Noel and Liam Gallagher have launched legal proceedings against their former sound engineer, Huw Richards, over a planned auction of unheard archive recordings. The auction house has now suspended the sale of the tapes after the band filed an injunction.
Sale of Desk Tapes withdrawn
Richards, who worked with Oasis from the release of their debut album, Definitely Maybe, in 1994 until 2001, had hoped to auction off a string of archive recordings. It was announced earlier this month that a set of recordings, including 63 live shows, soundchecks, and over 100 hours of rehearsal from the 1990s, were to be sold at Littleton Auctions.
Ben Homer, managing director of Littleton Auctions, said: "Littleton Auctions confirms that the Oasis recordings known as The Desk Tapes have been withdrawn from our October 3 auction in light of legal proceedings."
He added: "We are very disappointed that we cannot offer this significant archive as planned. The rest of the sale is unaffected and will take place as normal. We respect the legal process and will make no further comment on the proceedings at this stage."
Legal dispute to be resolved
The sale was brought by Richards's son, Owain Richards. He said: "It is true that Oasis have sued me and my father to try to prevent the auction of the tapes made by my father many years ago. We have agreed to postpone the auction (of the tapes) to enable the legal dispute to be resolved either by litigation or otherwise in an orderly way."
The auction will still go ahead with memorabilia, including internal tour itineraries, original setlists, a band-played Epiphone guitar and an original Kangol Oasis tour Parka.
Recordings from Knebworth era
The recordings were made by Richards, who worked as the front-of-house sound engineer for the band during the height of their fame. After joining the Oasis crew in 1995, he was with them for their biggest events, including their historic Knebworth gigs in August 1996, which drew over 250,000 people over two nights.
He recorded the tapes directly from the desk, with Littleton Auctions calling the tapes in its sale "the only master archive of its kind in existence." When the sale was first announced, the auction house called it a "once-in-a-generation opportunity for fans and collectors alike," but confirmed the band did not support the sale.
Homer said at the time: "The Oasis camp is aware of the auction and has expressed concerns, which is entirely understandable given the scale and significance of the material. We're handling everything with full transparency and proper legal process. Our focus is simply on presenting these items responsibly, with verified provenance, and allowing collectors and institutions to engage with an important part of British music history."
A spokesperson for Oasis declined to comment.
