There We Were, Now Here We Are... The Making of Oasis

A short documentary made for television that looks back on the development and rapid rise of Oasis from being a band practicing nightly in the Boardwalk to one the biggest British bands of the last thirty years. Building from the formation of the band (with Liam apparently just fed up waiting for other bands to release records and decides to do something himself), the film uses contributions from key people really well to tell the story in an engaging way.

It helps if you like the band but if you have a passing interest it is still good enough to be worth a look. The reason for this is not because the Oasis story is full of intrigue and scandal or that it is being used to paint a bigger picture (as it was in Live Forever, albeit unsuccessfully) but simply because it is a story that is retold in a very personal and affectionate way. It does mostly avoid contentious issues and the fall outs by focusing on the "there we were" rather than the "here we are" side of the title but it still makes for an interesting hour listening to the recollections of the band when they were at their best.

The music is spread well across the film – neither taking up to much time or being notable by its absence. It has dated well and it is still as effective as ever – a credit to them as artists. Both the Gallagher brothers are interesting in their own ways and both have a healthy sense of humour about one another – the dislike is a lot easier to swallow when it comes with humour and affection. Overall then an interesting and engagingly personal documentary. It doesn't deal with the wider period or musical scene but instead just sticks with the personal recollections of those directly involved and it is much better for it.