Former Oasis drummer Tony McCarroll says things are “getting better” between him and the Gallagher brothers – and Liam even let him bring friends to his recent Definitely Maybe solo tour.
Tony, 53, left the band after Oasis’ first album Definitely Maybe. In a legal conflict in 1999, he was paid a one-off sum of £550,000 after he sued the Manchester rockers for millions in unpaid royalties. But Tony said: “You know things are thawing out as we get older. I had a massive guest list from him (Liam) a couple of months ago for 11 of us from the family when he did the Definitely Maybe tour.
Tony fought more with Noel than Liam, as the songwriter felt his drumming was not good enough. In the 2016 Oasis documentary Supersonic, Noel said he wanted to change things before the second album. Referring to Tony he said: “Yeah, I probably made up my mind knowing that Champagne Supernova was coming up and Don’t Look Back in Anger and Wonderwall that he wasn’t going to be able to play those songs. It’d become apparent recording Definitely Maybe, we spent a lot of time trying to get the drums right, and it was never right.”
The pair have not met for a long time and speaking at a Q&A at an Oasis exhibition in London, Tony admitted he felt Noel could have been more generous when the band started out in the early Nineties and he was hurt by his criticism.
Tony McCarroll recounted: “I am not a complicated character in any capacity really. But I am the sort of guy who will stick up for myself. I am not the only one who got these little snide comments. I was like ‘Why is he talking to me (like this?) Why? What have I done to him?’ He kinda built this tension up between us.
“There was a time when he got some money and decided to spend it on himself when we were all skint. I did not like that. There was no discussion about what we were going to do with this money considering we had all contributed financially, physically, or anything to get to this point.
He did not like confrontation. I suppose I didn’t. Maybe it was the wrong approach. I held my hands up but it was frustrating in the end. It can go so far and you think ‘I am not having that’.”
Although he went to watch Liam on his Definitely Maybe tour, Tony has said in previous interviews he is unsure if he will go to watch the reformed Oasis next Summer and he was not expecting to be asked to return to the drums.
He was in the band when Definitely Maybe was recorded, as well as singles Whatever and Some Might Say, but his departure was announced. In April 1995 when he was replaced by Alan White on drums.