes, heckling Noel's singing between songs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Haydon|first=John|title=The List: Liam Gallagher's worst moments|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/17/list-liam-gallaghers-worst-moments/|work=The Washington Times|access-date=27 February 2013|archive-date=4 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804001215/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/17/list-liam-gallaghers-worst-moments/|url-status=live}}</ref> Four days later the group left for a tour of American arenas but Liam refused to go; the band decided to continue the tour with Noel on vocals.<ref>Harris, pg. 310</ref> Liam rejoined the tour on 30 August and on 4 September 1996, Oasis performed "Champagne Supernova" at the [[1996 MTV Video Music Awards]] at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in New York City.<ref name="MTVAwards">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1996/|title=1996 MTV Video Music Awards|publisher=MTV|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-date=12 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612185016/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1996/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Liam made gestures at Noel during his guitar solo, then spat beer all over the stage before storming off.<ref name="MTVAwards"/> A few weeks later Noel flew home without the band, who followed on another flight.<ref>Harris, pg. 312</ref> This event prompted media speculation that the group were splitting up. The brothers soon reconciled and decided to complete the tour.<ref>Harris, pg. 313</ref>