A collection of recordings made by the band’s former sound engineer — including live shows, rehearsals and private conversations — was removed from a UK auction after Oasis launched legal proceedings.
Littleton Auctions withdrew the lot known as the Desk Tapes after Oasis filed legal action to prevent the sale.
The archive was assembled by former Oasis sound engineer Huw Richards and offered by his son Owain with a guide price of £1.2m–£1.6m.
The collection contains 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes and three MiniDiscs, covering 63 live shows, rehearsals and candid conversations dated to the 1990s.
# What happened
A collection of previously unheard Oasis recordings planned for auction in England has been pulled after the band took legal action. The archive — marketed as the Desk Tapes — was listed for sale by Littleton Auctions with a guide price between £1.2m and £1.6m. The auction house confirmed the lot was withdrawn following court proceedings.
# Who owns the tapes and who's selling them
# What's in the archive
The advertised collection includes:
Littleton and press coverage identified candid exchanges involving Noel and Liam Gallagher among the contents.
# Why Oasis intervened
# Auction house reaction and related items
# Legal and practical implications
The dispute turns on ownership of physical media versus ownership of the recordings themselves. Owning original tapes does not automatically grant the right to commercially exploit recorded performances if those rights are held by the artists. That appears to be the basis for Oasis's intervention and the legal move to block the sale.
# Context around the band
Noel and Liam Gallagher have recently been visible together at public events: they attended the world premiere of the documentary Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger and the band announced a Live '27 world tour after a 2025 reunion tour. Media outlets reported the legal claim was filed in the High Court in London.
# Current status
October auction pending resolution of the legal proceedings. Littleton has said it will make no further comment while the legal process continues. The Richards family has said the auction has been postponed to allow the dispute to be resolved in an orderly way.
Tapes made in the 90s, including candid conversations between Noel and Liam Gallagher, which were expected to sell for up to £1.6m A collection of unheard Oasis recordings, including 63 live shows, hours of rehearsals and candid conversations between Noel and Liam Gallagher, has been pulled from auction after legal act
"We are very disappointed that we cannot offer this significant archive as planned"
The claim was filed in the High Court in London on Tuesday (September 29) Source
The archive is described as spanning 1994 to 2001 and includes 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes and three MiniDiscs. The post Oasis brothers take legal action over ‘unfiltered’ backstage recordings set for £1.6m auction appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news .
A set of tapes of unheard Oasis recordings has been suspended from auction after the band filed an injunction to block their sale. The lot of tapes of never-before-heard Oasis recordings, dubbed The Desk Tapes, has been suspended from auction following an injunction filed by the band to block their sale. The tapes were
Oasis empezaron a lanzar teasers hace unos días que anticipaban el anuncio que iba a caer hoy mismo,… La entrada Oasis ofrecerán 2 conciertos en Barcelona (Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic) se publicó primero en Binaural .
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