The Rain

The Rain were the Manchester band that eventually evolved into Oasis. The band formed in Manchester, England in 1991, getting their name from The Beatles' B-side, "Rain". Founding members were Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass), Chris Hutton (vocals), and a drum machine (soon replaced by drummer Tony McCarroll). Hutton was replaced as vocalist by Liam Gallagher, who became the band's songwriter, in partnership with Bonehead. In this partnership, they wrote several songs including "Take Me" and "Life in Vain". The band rehearsed only one day a week and did not perform at shows often.

Shortly after Liam joined, the band was renamed Oasis, at his suggestion. Various explanations of the origins of the name have been offered, however, it came about when Liam’s older brother, Noel Gallagher, roadied for the Inspiral Carpets at a venue in Swindon called the Oasis Leisure Centre. Liam reportedly liked the name's "resonance of imagery."

One day in August 1991, Noel, having recently returned from the Inspiral Carpets' tour of the U.S., went to watch his brother's band perform at the Manchester Boardwalk, supporting a band called Sweet Jesus. Noel offered to join, reportedly on condition that he would be the lead guitarist and they would perform only his songs. Noel made an instant impact on the band, he began to introduce new sounds and ways of creating music. After a few small warm up gigs in towns such as Niddlesbrough, the band decided to produce Definitely Maybe, under the name of Oasis.