What is the Live Demonstration Tape?
Short Answer:
Oasis' first proper demo, recorded in 1993 with massive help from The Real People.
Long Answer:
What is it?
A seven-song demo cassette recorded at The Real People's Porter Street studio in Liverpool over weekends.
Sessions ran Friday night to Sunday night. Started creative, ended messy.
Recorded on a Tascam 8-track. No big budget, no studio flash. Just grit, noise, and cigarettes.
Printed with a simple black-and-white logo, photocopied sleeve. Looked like a school project. Sounded like a revolution.
Who helped make it?
Tony and Chris Griffiths of The Real People were absolutely crucial.
They helped arrange, coach, sing backing vocals, and even lent equipment.
They helped Noel turn raw sketches into actual songs.
Chris Griffiths even co-wrote parts of Columbia and heavily influenced Rocking Chair.
What songs came out of it?
Cloudburst
Columbia (originally just an instrumental, shaped into a song with Chris' help)
D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?
Strange Thing
Bring It on Down
Married with Children
Rock ’n’ Roll Star
Some of these early recordings also fed into B-sides.
Noel also came up with Whatever during these sessions, though it was recorded properly later.
What else was happening in the studio?
They were blasting Slade and Buzzcocks records for inspiration.
Columbia originally featured psychedelic samples from CDs Chris owned.
The whole atmosphere was loose. Friendly enough to create, wild enough to keep it unpredictable.
Noel flogged most of his gear to Johnny Roadhouse Music once they got signed.
Important Myth Correction
Live Demonstration was not just Oasis in a shed.
It was a full collaboration. Without The Real People, it would have sounded half-finished and half-forgotten.
What happened next?
Noel sent Live Demonstration out to every label he could find.
Alan McGee of Creation heard it. Heard Columbia in particular.
Signed Oasis on the spot after seeing them live.
The rest is pub quiz history.
Legacy
Live Demonstration remains the purest Oasis recording. No polish. No producers meddling. No money men interfering.
Originals sell for thousands now because they are more than just a tape.
They are a fossil. A living reminder of what rock and roll sounds like when it is still half-starved and properly angry.
