3 British Bands From the 1960s That Shaped Oasis

When Oasis returned for its stadium tour in 2025, the Britpop legends seemed to reach a level of popularity that even surpassed their commercial peak in the 1990s. The surge in popularity continues with the recent announcement that Oasis will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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So let’s look back (though definitely not in anger) and highlight three fellow British bands—and Hall of Famers—from the 1960s that shaped brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher.

The Beatles

An obvious influence, but perhaps many don’t realize how deeply embedded the Fab Four is in Oasis’ music. Both “Wonderwall” and Be Here Now get their titles from George Harrison. It’s hard to imagine “Don’t Look Back In Anger” without John Lennon’s universal hymn … “Imagine”. Speaking of Lennon, Liam Gallagher’s vocal style can be neatly explained as a combination of Johnny Rotten and Lennon. And the Liam-penned tune, “I’m Outta Time”, also features a sample of Lennon’s voice. Then there are the haircuts, the “Hey Jude”-style ballads, and Epiphone guitars. Yet as much as Noel Gallagher isn’t shy about hiding his tracks, if someone were to play an unreleased Oasis song, no one would confuse the two groups.

The Kinks

Oasis has been defined as much by its culture-shifting albums as by Liam and Noel’s sibling rivalry. The Kinks are equally known for epic fights between brothers Ray and Dave Davies. However, The Kinks’ garage rock and proto-punk also helped shape Oasis. When it arrived in 1994, Definitely Maybe smashed sales records for the fastest-selling British debut with its mix of punk attitude and Beatles melodies. While the arrival of Britpop in America didn’t quite match the impact of the 1960s British Invasion, when Oasis reunited in 2025, the Manchester lads filled stadiums nonetheless.

The Who

I don’t think we’ll ever see a rock opera out of Noel Gallagher. But he leads Oasis as the band’s primary songwriter just as Pete Townshend has with The Who. They share a preference for writing songs with the big, open chords one might typically associate with an acoustic guitar—as opposed to the blues-rock riffs of Jimmy Page. And for a time, both bands shared drummer Zak Starkey. Check out his playing on “Lyla”, which echoes the chaos of Starkey’s godfather, Keith Moon, as well as the swinging backbeats of Starkey’s father, Ringo Starr. Once again, getting back to The Beatles.

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