Oasis have confirmed that they will be a 30th anniversary edition of Definitely Maybe out at the end of August, exactly three decades to the day since the original album was released.
The 30th Anniversary Deluxe edition is to include tracks from the original discarded version of the album that was recorded at Monnow Valley in 1993, as well as outtakes from the sessions at Sawmills studio in Cornwall, which have been mixed by Noel Gallagher and Callum Marinho.
It comes out on 2CDs, whilst vinyl collectors are treated to a four LP package, with two discs on ‘Up In The Sky/Learning to fly- blue and white marble, and ‘Digsy’s Dinner/ strawberries and cream’ pink and white marble respectively. All formats include the 2014 remastered version of the album, unseen artwork from the original sleeve designer Brian Cannon at Microdot and new sleevenotes by Creation Records boss Alan McGee.
There is also an exclusive titbit in the form of an unreleased 1992 demo of Sad Song, with Liam on vocals.
This comes after a flurry of speculation on Monday when Oasis social media accounts featured a mysterious aerial shot of a house in the countryside and the muffled sounds of a band tuning up. Some fans took this to mean that the Gallaghers had patched things up and were planning a reunion. The house in question, of course, is Sawmills where the bulk of the album was recorded.
Definitely Maybe may have arrived seemingly fully formed in August 1994, but the album had had a troubled birth. Sessions at Monnow Valley in Monmouthshire in 1993 were binned and the band had to record the album all over again at Sawmills in the New Year.
Even then it had to be remixed by Owen Morris before it was deemed ready to release. After 30 years, fans will now have an aural insight into how the record took shape and how Oasis plucked triumph from the jaws of what would have been disaster, both for them and their then-label, Creation.
As it was, Definitely Maybe went into the album charts at Number One in September 1994, and shifted 100,000 copies in its first four days, making it – at that point - the fastest selling debut album in British history. It has since gone eight times platinum in the UK alone, selling over 6 million copies globally.
Meanwhile Liam Gallagher takes the road next month to celebrate the album. His Definitely Maybe 30 tour kicks off in Sheffield on June 1st and includes four nights at London’s 02 Arena.
