Oasis archive pulled from auction after band launches High Court claim
An archive of unreleased Oasis live and rehearsal recordings has been pulled from auction after the band started legal proceedings in London.
Littleton Auctions confirmed on September 29 that the collection, known as The Desk Tapes, would no longer go under the hammer in its Icons and Artefacts sale on October 3. The legal action was filed in London's High Court on Tuesday, September 29, according to court records reported by Music Business Worldwide.
The lot carried a guide price, the auction house's published estimate, of £1.2 million to £1.6 million. Coverage in the United States has valued the unheard recordings at more than $2 million.
The scale is large. The archive includes 63 concert recordings and soundchecks, plus more than 100 hours of rehearsals. That material was recorded direct from the mixing desk, the control board that balances vocals and instruments during a live show.
It was brought to sale by Owain Richards. He is the son of Huw Richards, who worked as Oasis's front-of-house sound engineer, the person responsible for the sound heard by the audience, from 1995 to 2001. Earlier reporting by the BBC said the tapes had been held by the former engineer's family for 20 years.
The claimants are listed as Oasis, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher and Sony Music Entertainment UK, the British arm of one of the three major record companies. The defendants are listed as Littleton Auctions and Owain Richards. The claim is being brought by law firm Bray & Krais.
The sale was suspended after an injunction, a court order that pauses an action while a dispute is heard. PA Media reported that the injunction led to the suspension of the sale.
Owain Richards said Oasis had sued him and his father. He said both sides agreed to postpone the auction to allow the legal dispute to be resolved.
No details of the band's specific ownership claim have been published in court. Neither the Gallaghers nor Sony Music Entertainment UK have issued a separate public statement about the case.
What makes this stand out is a familiar question in live music. Desk recordings are often made for practical use on tour. Ownership can be disputed years later, especially when the tapes were never released and never assigned in writing.
For fans, this means waiting. The recordings remain unheard and unsold while the High Court process continues. The October 3 sale will go ahead without them.
