Who is Tony McCarroll?
Short Answer:
Drummer. Founding member. The first casualty of Oasis being Oasis.
Long Answer:
Full Name
Anthony McCarroll.
Born
4 April 1971, Levenshulme, Manchester. Brought up in the fine local tradition of hitting things loudly.
Occupation
Drummer. Occasional author. Early Oasis punchbag.
Known For
Drumming on Definitely Maybe and the first few legendary singles.
Getting booted out in 1995 just as Oasis were going stratospheric.
Spending the next few years lobbing legal grenades over the garden fence at his former mates.
Voice
Loud. Defiant. Slightly wounded even when he is pretending he is not.
Family
Kept his home life quieter than his band life.
Stayed in Manchester long after the rest of them were buying castles and football clubs.
Career Highlights
Banged the skins on Supersonic, Live Forever, and Cigarettes & Alcohol — the songs that made Britain believe again, even if it was half-cut.
Survived the early tours where the van was barely running and the band were barely speaking.
Sacked after recording Some Might Say. Noel decided they needed a "real drummer" and that was that.
Sued Oasis for wrongful dismissal. Settled out of court for a rumoured half a million quid. Not a bad day’s work, all told.
Wrote a memoir called Oasis: The Truth, which reads like a proud man trying to explain a car crash he only partly caused.
Signature Look
Short hair. Baggy shirts. Looked like he had either just finished a kickabout or just started a fight.
Signature Move
Simplicity. Battering the drums like they owed him money.
No fancy fills. No swing. Just relentless, football terrace rhythm.
Public Image
The lad's lad. The drummer who was one of the gang before the suits got involved.
Slightly tragic figure in the post-Oasis years.
Never pretended he was better than he was. Never quite forgave the band for moving on without him.
Legacy
Gave Oasis the thump they needed at the start.
Proof that sometimes being good enough is exactly what a band needs, until it decides it needs something flashier.
Another reminder that in Oasis, loyalty was conditional and the door was always swinging.
