'I founded Oasis but Noel sacked me over silly row, I live with a huge regret'

Tony McCarroll founded Oasis back in 1991 but parted ways with the band following a personality clash with Noel Gallagher in 1995. Thirty years on and he admits it still fills him with regret

In less than 100 days fans will finally get to see Britpop legends Noel and Liam Gallagher reunited on stage as Oasis for their highly anticipated global tour.

More than 70,000 fans are expected to pack Cardiff's Principality Stadium for the opening night on July 4, with a ceasefire declared on the Gallaghers’ 30 year conflict, which will, hopefully, hold for their 25 gig sell-out tour.

It’s a bittersweet moment for the band's ex drummer Tony McCarroll. Forced to watch from the sidelines, he will also see the band he founded back in 1991 gross an estimated £50million from ticket sales, with dates booked across the UK, America, South America and Asia.

Reportedly paid £500,000 after being "kicked out" of Oasis in April 1995 following a personality clash with Noel Gallagher, Mancunian Tony says of the band: "It is a brilliant thing to be part of. I wish I was part of it. Hindsight is a great thing.

"I remember it was hard (at the time when I left), especially watching the rise of the band going on to do stadiums. One of my final gigs was at Sheffield Arena and you did think back then ‘We have made it’. From just three people watching us or two barmaids in the old days to now this. Then a silly argument and I was out of the band. I was in one day and out the next."

Any fantasy he had about rejoining Oasis was crushed earlier this month by leaked news that Beck drummer Joey Waronker would be joining the Gallaghers on tour, alongside Andy Bell on bass, with Gem Archer and Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on guitars.

And he still seems slightly peeved that he was left out of the reunion, saying: "Looking back, I think we should have stuck to what we had and seen where we went and developed each other." Still, Tony, 53, is preparing for his own tour this Spring.

But there won’t be a drumkit. Instead he’s hitting the road for a series of Q&A events, where he promises to lift the lid on what life is really like in Oasis and reveal how he founded the band during his early years growing up in Levenshulme, Manchester. Tony laid the foundations for Oasis after meeting Paul McGuigan (Guigsy) in his local football team as a youngster.

Together with McGuigan's friend Paul Arthurs they formed a band called The Rain and hired Chris Sutton as their singer - later dropping him to make way for Liam Gallagher, who changed the band's name to Oasis, inspired by a poster for the Manchester band Inspiral Carpets which hung in his bedroom.

Paul recalls: "I remember when we formed the band we needed a singer. I was told by a friend (Paul Ashbee) that he knew a guy. I have to say Liam took quite a persuasion to come out of his bedroom. He was not as confident as you all might think. Jumping on the mic was not an easy thing for him to do.

"But he had his famous walk and the talk. He had total presence. He had character and everything about him, whether he realised it or not himself... I am sure he does now.

"I remember one of Liam's early jobs was making pies and he used to say to everyone who worked with him ‘I am going to be out of here soon. I am going to be a rock star’. Everyone was like ‘Shut up mate’. But yeah he did make it. Lo and behold his confidence and the music developed and we got there."

When brother Noel Gallagher joined the band, the rest- as they say - is history. Tony says: "I remember how Liam was desperate to get the band going, as shy as he was. But he had the look, presence, clothes, trainers, there was so much in place ready.

"He also had the haircut. People used to shout at him ‘Liam Brown, Liam Brown’ after Ian Brown from The Stone Roses. He didn't like that, but I suppose there is no denying that Ian was a hero to him."

Despite his shyness, Tony says Liam was a natural frontman, adding: "When Liam joined our band I had not heard him sing. But he could sing a song in two takes. He was just handed the lyrics and off he went." But it was recording Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe when Tony admits cracks first began to appear in his working relationship with Noel.

He says: "When we recorded Slide Away on Definitely Maybe none of us knew the song. It was nerve wracking. I could not get it right. The drummer gets the blame for everything. Noel used to tell us he wrote songs 10 minutes before he came into the room."

When it was released in 1994, Definitely Maybe became the fastest selling album in music history, selling 15 million copies worldwide and rising. But looking back, Tony feels he didn’t have time to absorb and enjoy the success, as the band was constantly on the road. He says: "You never had time to appreciate where you were as we were travelling all the time. Like you were playing to 200 people for three months, then it went up to 500, but it was natural.

"It just exploded month after month, but you just blended with it. Did I realise how brilliant we were at the time? People have different opinions. But did I realise? I am not even sure to this day. It was a mish mosh of tunes that blended together really."

On a promo tour of Japan, Tony says Oasis were treated like their idols The Beatles, adding: "That was the nearest thing to Beatlemania for me. There was like a thousand people on the street just waiting to touch your hair. There were people waiting in doorways. It was pure fan mania."

With instant fame came all the trappings. And Tony admits he tried it all, saying: "Our approach was like ‘This could be our last day… let’s totally enjoy it the drink, drugs.’ There was not a thing we did not try. I am not saying it is right."

But overnight fame is high octane and the now infamous bust-ups between Liam and Noel started - leading to their split at Knebworth in 1996. "I think that (partying) is what caused the mayhem and what people wrote about like ‘These are mad musicians. They are absolutely nutty’," says Tony.

"On the tour bus and the stage, that was our home. That is a difficult place to be sometimes. You have big characters, noisy characters. I am a sit back, chilled out guy, but there are lots of frustrating things going on and that crosses over into arguments.

"There was a lot of pressure on Noel and Liam to make this happen. It was interview after interview. When they hit America they were doing interviews from 9am until 6pm. And then it was on stage, all part of the game to lead to success."

Away from the Gallagher pressure cooker, Tony says his closest buddy on the road was Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, who will be on the reunion tour. "Paul was pure mad," laughs Tony. "I shared a room with Bonehead throughout it all and it was the best room to be in.

"It was the funniest room to be in. He introduced me to red wine. What a guy. As the red wine kicked in he would get louder and louder. But he is very musical and he could play anything. He could get a tune out of a radiator. There was nothing he could not play. I think he had schooling on music where the rest of us didn't. Noel was self taught and Guiggs. That is what made it special."

Today, Tony's life is worlds away from that of the Gallaghers, but he is proud to have paid a significant role in putting Oasis on the map. He says: "I think songs like Live Forever and Slide Away. At the time they were like punky songs, but there is another side to it.

“I love the drums on them as they punch you in the face. Live Forever is up there. There are so many brilliant songs. All of them. And I guess the song Supersonic was the perfect introduction to the world by Oasis. I am pleased I am the first one to be heard on it."

* Tony McCarroll hosts Q&A events in Manchester (April 5), London (April 13), Glasgow (April 19) and Southampton (June 21)