Jo Whiley felt ‘tingles’ when Oasis played in her studio for first time
By Jenny Garnsworthy, PA
DJ Jo Whiley has said she will “never forget” having a then-unknown Oasis on her radio show after she broadcast the band for the very first time.
Whiley and co-presenter Steve Lamacq played Columbia by Oasis on their Radio 1 Evening Session in 1993 – the first time the band was ever played on the radio.
She said she felt “tingles” when the group, fronted by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, then went on to play a live session in the studio.
Ahead of their reunion tour, which kicks of on Friday, Whiley reminisced about the early days of the Manchester-based band with fellow DJ Sara Cox, who was standing in for Scott Mills on his Radio 2 breakfast show.
Whiley said: “I remember our producers said (then-Oasis manager) Alan McGee has got this record. It’s really good.
“He says this band are amazing, you’ve got to play it.”
Whiley said the song was Columbia, adding: “Then they came in and did a session. It was so beautiful, you can just see the star quality.
“You could feel the charisma and the tension between the brothers.
“They did Live Forever, and it was unbelievable.
“I’m going to play that on my show tonight because we’re doing this big Oasis show this evening.
“I just remember sitting there, watching them, listening to Liam singing Live Forever, and just thinking tingles, proper tingles, I’ll never forget it.”
Oasis, who split in 2009 after a backstage brawl between the Gallagher brothers at a festival, confirmed their long-awaited reunion in August 2024.
Cox joked about how it was down to Whiley that Oasis have reformed after she suggested to Liam when he came on her radio show in more recent years that he call Noel.
“It’s basically down to you,” Cox said.
Whiley said her Radio 2 show on Thursday evening will be an Oasis special, “just to get people excited about the gigs”.
She asked listeners to get in touch and share their memories of the band, while she will also be playing archive clips.
“It’s important because they mean so much to so many people. People have grown up with them,” she added.
The long-awaited Oasis Live ’25 tour kicks off in Cardiff on Friday before a run of shows in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin.