“When Noel asked me to join High Flying Birds, he said I could use any of his gear. I asked if he still had the Epiphone Sheraton, and he said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll join’”: Gem Archer on playing with Oasis – and both Gallagher brothers’ solo projects

Gem Archer.

As a mainstay of the British guitar scene, Gem Archer has influenced countless young players to pick up the instrument. With workmanlike technique and a catchall mentality, he made noise with his bands The Edge, The Contenders and Whirlpool. In the mid-'90s he broke ground with Heavy Stereo, a glam-meets-hard rock act that recorded a monster yet overlooked record, Déjà Voodoo, in 1996.

Archer fronted and had high hopes for Heavy Stereo. “In Whirlpool we got away from guitar music, and I had to go back to the drawing board because I wanted to get back to basic guitar,” he tells Guitar World. “That's what led to Heavy Stereo – and soon we signed to Creation Records. That's when I first met Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, and Andy Bell, who was with Ride.”