Rock
Oasis halt sale of rare tapes as they sue auction house
The sale of Oasis’ unheard ‘Desk Tapes’ archive has been suspended after the band issued an injunction to stop the auction.
The planned auction of a huge archive of unheard Oasis recordings has been put on hold after the band launched legal action to block the sale.
Littleton Auctions has confirmed the tapes - known as The Desk Tapes - have been withdrawn from the October 3 auction following an injunction.
Managing director Ben Homer told the London Evening Standard the company had no choice but to pull the lot.
He said: “Littleton Auctions confirms that the Oasis recordings known as The Desk Tapes have been withdrawn from our October 3 auction in light of legal proceedings. We are very disappointed that we cannot offer this significant archive as planned.”
He added that the rest of the sale will continue as scheduled and declined to comment further while the legal process is ongoing.
The tapes were compiled by former Oasis sound engineer Huw Richards, who recorded concerts, rehearsals and backstage audio directly from the desk during his years with the band.
His son Owain Richards, who had been overseeing the sale, says the band have now taken legal action against both him and his father.
He said: “It is true that Oasis have sued me and my father to try to prevent the auction of the tapes made by my father many years ago.
“We have agreed to postpone the auction to enable the legal dispute to be resolved either by litigation or otherwise in an orderly way.”
While the recordings themselves are now off the table, the remaining Oasis memorabilia - including original setlists, internal tour itineraries, a band‑played Epiphone guitar and an Oasis tour parka - will still go under the hammer.
The withdrawn archive originally formed the centrepiece of the sale.
It included 63 live recordings, more than 100 hours of rehearsal and soundcheck material, and candid exchanges between Noel and Liam Gallagher.
Among the most notable items was what is believed to be the only surviving recording of the band’s 1996 Loch Lomond show.
