Oasis Sue to Block Auction of Unheard 1990s Recordings

Oasis have gone to court to stop the sale of more than 100 hours of unheard recordings from the 1990s.

The band, Noel and Liam Gallagher and Sony Music Entertainment U.K. filed legal action on Sept. 29 in London's High Court against former sound engineer Huw Richards, according to Billboard. The case also names auction house Littleton Auctions and Owain Richards.

Littleton Auctions confirmed on Sept. 30 that the material had been pulled from its planned Oct. 3 sale. The auction will go ahead without it.

The archive at the centre of the dispute is known as the Desk Tapes. It holds dozens of live shows, soundchecks and rehearsals from the 1990s, plus what is described as unfiltered dialogue between Noel and Liam Gallagher. Earlier reporting put the total at 63 live shows, documenting concerts, rehearsals, soundchecks and conversations, according to The Guardian.

It is a large collection. The archive runs to more than 100 hours of material. It is said to include potentially the only recording of a 1996 concert near Loch Lomond in Scotland.

Littleton Auctions had set a guide price, the auction house's estimated selling range, of between £1.2 million and £1.6 million. That range was reported as valuing the collection at more than $2 million.

Richards worked with Oasis from the release of their 1994 debut album until 2001. His son Owain was bringing the recordings to sale, Sky News reported.

Concerns about the sale were first raised publicly in early September. Oasis had questioned the planned auction before taking legal action.

What makes this stand out is ownership. Live tapes from the road often sit with crew members for years. For fans, this means the question is not only what is on the tapes, but who has the right to sell them.