WOAH okay I saw your #bigun post and although I’d not heard that tale before it brought something else full circle for me. There’s a thread on l4e forum about Tony McCarroll’s book that he was very active on. It’s kind of interesting to skim through. He basically takes Tony’s side 100% and backhandedly bashes Noel where he can. Link: [insert l4e domain]/thread/65833/tony-mccarrolls-book just coincidental timing since I was reading it yesterday, confused about this all-knowing user “bigun”
(link)
aha, providence!
yeah this guy is curious, mostly because of how long he kept his hooks in there. it's interesting to read the direct posts from him, thanks for the link!
'People think it was Noel and Liam who created the sound of Oasis but it wasn’t,' says Paul 'Bigun' Ashbee
In his new autobiography, Paul ‘Bigun’ Ashbee claims that it was in fact Bonehead who is responsible for the raw, gritty nature of Oasis’ music.
“People think it was Noel and Liam who created the sound of Oasis but it wasn’t - it was Bonehead,” said Bigun. “Liam was the frontman, Noel was the poet who came later. It was a jigsaw puzzle. It was meant to be.
“Definitely Maybe was Noel’s therapy, it was his poetry - but it was Bonehead’s core sound. I know because I’d heard it back when they were still called The Rain.”
Bigun, from West Point in Levenshulme, says while Liam and Noel deserve their kudos, he adds that Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, the band’s founding member, should get more credit for what he brought to Manchester’s biggest musical export.
After meeting Bonehead aged 14, Bigun knew that he had something - it was about finding the right people to put him together with.
“We were sat in a park in 1986 with a big ghetto blaster and he’s saying, let’s get a band together. I didn’t play instruments but he was encouraging me to get on the bass, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I found him the perfect frontman.”
Bigun, now 52 and several years older than Liam, 46, took the budding singer under his wing as a valeter in his business, Formula One car cleaning, a year before his audition.
As they washed the cars of Manchester United footballers at Carrington - the rivals of Liam’s beloved Manchester City - Bigun would hear about the teenager’s dreams of being in a band.
So, when he learnt of Bonehead’s frustration about his band, The Rain, struggling to get signed and concerns over their frontman, Bigun was more than happy to vouch for Liam - despite not actually ever hearing him sing.
“There was something raw about him. I think more than anything Liam wanted Noel to notice him, and he knew being in a band would do that,” said Bigun.
“Plus I’d heard him go on about wanting to be a rock star for about a year in the van, so I knew he was up to the job.”
