Fact #191690
When:
Short story:
The Ya Yas play at Club 57, Oldham, England, UK, Europe, supported by Oasis. Scott McLeod, bassis of The Ya Yas, will join Oasis briefly in 1995.
Full article:
Feature by Johnny Black, first published in Q magazine.
In a world where fifteen minutes of fame is as much as anyone can hope for, Scott McLeod coped with just over a month’s worth - as a member of Oasis - before deciding it wasn’t for him.
The 24 year old bass player, from Chadderton, Oldham, had previously encountered the Gallagher phenomenon at close quarters on May 5, 1992 when his band, The Ya Yas played at Oldham’s Club 57, supported by the then virtually unknown Oasis.
Then Oasis went off and conquered the world, while the Ya Yas simply went off the boil, so Scott moved on to a new band, Saint Jack, formed with an old mate, Matthew Cottee, who he’d known since their days together at North Chadderton Secondary School. This outfit, according to Scott, were rehearsing material in the style of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Byrds, but they had yet to play their debut gig when, on September 6, 1995, fate’s fickle finger started to point in his direction.
That was the day a profoundly unhappy Guigsy left Paris and returned to London in the middle of an Oasis promotional visit, leaving the others to complete a round of interviews without him.
Just six days later, apparently on the advice of his doctor, he quit the group. “We spoke to him on the phone and that,” said Noel later. “It's not the same as being told face to face, but we're no good at goodbyes...”
The official Creation records line, that he was suffering from severe exhaustion, seemed to be borne out when Guigsy told Select in August 1997 that, “I didn't know if I'd get better or whether I was ill or what, so I was happy it went on without me. There was talk of it all stopping cos I wasn't there, but it's bigger than that. It was down to me to get me head together".
Oasis, meanwhile, set about the task of finding a replacement – someone who could play bass, was available, liked The Beatles and, if he came from around Manchester, so much the better. McLeod fitted the bill on all counts. “A friend of a friend got in touch,” he explained later, “and told me to speak to Noel. He said I should come down and start learning the songs.”
The deal was that he should deputise for the ailing Guigsy for six months but, in the throes of starting his new band, Mcleod didn’t immediately jump at the chance. Seeking guidance, he turned to the former Stone Roses manager, Gareth Evans, who brushed aside McLeod’s reservations. "I told him, in the strongest possible terms, to join."
By the 15th, Mcleod was officially in, rehearsing for a tour due to start in Blackpool on October 2, but his doubts returned on the 22nd when he and the band arrived at Euston Station to face a battery of photographers. "Is it always like this?" he anxiously asked, only to have his worst suspicions confirmed when Noel replied bluntly, "No! It's much worse." Dismayed, McLeod gritted his teeth and got stuck in but, whenever he subsequently voiced his doubts to Noel, the most sympathetic advice that came back was, “Handle it.”
Guigsy, meanwhile, was beginning to feel the benefits of medical treatment. “I got some pills for a bit - beta blockers,” he recalled later. “I've got variable blood pressure or summat. Me mum's got it actually. It's a hereditary thing. So they gave me some of those, and some other things - Temazepam. Fucking no thank you, a spliff and beer'll do me very nicely".
McLeod’s arrival in the fold was made public on September 26 via a Creation press release and he stuck with the band through the filming of the Wonderwall video in Woolwich, played four UK dates, then set off on October 10, for the start of a brief US tour at Hammerjack’s, Baltimore, Maryland.
Six days later, at The Metropol, Pittsburgh, he’d had enough. As Noel recalls it, “He comes offstage and went straight on the tour bus. The bus takes off and the tour manager has this look on her face and we went, ‘What’s up with you?’ And she went, ‘Well, I’ve got some bad news … Scott’s just said he wanted to go home.’”
Well used to similar tantrums from Liam, Noel decided to let Scott sleep on it. “If he got up in the morning and changed his mind, fair enough.” But Scott was not Liam, so, “By the time we got up in the morning, he was on the plane home.”
Yet another Creation Press release, dated October 18, revealed Mcleod’s departure to the world, declaring, “He gave no apparent reason for leaving, other than he was unhappy with the way things were going and didn't feel he fitted in. No amount of persuasion from the band's tour manager or manager could convince him to stay - he refused to discuss the matter with any band members.”
The remaining US dates were cancelled, but a prestigious slot on New York’s Late Show With David Letterman on the 19th was too important to pull, so the band busked their way through Morning Glory as a quartet, with Bonehead on bass, before returning to the UK the following day to try and pick up the pieces again before two massive Earl’s Court shows in early November.
McLeod subsequently explained his departure as a loyal return to the friends he’d left behind. “I compared the two bands and preferred Saint Jack. I had a feeling that this was a good band. At the end of the day, that is why I wanted to come back.”
A charming idea, but it doesn’t quite square with Noel’s version, in which a repentant McLeod called him up to ask for his job back. “He phoned up and he said, ‘Alright, it’s Scott.’ And I went, ‘Well, what do you want?’ And he’s actually changed his mind. He said, ‘Oh, I think I’ve made the wrong decision.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, well, I think you have, and good luck with signing on.’”
Fortuitously, Guigsy had by now seen the error of his ways. “I got home and just hung around. And it was the most boring time of my life. I knew I was going to go back.” By the time of the Earl’s Court shows, he was back in harness, and Scott Mcleod was already a fading memory.
Sources : Books : Take Me There – Oasis – The Story by Paul Mathur; Oasis – What’s The Story by Ian Robertson; Oasis by Lee Henshaw; Brothers by Paul Gallagher and Terry Christian.
Features : Manchester Evening News, NME, Select, Q,
Thanks : Wayne Ankers.
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In a world where fifteen minutes of fame is as much as anyone can hope for, Scott McLeod coped with just over a month’s worth - as a member of Oasis - before deciding it wasn’t for him.
The 24 year old bass player, from Chadderton, Oldham, had previously encountered the Gallagher phenomenon at close quarters on May 5, 1992 when his band, The Ya Yas played at Oldham’s Club 57, supported by the then virtually unknown Oasis.
Then Oasis went off and conquered the world, while the Ya Yas simply went off the boil, so Scott moved on to a new band, Saint Jack, formed with an old mate, Matthew Cottee, who he’d known since their days together at North Chadderton Secondary School. This outfit, according to Scott, were rehearsing material in the style of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Byrds, but they had yet to play their debut gig when, on September 6, 1995, fate’s fickle finger started to point in his direction.
That was the day a profoundly unhappy Guigsy left Paris and returned to London in the middle of an Oasis promotional visit, leaving the others to complete a round of interviews without him.
Just six days later, apparently on the advice of his doctor, he quit the group. “We spoke to him on the phone and that,” said Noel later. “It's not the same as being told face to face, but we're no good at goodbyes...”
The official Creation records line, that he was suffering from severe exhaustion, seemed to be borne out when Guigsy told Select in August 1997 that, “I didn't know if I'd get better or whether I was ill or what, so I was happy it went on without me. There was talk of it all stopping cos I wasn't there, but it's bigger than that. It was down to me to get me head together".
Oasis, meanwhile, set about the task of finding a replacement – someone who could play bass, was available, liked The Beatles and, if he came from around Manchester, so much the better. McLeod fitted the bill on all counts. “A friend of a friend got in touch,” he explained later, “and told me to speak to Noel. He said I should come down and start learning the songs.”
The deal was that he should deputise for the ailing Guigsy for six months but, in the throes of starting his new band, Mcleod didn’t immediately jump at the chance. Seeking guidance, he turned to the former Stone Roses manager, Gareth Evans, who brushed aside McLeod’s reservations. "I told him, in the strongest possible terms, to join."
By the 15th, Mcleod was officially in, rehearsing for a tour due to start in Blackpool on October 2, but his doubts returned on the 22nd when he and the band arrived at Euston Station to face a battery of photographers. "Is it always like this?" he anxiously asked, only to have his worst suspicions confirmed when Noel replied bluntly, "No! It's much worse." Dismayed, McLeod gritted his teeth and got stuck in but, whenever he subsequently voiced his doubts to Noel, the most sympathetic advice that came back was, “Handle it.”
Guigsy, meanwhile, was beginning to feel the benefits of medical treatment. “I got some pills for a bit - beta blockers,” he recalled later. “I've got variable blood pressure or summat. Me mum's got it actually. It's a hereditary thing. So they gave me some of those, and some other things - Temazepam. Fucking no thank you, a spliff and beer'll do me very nicely".
McLeod’s arrival in the fold was made public on September 26 via a Creation press release and he stuck with the band through the filming of the Wonderwall video in Woolwich, played four UK dates, then set off on October 10, for the start of a brief US tour at Hammerjack’s, Baltimore, Maryland.
Six days later, at The Metropol, Pittsburgh, he’d had enough. As Noel recalls it, “He comes offstage and went straight on the tour bus. The bus takes off and the tour manager has this look on her face and we went, ‘What’s up with you?’ And she went, ‘Well, I’ve got some bad news … Scott’s just said he wanted to go home.’”
Well used to similar tantrums from Liam, Noel decided to let Scott sleep on it. “If he got up in the morning and changed his mind, fair enough.” But Scott was not Liam, so, “By the time we got up in the morning, he was on the plane home.”
Yet another Creation Press release, dated October 18, revealed Mcleod’s departure to the world, declaring, “He gave no apparent reason for leaving, other than he was unhappy with the way things were going and didn't feel he fitted in. No amount of persuasion from the band's tour manager or manager could convince him to stay - he refused to discuss the matter with any band members.”
The remaining US dates were cancelled, but a prestigious slot on New York’s Late Show With David Letterman on the 19th was too important to pull, so the band busked their way through Morning Glory as a quartet, with Bonehead on bass, before returning to the UK the following day to try and pick up the pieces again before two massive Earl’s Court shows in early November.
McLeod subsequently explained his departure as a loyal return to the friends he’d left behind. “I compared the two bands and preferred Saint Jack. I had a feeling that this was a good band. At the end of the day, that is why I wanted to come back.”
A charming idea, but it doesn’t quite square with Noel’s version, in which a repentant McLeod called him up to ask for his job back. “He phoned up and he said, ‘Alright, it’s Scott.’ And I went, ‘Well, what do you want?’ And he’s actually changed his mind. He said, ‘Oh, I think I’ve made the wrong decision.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, well, I think you have, and good luck with signing on.’”
Fortuitously, Guigsy had by now seen the error of his ways. “I got home and just hung around. And it was the most boring time of my life. I knew I was going to go back.” By the time of the Earl’s Court shows, he was back in harness, and Scott Mcleod was already a fading memory.
Sources : Books : Take Me There – Oasis – The Story by Paul Mathur; Oasis – What’s The Story by Ian Robertson; Oasis by Lee Henshaw; Brothers by Paul Gallagher and Terry Christian.
Features : Manchester Evening News, NME, Select, Q,
Thanks : Wayne Ankers.