Who is the original Oasis drummer? Inside the tragic story of the Gallagher brothers’ ex bandmate who is set to miss out on a slice of ‘£400 million’ payday from reunion tour

While the Gallagher brothers can expect a huge payday with Oasis’ upcoming reunion tour, original drummer Anthony McCarroll’s life is worlds away. 

The 53-year-old helped create the band’s debut album Definitely Maybe in 1994 before dramatically leaving just a year later. 

He then sued them with the argument he was entitled to royalties after missing out on much of their meteoric fortune as they continued to dominate the charts after his departure. 

Now, the band are thought to be bringing in a whopping £400 million for their reunion tour, meanwhile, Tony, who settled for £550,000 in his court case with the band in 1999, has been flogging €20 tickets for a meet and greet at a county hall in Ireland, where his mother is from. 

The event set to be held on 31 August is now sold out – with no doubt ticket sales surging after Oasis announced they are reuniting for the first time in 15 years to tour the UK and Ireland. 

When the drummer plugged his plaque unveiling and meet and greet that will take place on Saturday on Instagram, fans urged him to comeback for the reunion. 

Tony (pictured second right) was part of Oasis’ original lineup, with the drummer set to miss out on a huge payday from the band’s reunion after quitting the group in 1995

Many have been questioning Tony’s current whereabouts, having noticed that his name is an answer to a question fans are asked as part of the tour ticket ballot. 

They wrote: ‘You drumming for the reunion Tony?’ and ‘Oasis must bring Tony back’.

‘Come back to the meeting Tony, Only you can bring that rock and roll drums’. 

Still based in Manchester, Tony has made a career through his time in the band, describing himself on his Instagram bio as ‘the former Oasis drummer’ who does podcasts, Q and A’s and public speaking. 

He also has a link to an Oasis merchandise store where he sometimes releases never seen pictures of his time in the band and signs them.  

Once sharing a photo of Liam on the guitar, he wrote: ‘I took this picture of Liam when we were recording Definitely Maybe for the 1st time at Monnow Valley Studios. 

‘It has never been seen before. It is released as a limited edition of 250 prints. I have personally signed each one’. 

After his time in the band, he released a memoir in 2010 and married his wife Sue in 2022.  

Noel and Liam, 51, and the band are thought to be bringing in £400 million for the reunion tour, meanwhile, Tony has been flogging €20 tickets for a meet and greet at a county hall in Ireland

Many fans have been questioning Tony’s current whereabouts, having noticed that his name is an answer to a question fans are asked as part of the tour ticket ballot

In 2021, Tony was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack.

The following day, the drummer tweeted that was “all good” and had left hospital after having been fitted with a coronary stent to regulate his blood flow. 

Tony joined the band in the 1980s when they were still performing under their old name The Rain alongside Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs (guitar), Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan (bass) and Chris Hutton (singer/keyboards).

Bonehead invited Liam to join the band as lead vocalist in 1991, and he suggested they change the group’s name to Oasis.

Liam’s brother Noel, came to watch their first gig at the Boardwalk Club, Manchester on August 14, 1991, while working as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets.

Noel then approached the group with an array of songs and plays to launch a huge music career, completing the band’s original lineup.

As well as the band’s debut album, he also featured on singles Whatever, Supersonic and Shakermaker, with the latter becoming the first number-one single from their hit album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Over the years, Tony’s drumming was subject to criticism from some Oasis fans, who complained that his playing was sloppy.

Oasis sent fans into a frenzy by announcing that they would be reuniting for a string of shows in 2025, after the Gallagher brothers’ explosive feud 15 years earlier 

After a fallout with Noel Gallagher, he quit the band in 1995, and four years later tried to sue them for £15 million, with the case eventually settled out of court (pictured in 1999)

Soon after the release of Definitely Maybe, in 1995, Tony sensationally quit the band, following an altercation with Noel, who was the band’s principal songwriter and lead guitarist, during a tour.

His final Oasis performance was on Top of the Pops when the band performed their first number one hit, Some Might Say. 

Noel had become increasingly frustrated with Tony’s drumming, particularly his inability to accurately reproduce complex rhythms and beats.

This led to a heated exchange, with Tony reportedly telling Noel to ‘f*** off’, and he was replaced by Alan White until 2004.

Fans have urged Tony to comeback for the reunion (pictured playing in London with the band in 1994) 

After leaving Oasis, McCarroll played with various bands, including a stint with The Boo Radleys.

He then tried to sue Oasis for £18million in 1999, hiring the services of Jens Hills — the same lawyer who represented Pete Best, who won a settlement of £2million from The Beatles in 1995.

A high-profile legal case followed, with McCarroll arguing he was still entitled to his part of the band’s five-album record deal, and the case was settled out of court for £550,000.

For three years, Tony said he opted to travel the world to avoid the attention of Oasis’ rise to global stardom.

He told Manchester Evening News in 2019: ‘With the band I was used to travelling, touring. I just needed to get away.’

The band were getting bigger, good on them, but I needed to get away from the whole thing. So I began to ignore and neglect a few things and got away.

‘I lived in the States, Tenerife. Really I got drunk for three whole years. But at the same time the court case was all ongoing, so I’m trying to get away from it all but I’m also dealing with questions from solicitors round the clock.’

The Gallagher brothers confirmed on Tuesday they will perform 14 shows across Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin for a tour which could generate £400million.

Liam and Noel are expected to pocket about £50million each, which will go a long way to raking back the money they lost during bitter divorce battles and reigniting their rock and roll lifestyle which peaked in the 90s.

The eight-figure sum is said to have persuaded Noel – who once said ‘I liked my Mum until she gave birth to Liam’ – to bury the hatchet with his younger brother. Liam has also opened up about money being ‘tight’, including moaning about how he now has to make his own teas.

Noel’s divorce from Sara MacDonald last year after 12 years cost him £20million of his rumoured £53million fortune. 

His net worth is believed to be far larger than Liam’s rumoured £6million, as Noel wrote most of the Oasis songs and continues to collect the lion’s share of royalties.

Despite speculation that Oasis will be on the bill at Glastonbury 2025, it’s understood the band will not be performing at Worthy Farm. However, plans are underway for Oasis to go to other continents outside of Europe later next year.

Announcing the Oasis Live 25 tour alongside the brothers’ first picture together in years, the legendary band said: ‘The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.’

The Oasis website crashed immediately after the announcement as fans were sent into a frenzy. The reunion comes a day before the date the band split on August 28 2009.

Formed in 1991, the Britpop group rose to fame with hits like Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger and Stop Crying Your Heart Out.

They went on to become one of the biggest bands in British music history before their break-up in 2009.

The brothers went on to have successful separate careers, with Noel fronting the group Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.