Neil Primett Talks To BBC News About His Oasis Bedford Gig in 1994

Before the sell out Settanta's & revival releases of classic 80s sportswear, 80s Casual Classics head honcho Neil Primett was a band promoter in Bedford.

80s Casual Classics founder Neil Primett caught up with BBC News to talk about the gig he promoted for Oasis & Whiteout in Bedford. Back in 1994 it was Neil that arranged Oasis to play The Angel in Bedford with the Gallagher brothers originally booked to play in January 1994. The gig was then rescheduled for March 1994 to coincide with the opening date of their first album tour for 'Definitely Maybe' which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Tickets were priced at '3.50, a splash in the ocean compared to Ticketmaster's 'dynamic pricing' for the reunion gigs & the band were paid just '100 for the gig. When talking to BBC News about the gig Neil Primett said; I could've had them in my front room, doing a show just for me, for the same price somebody will pay for a ticket to see them in Wembley now.'

Above: Neil's original invoice for the Oasis gig at Bedford Angel in March 1994.

The Angel had a 250 capacity which attracted around 130 people featuring a music industry guestlist such as Creation Records which was famously founded by Alan McGhee. Neil went on to say, 'They had mostly played up north, so for all these people down south it's easy to come to Bedford to see how the band were shaping up.' Backstage, the band were provided with 24 lagers and some bottles of water. The Angel also had a kitchen and Neil would cook for the bands that visited the Bedfordshire town. 'My view back then was, I'm going to befriend this band because then you hope you'd get another show out of them. I knew they were on track so I was making more effort with the food that night. I got them a hotpot and a jacket potato. Quite rudely they went off and got a McDonald's. The Gallaghers snubbed me.'

Above: The promotion poster for the Oasis gig at Bedford Angel in March 1994.

After previously been sent a demo tape by the band's agent, Neil got a friend to play the tape at a sixth form school to create some local hype. Neil went on to say; 'I remember the band found it a bit odd that the audience knew the words to the songs. I was quite shocked to see the singer wasn't performing like other bands I put on. He was hanging on the microphone, which is now his trademark swagger, but at the time I thought it was a guy not performing. I remember chatting to him about other upcoming bands I had booked. He didn't seem interested but he said, 'There's two bands ' us and the Stone Roses'.'

When talking about the 2025 Oasis reunion tour Neil said; 'Some might say they're doing it for the money. I believe if you've got enough fans that want you to do something then you do succumb eventually. You want to make your customers happy. It's a legacy thing. What they do with this comeback will be another thing they achieved.'