An extremely rare Oasis gig contract that requests “sober-speaking” staff members is to be auctioned off this month.
The Primary Talent International contract was drawn up on 18th April 1994.
This was just a few weeks ahead the iconic Manchester band’s show at The Old Trout in Berkshire on 7th May, and three months before they released their debut album Definitely Maybe.
The venue had played host to other Britpop names of the era including Oasis’ chart-rivals Blur, as well as performances from groups such as Everything But The Girl, fellow Manchester band Inspiral Carpets, Spiritualized and Pop Will Eat Itself.
If “sober-speaking” staff wasn’t a bizarre enough request for a contract as it is though, that’s not all it specifies either, as a two-course meal that’s “not fast food”, water, fruit juice and soft drinks are also among the catering requests that feature, as well as a comprehensive snack list of “crisps, nuts, biscuits, fresh fruit (minimum of eight pieces)”, which is seen scribbled out.
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And of course, as most Oasis fans would expect, “24 large cans of quality lager” was the main request.
If you’re wondering what the “sober-speaking” staff are for, it was requested that the venue management should provide them to “assist the band’s road crew” in moving equipment and setting up the stage.
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Hansons AuctioneersHansons Auctioneers
The paperwork is expected to sell for up to £1,500 at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire later this month.
Hansons said the seller is a woman who worked in the music industry and bought it directly from a man who organised gigs at The Old Trout at the time, and she is looking to sell the contract, along with a flyer advertising the gig, ahead of her retirement.
A music memorabilia specialist at Hansons said items like this were “extremely rare”.
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Claire Howell – Music Memorabilia Specialist at Hansons – said: “Items like this are extremely rare and this lot comes with great provenance. It also includes a flyer advertising the gig.
“It’s valued at £1,000-£1,500 but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sell for more.
“It could easily whip up a bidding frenzy among fans at auction, such is the enduring popularity and nostalgia for Oasis. The seller is a lady who worked in the music industry and amassed an interesting collection over the years [and] she is now looking to sell some specialist pieces ahead of retirement”.
Hansons Auctioneers
Claire continued: “The contract was purchased directly from a man who organised gigs at the time.
“Memorabilia linked to Britpop bands from the 1990s is gaining in value and UK groups don’t come much bigger than Oasis.
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“This 27-year-old find has certainly brought memories of the band’s early days flooding back.”
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The paperwork is set to go for auction at Hansons Auctioneers’ music memorabilia sale on 23rd March, and you can find more information ahead of the sale here.
Music
Akon speaks on his connection to Manchester after run of Co-op Live gigs
Danny Jones
Music veteran Akon has recently discussed his connection to our city following his run of live shows here in Manchester.
In fact, he went so far as to say he feels much more affinity here than he does with ‘The Big Smoke’.
The seasoned Senegalese-American rapper, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and humanitarian, teamed up with fellow chart-topper Ne-Yo for not just one, not even two, but three whole nights at Co-op Live this May as part of their co-headline tour across the UK and Ireland.
Chatting with Simone Riley on BBC Radio Manchester before the third and final gig of the trio, Akon admitted that there’s “something about Manchester” that he loves way more than London.
As you can see, while he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly is about it in the North compared to the capital, he said simply that “it’s crazy here”, and he loves it.
Same, mate. Same.
Admitting that he feels “more attached to Manchester than London” and labelling the energy from the crowds as “stupid” up here (he meant it in a good way, we promise), Simone couldn’t help but confess her joy over his comments.
He’s not the only global superstar to have recently shouted out their affection for 0161, either, as Billie Eilish also said something similar.
Speaking to the mainline BBC at the premiere of her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she said that while the dates lining up were certainly a key factor, there were other reasons why she chose Manchester to film her new movie.
Our Audio North team were also lucky enough to chat with Akon’s touring partner Ne-Yo recently, too, who also had nothing but good things to say about us as a place to play.
As for Akon, the 53-year-old has obviously played here plenty of times over the decades, with last year’s tour being his first return in a decade.
That being said, given how glowingly he’s spoken about us and how popular these joint performances were, we reckon it won’t be that long before he comes back.
Last but not least, we obviously couldn’t resist going along to at least one of the nights for ourselves; listen to what we had to say about the tour in our full review down below.
Antony Szmeirek announces second album along with biggest UK tour dates yet
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester spoken word artist Antony Szmeirek has finally revealed the name, cover art and release date for his second album, along with his biggest run of UK tour dates yet.
The Tameside teacher turned full-time artist dropped his maiden record, Service Station at the End of the Universe, back in February 2025, and now, just over a year on from its launch, he’s getting ready to deliver his highly anticipated follow-up.
Entitled Decoding Birdsong, the sophomore studio project is scheduled for this summer, with a series of live shows booked for the following autumn.
Having already dropped lead single ‘The Heron’ earlier this year, Szmeirek has just released the opener from his upcoming LP, which is simply called ‘Chalk’; he’s also unveiled the rest of the tracklist and a rather striking bit of album artwork.
The Hyde-born artist is making big moves not only within the spoken word space but across multiple genres, with his music blending everything from indie, hip-hop, electronica and more.
His latest song, for instance, is more of an acid-house-esque meets contemporary EDM outing, and has quickly gone down as a popular addition among fans.
On the album name itself, he’s never one to shy away from a weird title or two – case in point, ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ from his debut and ‘Dave’s Angling Superstore’ on this new record.
The 34-year-old carries that same idiosyncrasy throughout his lyricism and creative concepts, as well.
‘Chalk’ is a perfect example of this, as the song is inspired by The Edge of Everything documentary: a film about the career of legendary British snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Here’s the music video…
As for his latest raft of live shows, these will be some of the biggest domestic gigs that the local lad has played in his career so far.
In addition to a pair of hometown shows here in Manchester, he is set to play a dozen different cities across Great Britain and Ireland.
Antony Szmierek UK/IE tour dates – October 2026
We’ve highlighted the Northern stops for you, too:
Emily Sergeant -
9th March 2021 
