Noel and Liam Gallagher launch legal action against Oasis former sound engineer as he puts intimate recordings up for auction at £1.6million
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Oasis stars Noel and Liam Gallagher have launched legal action against the band's former sound engineer after he put hundreds of hours of intimate recordings of the brothers up for auction for up to £1.6million.
The Gallaghers filed legal papers to the High Court on Tuesday, citing their former colleague Huw Richards, his son Owain and the Worcestershire-based auction house as defendants, to stop them from selling the tapes.
Sources say that Mr Richards is 'disappointed and bewildered' at the rock duo's move as it is claimed he approached them to see if they wanted them back.
It is understood that the tapes feature recordings of Oasis's soundchecks, rehearsals and 'unfiltered dialogue and banter' between the brothers at the height of their fame between 1994 when their iconic album Definitely, Maybe was released, and 2001.
It reportedly includes what is said to be the only recording of the band’s 1996 Loch Lomond concert.
The collection is made up of 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes and three MiniDiscs.
Mr Richards is understood to have initially had private negotiations with the Gallagher brothers to buy the recordings, but the talks collapsed.
He argued that as he made the recordings and has them in his possession, he is the legal owner - but Oasis say they retain the intellectual property and copyright.
A source said: 'Huw approached the Gallaghers and offered this to them, they declined. Now they are suing him.
'It belongs to him. It feels a bit rotten to do this to him when they are off making tens of millions with their reunion.'
The tapes, which are due to be auctioned by the Worcestershire-based Littleton Auctions on Saturday, are estimated to sell for between £1.2m and £1.6m.
Littleton Auctions and Owain, who is selling the recordings, are also listed as a defendants.
'The quality of the audio is great; they are literally ready to be mastered and put on a live album,' Mr Richards said previously.
However, the sellers have said that intellectual property rights would stop any buyer from commercialising the recordings.
Oasis Partnership, Sony Music and the Gallaghers’ music label Big Brother Recordings are also listed as claimants.
The five claimants have called on Bray & Krais Solicitors to bring the claim.
The Fulham-based firm has eight partners and specialises in music, entertainment and sport. Partner Mark Krais worked on last year’s Oasis reunion tour, while Simon Goodbody heads the firm’s dispute resolution practice and successfully defended Ed Sheeran in a copyright claim over his song, Shape of You.
After an acrimonious break-up in 2009, Liam and Noel returned for an Oasis reunion tour last year.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Gallagher brothers had expressed concerns about the sale.
In previous news reports, Littleton’s auction house managing director Ben Homer said: “The Oasis camp is aware of the auction and has expressed concerns, which is entirely understandable given the scale and significance of the material.”
He added that the Littleton was following proper legal processes.
Bray & Krais and Littleton Auctions have been contacted for comment.
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