title: Louis Armstrong

text: Also in 1959, Armstrong was hospitalized for pneumonia while on tour in Italy. Doctors were concerned about his lungs and heart, but by June 26 he rallied.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: The nicknames "Satchmo" and "Satch" are short for "Satchelmouth". The nickname origin is uncertain. The most common tale that biographers tell is the story of Armstrong as a young boy in New Orleans dancing for pennies. He scooped the coins off the street and stuck them into his mouth to prevent bigger children from stealing them. Someone dubbed him "satchel mouth" for his mouth acting as a satchel. Another tale is that because of his large mouth, he was nicknamed "satchel mouth" which was shortened to "Satchmo".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Early on he was also known as "Dipper", short for "Dippermouth", a reference to the piece "Dippermouth Blues" and something of a riff on his unusual embouchure.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: The nickname "Pops" came from Armstrong's own tendency to forget people's names and simply call them "Pops" instead. The nickname was turned on Armstrong himself. It was used as the title of a 2010 biography of Armstrong by Terry Teachout.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: After a competition at the Savoy, he was crowned and nicknamed "King Menelik", after the Emperor of Ethiopia, for slaying "ofay jazz demons".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong celebrated his heritage as an African American man from a poor New Orleans neighborhood and tried to avoid what he called "putting on airs". Many younger black musicians criticized Armstrong for playing in front of segregated audiences and for not taking a stronger stand in the American civil rights movement. When he did speak out, it made national news, including his criticism of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, calling him "two-faced" and "gutless" because of his inaction during the conflict over school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. As a protest, Armstrong cancelled a planned tour of the Soviet Union on behalf of the State Department saying, "The way they're treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell"; he could not represent his government abroad when it was in conflict with its own people. The FBI kept a file on Armstrong for his outspokenness about integration.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: When asked about his religion, Armstrong answered that he was raised a Baptist, always wore a Star of David, and was friends with the pope. He wore the Star of David in honor of the Karnoffsky family who took him in as a child and lent him money to buy his first cornet. He was baptized a Catholic in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in New Orleans, and he met Pope Pius XII and Pope Paul VI.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong was concerned with his health. He used laxatives to control his weight, a practice he advocated both to acquaintances and in the diet plans he published under the title "Lose Weight the Satchmo Way". Armstrong's laxative of preference in his younger days was Pluto Water, but when he discovered the herbal remedy Swiss Kriss, he became an enthusiastic convert, extolling its virtues to anyone who would listen and passing out packets to everyone he encountered, including members of the British Royal Family. Armstrong also appeared in humorous, risqué, cards that he had printed to send to friends. The cards bore a picture of him sitting on a toilet—as viewed through a keyhole—with the slogan ""Satch says, 'Leave it all behind ya!'"" The cards have sometimes been incorrectly described as ads for Swiss Kriss. In a live recording of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Velma Middleton, he changes the lyric from "Put another record on while I pour" to "Take some Swiss Kriss while I pour". His laxative use began as a child when his mother would collect dandelions and peppergrass around the railroad tracks to give to her children for their health.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong was a heavy marijuana smoker for much of his life and spent nine days in jail in 1930 after being arrested outside a club for drug possession. He described marijuana as "a thousand times better than whiskey".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: The concern with his health and weight was balanced by his love of food, reflected in such songs as "Cheesecake", "Cornet Chop Suey", and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue", though the latter was written about a fine-looking companion, and not food. He kept a strong connection throughout his life to the cooking of New Orleans, always signing his letters, "Red beans and ricely yours ...".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: A fan of Major League Baseball, he founded a team in New Orleans that was known as Raggedy Nine and transformed the team into his Armstrong's "Secret Nine Baseball".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong's gregariousness extended to writing. On the road, he wrote constantly, sharing favorite themes of his life with correspondents around the world. He avidly typed or wrote on whatever stationery was at hand, recording instant takes on music, sex, food, childhood memories, his heavy "medicinal" marijuana use, and even his bowel movements, which he gleefully described.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Louis Armstrong was not, as claimed, a Freemason. Although he has been cited as a member of Montgomery Lodge No. 18 (Prince Hall) in New York, no such lodge ever existed. Armstrong did state in his autobiography that he was a member of the Knights of Pythias, which although real, is not a Masonic group. During the krewe's 1949 Mardi Gras parade, Armstrong presided as King of the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, for which he was featured on the cover of "Time" magazine.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In his early years, Armstrong was best known for his virtuosity with the cornet and trumpet. Along with his "clarinet-like figurations and high notes in his cornet solos", he was also known for his "intense rhythmic 'swing', a complex conception involving ... accented upbeats, upbeat to downbeat slurring, and complementary relations among rhythmic patterns." The most lauded recordings on which Armstrong plays trumpet include the Hot Five and Hot Seven sessions, as well as those of the Red Onion Jazz Babies. Armstrong's improvisations, while unconventionally sophisticated for that era, were also subtle and highly melodic. The solo that Armstrong plays during the song "Potato Head Blues" has long been considered his best solo of that series.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Prior to Armstrong, most collective ensemble playing in jazz, along with its occasional solos, simply varied the melodies of the songs. Armstrong was virtually the first to create significant variations based on the chord harmonies of the songs instead of merely on the melodies. This opened a rich field for creation and improvisation, and significantly changed the music into a soloist's art form.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Often, Armstrong re-composed pop-tunes he played, simply with variations that made them more compelling to jazz listeners of the era. At the same time, however, his oeuvre includes many original melodies, creative leaps, and relaxed or driving rhythms. Armstrong's playing technique, honed by constant practice, extended the range, tone and capabilities of the trumpet. In his records, Armstrong almost single-handedly created the role of the jazz soloist, taking what had been essentially a collective folk music and turning it into an art form with tremendous possibilities for individual expression.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong was one of the first artists to use recordings of his performances to improve himself. Armstrong was an avid audiophile. He had a large collection of recordings, including reel-to-reel tapes, which he took on the road with him in a trunk during his later career. He enjoyed listening to his own recordings, and comparing his performances musically. In the den of his home, he had the latest audio equipment and would sometimes rehearse and record along with his older recordings or the radio.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: As his music progressed and popularity grew, his singing also became very important. Armstrong was not the first to record scat singing, but he was masterful at it and helped popularize it with the first recording on which he scatted, "Heebie Jeebies". At a recording session for Okeh Records, when the sheet music supposedly fell on the floor and the music began before he could pick up the pages, Armstrong simply started singing nonsense syllables while Okeh President E.A. Fearn, who was at the session, kept telling him to continue. Armstrong did, thinking the track would be discarded, but that was the version that was pressed to disc, sold, and became an unexpected hit. Although the story was thought to be apocryphal, Armstrong himself confirmed it in at least one interview as well as in his memoirs. On a later recording, Armstrong also sang out "I done forgot the words" in the middle of recording "I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Such records were hits and scat singing became a major part of his performances. Long before this, however, Armstrong was playing around with his vocals, shortening and lengthening phrases, interjecting improvisations, using his voice as creatively as his trumpet. Armstrong once told Cab Calloway that his scat style was derived "from the Jews "rockin"", an Orthodox Jewish style of chanting during prayer.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong was a gifted composer who wrote more than fifty songs, some of which have become jazz standards (e.g. "Gully Low Blues", "Potato Head Blues" and "Swing That Music").


title: Louis Armstrong

text: During his long career he played and sang with some of the most important instrumentalists and vocalists of the time, including Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Jimmie Rodgers, Bessie Smith, and Ella Fitzgerald. His influence upon Crosby is particularly important with regard to the subsequent development of popular music. Crosby admired and copied Armstrong, as is evident on many of his early recordings, notably "Just One More Chance" (1931). The "New Grove Dictionary of Jazz" describes Crosby's debt to Armstrong in precise detail, although it does not acknowledge Armstrong by name:


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong recorded two albums with Ella Fitzgerald, "Ella and Louis" and "Ella and Louis Again", for Verve Records. The sessions featured the backing musicianship of the Oscar Peterson Trio with drummer Buddy Rich on the first album and Louie Bellson on the second. Norman Granz then had the vision for Ella and Louis to record "Porgy and Bess".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: His two recordings for Columbia Records, "Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy" (1954) and "Satch Plays Fats" (all Fats Waller tunes) (1955), were both being considered masterpieces, as well as moderately well selling. In 1961, the All Stars participated in two albums, "The Great Summit" and "The Great Reunion" (now together as a single disc) with Duke Ellington. The albums feature many of Ellington's most famous compositions (as well as two exclusive cuts) with Duke sitting in on piano. His participation in Dave Brubeck's high-concept jazz musical "The Real Ambassadors" (1963) was critically acclaimed and features "Summer Song", one of Armstrong's most popular vocal efforts.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In the week beginning May 9, 1964, his recording of the song "Hello, Dolly!" went to number one. An album of the same title was quickly created around the song, and also shot to number one, knocking The Beatles off the top of the chart. The album sold very well for the rest of the year, quickly going "Gold" (500,000). His performance of "Hello, Dolly!" won for best male pop vocal performance at the 1964 Grammy Awards.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong had nineteen "Top Ten" records including "Stardust", "What a Wonderful World", "When The Saints Go Marching In", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "You Rascal You", and "Stompin' at the Savoy". "We Have All the Time in the World" was featured on the soundtrack of the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and enjoyed renewed popularity in the UK in 1994 when it was featured on a Guinness advertisement. It reached number 3 in the charts on being re-released.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In 1964, Armstrong knocked The Beatles off the top of the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart with "Hello, Dolly!", which gave the 63-year-old performer a U.S. record as the oldest artist to have a number one song. His 1964 song "Bout Time" was later featured in the film "Bewitched".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In February 1968, he appeared with Lara Saint Paul on the Italian RAI television channel where he performed "Grassa e Bella", a track he sang in Italian for the Italian market and C.D.I. label.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In 1968, Armstrong scored one last popular hit in the UK with "What a Wonderful World", which topped the British charts for a month. Armstrong appeared on the October 28, 1970, "Johnny Cash Show", where he sang Nat King Cole's hit "Ramblin' Rose" and joined Cash to re-create his performance backing Jimmie Rodgers on "Blue Yodel No. 9".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong enjoyed many types of music, from blues to the arrangements of Guy Lombardo, to Latin American folksongs, to classical symphonies and opera. He incorporated influences from all these sources into his performances, sometimes to the bewilderment of fans who wanted him to stay in convenient narrow categories. Armstrong was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence". Some of his solos from the 1950s, such as the hard rocking version of "St. Louis Blues" from the "WC Handy" album, show that the influence went in both directions.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films, usually playing a bandleader or musician. His most familiar role was as the bandleader "cum" narrator in the 1956 musical "High Society", starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Celeste Holm. He appears throughout the film, sings the title song, and performs the duet "Now You Has Jazz" with Crosby. In 1947, he played himself in the movie "New Orleans" opposite Billie Holiday, which chronicled the demise of the Storyville district and the ensuing exodus of musicians from New Orleans to Chicago. In the 1959 film "The Five Pennies", Armstrong played himself, sang, and played several classic numbers. He performed a duet of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with Danny Kaye during which Kaye impersonated Armstrong. He had a part in the film alongside James Stewart in "The Glenn Miller Story".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In 1937, Armstrong was the first African American to host a nationally broadcast radio show. In 1969, he had a cameo role in Gene Kelly's film version of "Hello, Dolly!" as the bandleader Louis where he sang the title song with actress Barbra Streisand. His solo recording of "Hello, Dolly!" is one of his most recognizable performances. He was heard on such radio programs as "The Story of Swing" (1937) and "This Is Jazz" (1947), and he also made television appearances, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, including appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, a self-described Armstrong admirer, asserted that a 1952 Louis Armstrong concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris played a significant role in inspiring him to create the fictional creatures called Cronopios that are the subject of a number of Cortázar's short stories. Cortázar once called Armstrong himself "Grandísimo Cronopio" (The Great Cronopio).


title: Louis Armstrong

text: There is a pivotal scene in "Stardust Memories" (1980) in which Woody Allen is overwhelmed by a recording of Armstrong's "Stardust" and experiences a nostalgic epiphany.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Against his doctor's advice, Armstrong played a two-week engagement in March 1971 at the Waldorf-Astoria's Empire Room. At the end of it, he was hospitalized for a heart attack. He was released from the hospital in May, and quickly resumed practicing his trumpet playing. Still hoping to get back on the road, Armstrong died of a heart attack in his sleep on July 6, 1971, two days after celebrating his alleged 71st birthday, and a month before his actual 70th birthday. He was residing in Corona, Queens, New York City, at the time of his death. He was interred in Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, in Queens, New York City.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: His honorary pallbearers included Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, Earl Wilson, Alan King, Johnny Carson and David Frost. Peggy Lee sang "The Lord's Prayer" at the services while Al Hibbler sang "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and Fred Robbins, a long-time friend, gave the eulogy.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Armstrong was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972 by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Recordings of Armstrong were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Armstrong's "West End Blues" on the list of 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In 1999 Armstrong was nominated for inclusion in the American Film Institute's 100 Years ... 100 Stars.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: The influence of Armstrong on the development of jazz is virtually immeasurable. His irrepressible personality both as a performer and as a public figure was so strong that to some it sometimes overshadowed his contributions as a musician and singer.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: As a virtuoso trumpet player, Armstrong had a unique tone and an extraordinary talent for melodic improvisation. Through his playing, the trumpet emerged as a solo instrument in jazz and is used widely today. Additionally, jazz itself was transformed from a collectively improvised folk music to a soloist's serious art form largely through his influence. He was a masterful accompanist and ensemble player in addition to his extraordinary skills as a soloist. With his innovations, he raised the bar musically for all who came after him.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: Though Armstrong is widely recognized as a pioneer of scat singing, Ethel Waters precedes his scatting on record in the 1930s according to Gary Giddins and others. Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra are just two singers who were greatly indebted to him. Holiday said that she always wanted Bessie Smith's "big" sound and Armstrong's feeling in her singing. Even special musicians like Duke Ellington have praised Armstrong through strong testimonials. Duke Ellington, DownBeat magazine in 1971, said, "If anybody was a master, it was Louis Armstrong. He was and will continue to be the embodiment of jazz". In 1950, Bing Crosby, the most successful vocalist of the first half of the 20th century, said, "He is the beginning and the end of music in America".


title: Louis Armstrong

text: In 1991, an asteroid was named 9179 Satchmo in his honor. In the summer of 2001, in commemoration of the centennial of Armstrong's birth, New Orleans's main airport was renamed Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The entrance to the airport's former terminal building houses a statue depicting Armstrong playing his cornet. In 2002, the Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings (1925–1928) were preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, a registry of recordings selected yearly by the National Recording Preservation Board for preservation in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. The US Open tennis tournament's former main stadium was named Louis Armstrong Stadium in honor of Armstrong who had lived a few blocks from the site.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: "Congo Square" was a common gathering place for African-Americans in New Orleans for dancing and performing music. The park where Congo Square is located was later renamed Louis Armstrong Park. Dedicated in April 1980, the park includes a statue of Armstrong, trumpet in hand.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: The house where Armstrong lived for almost 28 years was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and is now a museum. The Louis Armstrong House Museum, at 34–56 107th Street between 34th and 37th avenues in Corona, Queens, presents concerts and educational programs, operates as a historic house museum and makes materials in its archives of writings, books, recordings and memorabilia available to the public for research. The museum is operated by the Queens College, City University of New York, following the dictates of Lucille Armstrong's will. The museum opened to the public on October 15, 2003. A new visitors center is planned.


title: Louis Armstrong

text: According to literary critic Harold Bloom, "The two great American contributions to the world's art, in the end, are Walt Whitman and, after him, Armstrong and jazz ... If I had to choose between the two, ultimately, I wouldn't. I would say that the genius of this nation at its best is indeed Walt Whitman and Louis Armstrong".


title: Ariel Winter

text: Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress. She starred as Alex Dunphy in the ABC comedy series "Modern Family", for which she and her co-stars won four consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also voiced the titular character in the Disney Junior show "Sofia the First" and Penny Peterson in the 2014 animated film "Mr. Peabody and Sherman".


title: Ariel Winter

text: Winter was born on January 28, 1998, the daughter of Chrisoula ("née" Batistas) and Glenn Workman. Through her mother, she is of Greek descent, and through her father, of German descent. She is the younger sister of actors Shanelle Workman and Jimmy Workman.


title: Ariel Winter

text: Winter obtained her first entertainment industry job in a Cool Whip commercial advertisement in 2002 when she was four years old. She had her first television role in an episode of "Listen Up!", and followed it with appearances in a variety of shows such as "Freddie", "Monk", "Bones", and "ER".


title: Ariel Winter

text: In the animated children's show "Phineas and Ferb", she voiced the character of Gretchen before winning the regular role of Alex Dunphy in the series "Modern Family", which premiered in 2009 and ended in 2020. She has continued to work in TV animation, including providing the voice of Marina the Mermaid on Disney Junior's "Jake and the Never Land Pirates". In 2012, Winter was cast as Sofia, the lead character in a then-new Disney animated franchise "Sofia the First". The series premiered in January 2013 on Disney Junior.


title: Ariel Winter

text: In 2014, she voiced Penny Peterson, Sherman's adversary turned friend in the DreamWorks Animation film "Mr. Peabody and Sherman". She also lent her voice to characters in the animated films, Disney's "Bambi II" and Blue Sky's "".


title: Ariel Winter

text: Winter has appeared in feature films, most notably in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", "Speed Racer", "Duress", and "Opposite Day". She also appeared on the Halloween-themed TV film "". For her leading role in the film "The Chaperone", she was nominated at the Young Artist Awards 2012 as "Best Actress in a Motion Picture".


title: Ariel Winter

text: In October 2012, Winter's sister Shanelle Workman filed to become her guardian, alleging that their mother had been physically and emotionally abusive. On May 5, 2014, the court awarded guardianship to Workman and permanently removed Winter from her mother's guardianship. Their mother later released a statement saying that "the family has moved beyond the conflict". On May 15, 2015, when she was 17 years old, Winter declared on Twitter that she was officially emancipated.


title: Ariel Winter

text: In June 2015, Winter underwent breast reduction surgery. In a 2016 interview with ABC News Nightline, Winter explained the awkwardness of developing at 12 years old in the public eye, combined with the back pain that rendered her unable to stand up straight at times, was "really ostracizing and excruciatingly painful." Describing the improvement that the surgery had on her both physically and psychologically, she told "Glamour" magazine that it was "amazing to finally feel right. This is how I was supposed to be." At the January 2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Winter gained media attention for wearing a Romona Kaveza gown that revealed her surgical scars. She was shocked after walking down the red carpet to see the photos the next day and "every headline be about my cleavage and -- not about my talent." Winter later tweeted: "Guys there is a reason I didn't make an effort to cover up my scars! They are part of me and I'm not ashamed of them at all."


title: Ariel Winter

text: Winter attended Campbell Hall School in Los Angeles, graduating in June 2016. In April 2016, she was accepted to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and scheduled to begin there in the fall quarter of 2016. However, on September 12, she confirmed that she planned to attend UCLA in fall 2017. On her decision to attend college, she explained, "You gotta have something else you can do. I've always been interested in law, so I think it'll definitely be something that I'll love to do and also go to school for." In 2018, Winter took an indefinite hiatus from UCLA to focus on her work. In April 2019, she attended the We Day event in Tacoma, Washington.


The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson, based on 1954's "The Fellowship of the Ring", the first volume of the novel "The Lord of the Rings" by J. R. R. Tolkien. The film is the first installment in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

text: Set in Middle-earth, the story tells of the Dark Lord Sauron, who seeks the One Ring, which contains part of his might, to return to power. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins. The fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and eight companions (who form the Fellowship of the Ring) begin their journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed. "The Fellowship of the Ring" was financed and distributed by American studio New Line Cinema, but filmed and edited entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand, concurrently with the other two parts of the trilogy.


text: It premiered on 10 December 2001 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, and was then released on 19 December in the United States and on 20 December in New Zealand. The film was acclaimed by critics and fans alike, who considered it to be a landmark in filmmaking and an achievement in the fantasy film genre. It received praise for its visual effects, performances, Jackson's direction, screenplay, musical score, and faithfulness to the source material. It grossed over $880 million worldwide in its initial release, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2001 and the fifth highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. Following subsequent reissues, it has as of 2021 grossed over $897 million. Like its successors, "The Fellowship of the Ring" is widely recognized as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The film received numerous accolades; at the 74th Academy Awards, it was nominated for thirteen awards, including Best Picture, winning for Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, and Best Visual Effects.


text: In 2007, the American Film Institute named it one of the 100 greatest American films in history, being both the most recent film and the only film released in the 21st century to make it to the list. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Two sequels, "" and "", followed in 2002 and 2003, respectively.


text: <section begin=Plot/>In the Second Age of Middle-earth, the lords of Elves, Dwarves, and Men are given Rings of Power. Unbeknownst to them, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom, instilling into it a great part of his power, to dominate the other Rings so he might conquer Middle-earth. A final alliance of Men and Elves battles Sauron's forces in Mordor. Isildur of Gondor severs Sauron's finger and the Ring with it, thereby vanquishing Sauron and returning him to spirit form. With Sauron's first defeat, the Third Age of Middle-earth begins. The Ring's influence corrupts Isildur, who takes it for himself and is later killed by Orcs. The Ring is lost in a river for 2,500 years until it is found by Gollum, who owns it for over four and a half centuries. The ring abandons Gollum and it is subsequently found by a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who is unaware of its history.


text: Sixty years later, Bilbo celebrates his 111th birthday in the Shire, reuniting with his old friend, the wizard Gandalf the Grey. Bilbo departs the Shire for one last adventure, and he leaves his inheritance, including the Ring, to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf investigates the Ring, discovers its true nature, and learns that Gollum was captured and tortured by Sauron's Orcs, revealing two words during his interrogation: "Shire" and "Baggins." Gandalf returns and warns Frodo to leave the Shire. As Frodo departs with his friend, gardener Samwise Gamgee, Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with the wizard Saruman, but discovers his alliance with Sauron, who has dispatched his nine undead Nazgûl servants to find Frodo.


text: Frodo and Sam are joined by fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin, and they evade the Nazgûl before arriving in Bree, where they are meant to meet Gandalf. However, Gandalf never arrives, having been taken prisoner by Saruman. The hobbits are then aided by a Ranger named Strider, who promises to escort them to Rivendell; however, they are ambushed by the Nazgûl on Weathertop, and their leader, the Witch-King, stabs Frodo with a Morgul blade. Arwen, an Elf and Strider's beloved, locates Strider and rescues Frodo, summoning flood-waters that sweep the Nazgûl away. She takes him to Rivendell, where he is healed by the Elves. Frodo meets with Gandalf, who escaped Isengard on a Great Eagle. That night, Strider reunites with Arwen, and they affirm their love for each other.


text: Facing the threat of both Sauron and Saruman, Arwen's father, Lord Elrond, decides against keeping the Ring in Rivendell. He holds a council of Elves, Men, and Dwarves, also attended by Frodo and Gandalf, that decides the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, accompanied by Gandalf, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Elf Legolas, Dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor, and Strider—who is actually Aragorn, Isildur's heir and the rightful King of Gondor. Bilbo, now living in Rivendell, gives Frodo his sword Sting, and a chainmail shirt made of "mithril".


text: The Fellowship of the Ring makes for the Gap of Rohan, but discover it is being watched by Saruman's spies. They instead set off over the mountain pass of Caradhras, but Saruman summons a storm that forces them to travel through the Mines of Moria. After finding the Dwarves of Moria dead, the Fellowship is attacked by Orcs and a cave troll. They hold them off but are confronted by Durin's Bane: a Balrog residing within the mines. While the others escape, Gandalf fends off the Balrog and casts it into a vast chasm, but the Balrog drags Gandalf down into the darkness with him. The devastated Fellowship reaches Lothlórien, ruled by the Elf-queen Galadriel, who privately informs Frodo that only he can complete the quest and that one of the Fellowship will try to take the Ring. She also shows him a vision of the future in which Sauron succeeds in enslaving Middle-earth, including the Shire. Meanwhile, Saruman creates an army of Uruk-hai in Isengard to find and kill the Fellowship.


text: The Fellowship travels by river to Parth Galen. Frodo wanders off and is confronted by Boromir, who, as Lady Galadriel had warned, tries to take the Ring. Uruk-hai scouts then ambush the Fellowship; their leader, Lurtz, mortally wounds Boromir as he fails to stop them from taking Merry and Pippin as prisoners. Aragorn arrives and kills Lurtz before comforting Boromir as he dies, promising to help the people of Gondor in the coming conflict. Fearing the Ring will corrupt his friends, Frodo decides to travel to Mordor alone, but allows Sam to come along, recalling his promise to Gandalf to look after him. As Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli set out to rescue Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam make their way down the mountain pass of Emyn Muil, journeying on to Mordor. <section end=Plot/>


text: Before filming began on 11 October 1999, the principal actors trained for six weeks in sword fighting (with Bob Anderson), riding and boating. Jackson hoped such activities would allow the cast to bond so chemistry would be evident on screen as well as getting them used to life in Wellington. They were also trained to pronounce Tolkien's verses properly. After the shoot, the nine cast members playing the Fellowship got a tattoo, the Elvish symbol for the number nine, with the exception of John Rhys-Davies, whose stunt double got the tattoo instead. The film is noted for having an ensemble cast, and some of the cast and their respective characters include:


text: Jackson, Walsh and Boyens made numerous changes to the story, for purposes of pacing and character development. Jackson said his main desire was to make a film focused primarily on Frodo and the Ring, the "backbone" of the story. The prologue condenses Tolkien's backstory, in which The Last Alliance's seven-year siege of the Barad-dûr is a single battle, where Sauron is shown to explode, though Tolkien only said his spirit flees.


text: Some events from the book are condensed or omitted at the beginning of the film. The time between Gandalf leaving the Ring to Frodo and returning to reveal its inscription, which is 17 years in the book, is compressed for timing reasons. The filmmakers also decided to move the opening scenes of "The Two Towers", the Uruk-hai ambush and Boromir's death, to the film's linear climax.


text: The tone of the Moria sequence was altered. In the book, following the defeat on the Caradhras road, Gandalf advocates the Moria road against the resistance of the rest of the Fellowship (save Gimli), suggesting "there is a hope that Moria is still free...there is even a chance that Dwarves are there," though no one seems to think this likely. Frodo proposes they take a company vote, but the discovery of Wargs on their trail forces them to accept Gandalf's proposal. They only realize the Dwarves are all dead once they reach Balin's tomb. The filmmakers chose instead for Gandalf to resist the Moria plan as a foreshadowing device. Gandalf says to Gimli he would prefer not to enter Moria, and Saruman is shown to be aware of Gandalf's hesitance, revealing an illustration of the Balrog in one of his books. The corpses of the dwarves are instantly shown as the Fellowship enter Moria. One detail that many critics commented upon is the fact that, in the novel, Pippin tosses a mere pebble into the well in Moria ("They then hear what sounds like a hammer tapping in the distance"), whereas in the film, he knocks an entire skeleton in ("Next, the skeleton ... falls down the well, also dragging down a chain and bucket. The noise is incredible.").


text: Director Peter Jackson began working with Christian Rivers to storyboard the series in August 1997, as well as getting Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop to begin creating his interpretation of Middle-earth. Jackson told them to make Middle-earth as plausible and believable as possible, and to think of it in a historical manner.


text: In November, Alan Lee and John Howe became the film trilogy's primary conceptual designers, having had previous experience as illustrators for the book and various other tie-ins. Lee worked for the Art Department creating places such as Rivendell, Isengard, Moria, and Lothlórien, giving Art Nouveau and geometry influences to the Elves and Dwarves respectively. Though Howe contributed with Bag End and the Argonath, he focused on the design of the characters' armour, having studied it his entire life. Weta and the Art Department continued to design, with Grant Major turning the Art Department's designs into architecture, and Dan Hennah scouting locations. On 1 April 1999, Ngila Dickson joined the crew as costume designer. She and 40 seamstresses would create 19,000 costumes, 40 per version for the actor and their doubles, wearing them out for an impression of age.


text: Filming took place in various locations across New Zealand. A list of filming locations, sorted by appearance order in the film:


text: "The Fellowship of the Ring" makes extensive use of digital, practical and make-up special effects. One notable illusion used in almost every scene involved setting a proper scale so that the characters all appear to be the correct height. For example, Elijah Wood is tall in real life, but his character, Frodo Baggins, is barely four feet in height. A variety of techniques were used to depict the hobbits and Gimli the Dwarf as being of diminutive stature. Fortunately, John-Rhys Davies – who played Gimli – happens to be the correct height in proportion to the hobbit actors, so did not need to be filmed separately as a third height variation. Large- and small-scale doubles were used in certain scenes, while entire duplicates of certain sets (including Bag End in Hobbiton) were built at two different scales, so that the characters would appear to be the appropriate size. At one point in the film, Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales, and a fast camera pan conceals the edit between the two. Forced perspective was also employed, so that it would look as though the short hobbits were interacting with taller Men and Elves. Even the simple use of kneeling down, to the filmmakers' surprise, turned out to be an effective method in creating the illusion.


text: For the battle between the Last Alliance and Sauron's forces that begins the film, an elaborate CGI animation system, called MASSIVE, was developed by Stephen Regelous; it allowed thousands of individual animated characters, or "agents" in the program, to act independently. This lent the illusion of realism to the battle sequences. The "Making of" Lord of the Rings DVD reports some interesting initial problems: for instance, in the first execution of a battle between groups of characters, the wrong groups attacked each other. In another early demo, some of the warriors at the edge of the field could be seen running away. They were initially moving in the wrong direction, and had been programmed to keep running until they encountered an enemy.


text: The digital creatures were important due to Jackson's requirement of biological plausibility. Their surface texture was scanned from large maquettes before numerous digital details of their skeletons and muscles were added. In the case of the Balrog, Gray Horsfield created a system that copied recorded imagery of fire.


text: James Horner turned down the offer to compose the score. The musical score for "The Lord of the Rings" films was composed by Howard Shore. It was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Voices, The London Oratory School Schola, and the Maori Samoan Choir, and featured several vocal soloists. Shore wrote almost four hours of finalized music for the film (of which just over three hours are used as underscore), featuring a number of non-orchestral instruments, and a large number (49–62) of leitmotives.


text: Two original songs, "Aníron" and the end title theme "May It Be", were composed and sung by Enya, who allowed her label, Reprise Records, to release the soundtrack to "The Fellowship of the Ring" and its two sequels. In addition to these, Shore composed "In Dreams", which was sung by Edward Ross of the London Oratory School Schola.


text: The world premiere of "The Fellowship of the Ring" was held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 10 December 2001. It was released on Wednesday, 19 December 2001 internationally in most major territories on 10,000 screens. It opened in New Zealand on 20 December.


text: A special featurette trailer was released in 2000. The trilogy sizzle reel was shown before "Thirteen Days" and the teaser trailer before "Pearl Harbor". The theatrical trailer was attached with the television premiere of "Angel" and before "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Both trailers appeared as easter eggs on the "Rush Hour 2" and "Little Nicky" DVD and VHS.


text: "The Fellowship of the Ring" was released on VHS and DVD on 6 August 2002. It was the best-selling DVD release at the time with 14.5 million copies being sold. This record was dethroned by "Finding Nemo" the following year.


text: On 12 November 2002, an extended edition was released on VHS and DVD, with 30 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 19 minutes of fan-club credits, totaling to 228 minutes. The DVD set included four commentaries and over three hours of supplementary material.


text: On 29 August 2006, a limited edition of "The Fellowship of the Ring" was released on DVD. The set included both the film's theatrical and extended editions on a double-sided disc along with all-new bonus material.


text: The theatrical Blu-ray version of "The Lord of the Rings" was released in the United States on 6 April 2010. There were two separate sets: one with digital copies and one without. The individual Blu-ray disc of "The Fellowship of the Ring" was released on 14 September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, except there was no digital copy.


text: The extended Blu-ray editions were released in the US on 28 June 2011. This version has a runtime of 238 minutes (the extended editions include the names of all fan club members at the time of their release; the additional 9 minutes in the Blu-ray version are because of expanded member rolls, not any additional story material).


text: "The Fellowship of the Ring" was released in Ultra HD Blu-ray on 30 November 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 1 December 2020 in the United States, along with the other films of the trilogy, including both the theatrical and the extended editions of the films.


text: On its opening day, it grossed $18.2 million in the United States and Canada from 3,359 cinemas and $11.5 million in 13 countries, including $3 million from 466 screens in the United Kingdom. It grossed $75.1 million in its first five days in the United States and Canada, including $47.2 million on its opening weekend, placing it at number one at the US box office, setting a December opening record, beating "Ocean's Eleven".


text: The film also opened at number one in 29 international markets and remained there for a second week in all but the Netherlands. It set a record opening day gross in Australia with $2.09 million from 405 screens, beating the record $1.3 million set by "". It had a record opening weekend in Germany with 1.5 million admissions and in Spain with a gross of $5.3 million from 395 screens. It also grossed a record $2.5 million in 15 days in New Zealand. This record would last for less than a decade before being surpassed by "Avatar". In its first 15 days, it had grossed $183.5 million internationally and $178.7 million in the United States and Canada for a worldwide total of $362.2 million.


text: In its initial release, it went on to gross $313.4 million in the United States and Canada and $547.2 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $860.5 million. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 54 million tickets in the US and Canada in its initial theatrical run. Following subsequent reissues, the film has grossed $315.7 million in the United States and Canada and $581.9 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $897.7 million.


text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 236 reviews, with an average rating of 8.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Full of eye-popping special effects, and featuring a pitch-perfect cast, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" brings J.R.R. Tolkien's classic to vivid life." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 92 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


text: "The Fellowship of the Ring" was released to universal critical acclaim. Colin Kennedy for "Empire" gave the film five stars out of five, writing "Brooking no argument, history should quickly regard Peter Jackson’s "The Fellowship of the Ring" as the first instalment of the best fantasy epic in motion picture history... Putting formula blockbusters to shame, "Fellowship" is impeccably cast and constructed with both care and passion: this is a labour of love that never feels laboured. Emotional range and character depth ultimately take us beyond genre limitations..." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three out of four stars and stating that while it is not "a true visualization of Tolkien's Middle-earth", it is "a work for, and of, our times. It will be embraced, I suspect, by many Tolkien fans and take on aspects of a cult. It is a candidate for many Oscars. It is an awesome production in its daring and breadth, and there are small touches that are just right". "USA Today" also gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "this movie version of a beloved book should please devotees as well as the uninitiated". In his review for "The New York Times", Elvis Mitchell wrote, "The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's direction provides a lively, light touch, a gesture that doesn't normally come to mind when Tolkien's name is mentioned". Lisa Schwarzbaum for "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film an A grade and wrote "The cast take to their roles with becoming modesty, certainly, but Jackson also makes it easy for them: His "Fellowship" flows, never lingering for the sake of admiring its own beauty ... Every detail of which engrossed me. I may have never turned a page of Tolkien, but I know enchantment when I see it". In his review for the BBC, Nev Pierce gave the film four stars out of five, describing it as "Funny, scary, and totally involving", and wrote that Jackson turned "the book's least screen-worthy volume into a gripping and powerful adventure movie". In his review for "The Guardian", Xan Brooks wrote "Rather than a stand-alone holiday blockbuster, "The Fellowship of the Ring" offers an epic act one", and commented that the ending was "closer in spirit to an art-house film than a popcorn holiday romp".


text: In his review for the "New York Post", Lou Lumenick gave the film four stars out of four, praising Jackson's direction, the casting, the sets, and the score, and describing the film as "the three most exciting hours we've seen on a movie screen in years" and "easily one of the year's best movies". In her review for "The Washington Post", Rita Kempley gave the film five stars out of five, and praised the cast, in particular, "Mortensen, as Strider, is a revelation, not to mention downright gorgeous. And McKellen, carrying the burden of thousands of years' worth of the fight against evil, is positively Merlinesque". "Time" magazine's Richard Corliss praised Jackson's work: "His movie achieves what the best fairy tales do: the creation of an alternate world, plausible and persuasive, where the young — and not only the young — can lose themselves. And perhaps, in identifying with the little Hobbit that could, find their better selves". In his review for "The Village Voice", J. Hoberman wrote, "Peter Jackson's adaptation is certainly successful on its own terms". "Rolling Stone" magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "It's emotion that makes "Fellowship" stick hard in the memory... Jackson deserves to revel in his success. He's made a three-hour film that leaves you wanting more". A mixed review was written by Peter Bradshaw. Writing for "The Guardian", he lauded the art direction and the visual look of the film, but he also commented "there is a strange paucity of plot complication, an absence of anything unfolding, all the more disconcerting because of the clotted and indigestible mythic back story that we have to wade through before anything happens at all". Overall, Bradshaw found the tone of the film too serious and self-important, and wrote "signing up to the movie's whole hobbity-elvish universe requires a leap of faith... It's a leap I didn't feel much like making – and, with two more movie episodes like this on the way, the credibility gap looks wider than ever." Jonathan Rosenbaum was also less positive about "The Fellowship of the Ring": in his review for the "Chicago Reader", he granted that the film was "full of scenic splendors with a fine sense of scale", but he commented that its narrative thrust seemed "relatively pro forma", and that he found the battle scenes boring.


text: In 2002, the film won four Academy Awards from thirteen nominations. The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Gethin Creagh and Hammond Peek), Best Costume Design and Best Adapted Screenplay.


text: The film won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It also won "Empire" readers' Best Film award, as well as five BAFTAs, including Best Film, the David Lean Award for Best Direction, the Audience Award (voted for by the public), Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up. The film was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight between Gandalf and Saruman.


text: In June 2008, AFI revealed its "10 Top 10"—the ten best films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "The Fellowship of the Ring" was acknowledged as the second best film in the fantasy genre. The film was also listed as the 50th best film in the 2007 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition).


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as the Rain, the group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher (lead vocals, tambourine), Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums). Liam's older brother Noel (lead guitar, vocals) later joined as a fifth member, finalising the group's core lineup. During the course of their existence, they had various lineup changes, with the Gallagher brothers remaining the only staple members.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993 and released their record-setting debut album "Definitely Maybe" (1994). The following year they recorded "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" (1995) with drummer Alan White, in the midst of a chart rivalry with peers Blur. Spending ten weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" was also an international chart success and became one of the best-selling albums of all time. In addition, it stands as the fifth-best-selling album in the UK and the biggest-selling album in the UK of the 1990s. The Gallagher brothers featured regularly in tabloid newspapers for their disputes and wild lifestyles. In 1996, Oasis performed two nights at Knebworth for an audience of 125,000 each time, the largest outdoor concerts in UK history at the time. In 1997, Oasis released their third album, "Be Here Now". It became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis' popularity later declined and McGuigan and Arthurs left in 1999 as Oasis released "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (2000). They were replaced by former Heavy Stereo guitarist Gem Archer and former Ride guitarist Andy Bell. White departed in 2004, replaced by Zak Starkey and later Chris Sharrock as touring members. Oasis released three more studio albums, "Heathen Chemistry" (2002), "Don't Believe the Truth" (2005) and "Dig Out Your Soul" (2008). The group abruptly disbanded after the departure of Noel Gallagher in August 2009.


title: Oasis (band)

text: As of 2009, Oasis had sold over 70 million records worldwide. They are among the most successful acts on the UK Singles Chart and Albums Chart, with eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums. The band also achieved three platinum albums in the US. They won 17 "NME" Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and six Brit Awards, including one in 2007 for Outstanding Contribution to Music and one for the "Best Album of the Last 30 Years" for "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?". They were nominated for two Grammy Awards.


title: Oasis (band)

text: In 1991, bassist Paul McGuigan, guitarist Paul Arthurs, drummer Tony McCarroll, and singer Chris Hutton formed a band called the Rain. Unsatisfied with Hutton, Arthurs invited and auditioned acquaintance Liam Gallagher as a potential replacement. Liam suggested that the band name be changed to Oasis, inspired by an Inspiral Carpets tour poster in the childhood bedroom he shared with his brother Noel, which listed the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon as a venue. Oasis played their first gig on 14 August 1991 at the Boardwalk club in Manchester, bottom of the bill below The Catchmen and Sweet Jesus. Noel, who was working as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, went with them to watch Liam's band play. He and his friends did not think Oasis sounded particularly spectacular, but he began to consider the possibility of using the group as an outlet for a series of songs he had been writing for several years. Noel approached the group about joining on the provision that he would become the band's sole songwriter and leader, and that they would commit to an earnest pursuit of commercial success. Arthurs recalled, "He had loads of stuff written. When he walked in, we were a band making a racket with four tunes. All of a sudden, there were loads of ideas." Under Noel, the band crafted a musical approach that relied on simplicity, with Arthurs and McGuigan restricted to playing barre chords and root bass notes, McCarroll playing basic rhythms, and the band's amplifiers turned up to create distortion. Oasis thus created a sound described as being "so devoid of finesse and complexity that it came out sounding pretty much unstoppable".


title: Oasis (band)

text: After over a year of live shows, rehearsals and a recording of a demo, the "Live Demonstration" tape, Oasis's big break came in May 1993 when they were spotted by Creation Records co-owner Alan McGee. Oasis were invited to play a gig at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut club in Glasgow by Sister Lovers, who shared their rehearsal rooms. Oasis, along with a group of friends, hired a van and made the journey to Glasgow. When they arrived, they were refused entry as they were not on that night's set list; the band and McGee have given contradicting statements about how they managed to get into the club. They were given the opening slot and impressed McGee, who was there to see 18 Wheeler, one of his own bands. McGee offered them a recording contract; however, they did not sign until several months later. Due to problems securing an American contract, Oasis signed a worldwide contract with Sony, which in turn licensed Oasis to Creation in the UK.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Following a limited white label release of the demo of their song "Columbia", Oasis went on a UK tour to promote the release of their first single, "Supersonic", playing venues such as the Tunbridge Wells Forum, a converted public toilet. "Supersonic" was released in April 1994, reaching number 31 in the charts. The release was followed by "Shakermaker", which became the subject of a plagiarism suit, with Oasis paying $500,000 in damages. Their third single, "Live Forever", was their first to enter the top ten of the UK charts. After troubled recording and mixing sessions, Oasis's debut album, "Definitely Maybe", was released on 29 August 1994, entering the charts at number one within a week of its release, and at the time becoming the fastest selling debut album in the UK.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Nearly a year of constant live performances and recordings, along with a hedonistic lifestyle, were taking their toll on the band. This behaviour culminated during a gig in Los Angeles in September 1994, leading to an inept performance by Liam during which he made offensive remarks about American audiences and hit Noel with a tambourine. The incident upset Noel to such an extent he temporarily quit the band and flew to San Francisco (it was from this incident the song "Talk Tonight" was written). He was tracked down by Creation's Tim Abbot and they made a trip to Las Vegas. Once there, the elder Gallagher was persuaded to continue with the band. He reconciled with Liam and the tour resumed in Minneapolis. The group followed up with the fourth single from "Definitely Maybe", "Cigarettes & Alcohol", and the Christmas single "Whatever", issued in December 1994 which entered the British charts at number three.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis had their first UK number one single in April 1995 with "Some Might Say". At the same time, drummer Tony McCarroll was ousted from the band. McCarroll said, on leaving Oasis, that he was "unlawfully expelled from the partnership" for what he called a "personality clash" with the brothers. The Gallaghers, on the other hand, doubted McCarroll's musical ability, with Noel saying: "I like Tony as a geezer but he wouldn't have been able to drum the new songs". McCarroll was replaced by Alan White, formerly of Starclub and younger brother of renowned studio percussionist Steve White and recommended to Noel by Paul Weller. White made his debut for the band at a "Top of the Pops" performance of "Some Might Say". Oasis began recording material for their second album in May of that year in Rockfield Studios near Monmouth. The band, by this point, had recorded the concert that would see release in August as "Live by the Sea".


title: Oasis (band)

text: During this period, the British press seized upon a supposed rivalry between Oasis and Britpop band Blur. Previously, Oasis did not associate themselves with the Britpop movement and were not invited to perform on the BBC's "Britpop Now" programme introduced by Blur singer Damon Albarn. On 14 August 1995, Blur and Oasis released singles on the same day, setting up the "Battle of Britpop" that dominated the national news. Blur's "Country House" outsold Oasis' "Roll with It" 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week. Oasis' management came up with several reasons for this, claiming "Country House" sold more because it was less expensive (£1.99 vs £3.99) and because there were two versions of "Country House" with different B-sides, forcing serious fans to buy two copies. An alternative explanation given at the time by Creation was that there were problems associated with the barcode on the "Roll with It" single case, which did not record all sales. Noel Gallagher told "The Observer" in September that he hoped members of Blur would "catch AIDS and die", which caused a media furore. He apologised in a formal letter to various publications.


title: Oasis (band)

text: McGuigan briefly left the band in September 1995, citing nervous exhaustion. He was replaced by Scott McLeod, formerly of the Ya Ya's, who was featured on some of the tour dates as well as in the "Wonderwall" video before leaving abruptly while on tour in the US. McLeod contacted Noel claiming he felt he had made the wrong decision. Noel replied: "I think you have too. Good luck signing on". To complete the tour, McGuigan was persuaded to return to the band.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Although a softer sound initially led to mixed reviews, Oasis' second album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", was a worldwide commercial success, selling over four million copies and becoming the fifth-best-selling album in UK chart history. By 2008, it had sold up to 22 million units in the world, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album spawned two further hit singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger", which reached numbers two and one respectively. It also contained "Champagne Supernova", which featured guitar and backing vocals by Paul Weller and received critical acclaim. The song reached number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In November 1995, Oasis played on back-to-back nights at Earls Court in London, the biggest ever indoor gigs in Europe at the time. Gallagher played a customised Union Jack emblazoned Sheraton guitar, commercially released as Supernova.


title: Oasis (band)

text: On 27 and 28 April 1996, the group played their first headline outdoor concerts, at Maine Road football stadium, home of Manchester City F.C., of whom the Gallagher brothers have been fans since childhood. Highlights from the second night featured on the video "...There and Then", released later the same year (along with footage from their Earls Court gigs). As their career reached its zenith, Oasis performed to 80,000 people over two nights at Balloch Country Park at Loch Lomond in Scotland on 3 and 4 August, before back-to-back concerts at Knebworth House on 10 and 11 August. The band sold out both shows within minutes. The audience of 125,000 people each night (2.5 million people applied for tickets, and 250,000 were actually sold, meaning the possibility of 20 sold out nights) was a record-breaking number for an outdoor concert held in the UK and remains the largest demand for a show in British history.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis were due to record an episode of "MTV Unplugged" at the Royal Festival Hall but Liam pulled out, citing a sore throat. He watched the performance from a balcony with beer and cigarettes, heckling Noel's singing between songs. Four days later the group left for a tour of American arenas but Liam refused to go; the band decided to continue the tour with Noel on vocals. Liam rejoined the tour on 30 August and on 4 September 1996, Oasis performed "Champagne Supernova" at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Liam made gestures at Noel during his guitar solo, then spat beer all over the stage before storming off. A few weeks later Noel flew home without the band, who followed on another flight. This event prompted media speculation that the group were splitting up. The brothers soon reconciled and decided to complete the tour.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis spent the end of 1996 and the first quarter of 1997 at Abbey Road Studios in London and Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey recording their third album. Quarrels between the Gallagher brothers plagued the recording sessions. "Be Here Now" was released in August 1997. Preceded by the UK number one single "D'You Know What I Mean?", the album was their most anticipated effort, and as such became the subject of considerable media attention. Footage of excited fans clutching copies made "ITV News at Ten", leading anchorman Trevor McDonald to intone the band's phrase "mad for it". By the end of the first day of release, "Be Here Now" had sold 424,000 units and first week sales reached 696,000, making it the fastest-selling album in British history until Adele released "25" in 2015. The album debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 in the US, but its first week sales of 152,000—below expected sales of 400,000 copies—were considered a disappointment. Predominantly written by Noel Gallagher during a holiday with Kate Moss, Johnny Depp and Mick Jagger, Gallagher has since expressed regret over the writing process of "Be Here Now", adding it doesn't match up to the standard of the band's first two albums;


title: Oasis (band)

text: Noel had been ambivalent about the album in pre-release interviews, telling "NME", "This record ain’t going to surprise many people," however there was nobody around him to echo his reservations. "Everyone’s going: ‘It’s brilliant!’” he later said. “And right towards the end, we’re doing the mixing and I’m thinking to myself: ‘Hmmm, I don’t know about this now.’” When the album was released Oasis were woven into Britain’s cultural fabric like no other band since the Beatles, and according to their former press officer Johnny Hopkins: "There were more hangers-on, constantly telling them they were the greatest thing. That tended to block out the critical voices." Dorian Lynskey writes, "If it couldn't be Britpop’s zenith, then it must be the nadir. It can't be just a collection of songs – some good, some bad, most too long, all insanely overproduced – but an emblem of the hubris before the fall, like a dictator’s statue pulled to the ground by a vengeful mob."


title: Oasis (band)

text: After the conclusion of the Be Here Now Tour in early 1998, amidst much media criticism, the group kept a low profile. Later in the year, Oasis released a compilation album of fourteen B-sides, "The Masterplan". "The really interesting stuff from around that period is the B-sides. There's a lot more inspired music on the B-sides than there is on "Be Here Now" itself, I think," said Noel in an interview in 2008.


title: Oasis (band)

text: It was during this time period that Noel lived at Supernova Heights in Belsize Park with his then wife Meg Matthews. Noel Gallagher lived at this property between 1997 and 1999 which was known for raucous celebrity parties with guests such as Kate Moss, Rhys Ifans, Lisa Moorish and fellow band The Charlatans. The house was eventually sold in 1999 to Davinia Taylor.


title: Oasis (band)

text: In early 1999, the band began work on their fourth studio album. First details were announced in February, with Mark Stent revealed to be taking a co-producing role. Things were not going well and the shock departure of founding member Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs was announced in August. This departure was reported at the time as amicable, with Noel stating Arthurs wanted to spend more time with his family. Arthurs' statement clarified his leaving as "to concentrate on other things". However, Noel has since offered a contradicting version: that a series of violations of Noel's "no drink or drugs" policy (imposed by Noel so that Liam could sing properly) for the album's sessions resulted in a confrontation between the two. Two weeks later the departure of bassist Paul McGuigan was announced. The Gallagher brothers held a press conference shortly thereafter, in which they assured reporters that "the future of Oasis is secure. The story and the glory will go on."


title: Oasis (band)

text: After the completion of the recording sessions, the band began searching for replacement members. The first new member to be announced was new lead/rhythm guitarist Colin "Gem" Archer, formerly of Heavy Stereo, who later claimed to have been approached by Noel Gallagher only a couple of days after Arthurs' departure was publicly announced. Finding a replacement bassist took more time and effort: the band were rehearsing with David Potts, but he quickly resigned, and they brought in Andy Bell, former guitarist/songwriter of Ride and Hurricane#1 as their new bassist. Bell had never played bass before and had to learn to play it (with Noel since saying, "I was amazed that Andy was up for actually playing the bass y’know, cos he's such a good guitarist"), along with a handful of songs from Oasis' back catalogue, in preparation for a scheduled US tour in December 1999.


title: Oasis (band)

text: With the folding of Creation Records, Oasis formed their own label, Big Brother, which released all of Oasis' subsequent records in the UK and Ireland. Oasis' fourth album, "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants", was released in February 2000 to good first-week sales. It reached number one on the British charts and peaked at number 24 on the "Billboard" charts. Four singles were released from the album: "Go Let It Out", "Who Feels Love?", "Sunday Morning Call" and "Where Did It All Go Wrong?", which the first three were top five UK singles. The "Go Let It Out" music video was shot before Bell joined the group and therefore featured the unusual line-up of Liam on rhythm guitar, Archer on lead guitar and Noel on bass. With the departure of the founding members, the band made several small changes to their image and sound. The cover featured a new "Oasis" logo, designed by Gem Archer, and the album was also the first Oasis release to include a song written by Liam Gallagher, entitled "Little James". The songs also had more experimental, psychedelic influences. "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" received lukewarm reviews and sales slumped in its second week of release in the US.


title: Oasis (band)

text: To support the record the band staged an eventful world tour. While touring in Barcelona in 2000, Oasis were forced to cancel a gig when an attack of tendinitis caused Alan White's arm to seize up, and the band spent the night drinking instead. After a row between the two brothers, Noel declared he was quitting touring overseas altogether, and Oasis were supposed to finish the tour without him. Noel eventually returned for the Irish and British legs of the tour, which included two major shows at Wembley Stadium. A live album of the first show, called "Familiar to Millions", was released in late 2000 to mixed reviews.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Throughout 2001, Oasis split time between sessions for their fifth studio album and live shows around the world. Gigs included the month-long Tour of Brotherly Love with the Black Crowes and Spacehog and a show in Paris supporting Neil Young. The album, "Heathen Chemistry", Oasis' first album with new members Andy Bell and Gem Archer, was released in July 2002. The album reached number 1 in the UK and number 23 in the US, although critics gave it mixed reviews. There were four singles released from the album: "The Hindu Times", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", "Little by Little/She Is Love" which were written by Noel, and "Songbird", written by Liam and the first single not to be written by Noel. The record blended the band's sonic experiments from their last albums, but also went for a more basic rock sound. The recording of "Heathen Chemistry" was much more balanced for the band, with all of the members, apart from White, writing songs. Johnny Marr provided additional guitar as well as backup vocals on a couple of songs.


title: Oasis (band)

text: After the album's release, the band embarked on a successful world tour that was once again filled with incidents. In late summer 2002, while the band were on tour in the US, Noel, Bell and touring keyboardist Jay Darlington were involved in a car accident in Indianapolis. While none of the band members sustained any major injuries, some shows were cancelled as a result. In December 2002, the latter half of the German leg of the band's European tour had to be postponed after Liam Gallagher, Alan White and three other members of the band's entourage were arrested after a violent brawl at a Munich nightclub. The band had been drinking heavily and tests showed that Liam had used cocaine. Liam lost two front teeth and kicked a police officer in the ribs, while Alan suffered minor head injuries after getting hit with an ashtray. Two years later Liam was fined around £40,000. The band finished their tour in March 2003 after returning to those postponed dates.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Liam Gallagher said Oasis began recording a sixth album in late December 2003 with producers Death in Vegas at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall. The album was originally planned for a September 2004 release, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the release of Definitely Maybe, However, long-time drummer Alan White, who at this time had played on nearly all of the band's material, had been asked to leave the band. At the time, his brother Steve White stated on his own website that "the spirit of being in a band was kicked out of him" and he wanted to be with his girlfriend. White was replaced by Zak Starkey, drummer of the Who and the son of the Beatles' Ringo Starr. Though Starkey performed on studio recordings and toured with the band, he was not officially a member and the band were a four-piece for the first time in their career. Starkey played publicly for the first time at Poole Lighthouse.


title: Oasis (band)

text: A few days later, Oasis, with Starkey, headlined the Glastonbury Festival for the second time in their career and performed a largely greatest hits set, which included two new songs — Gem Archer's "A Bell Will Ring" and Liam Gallagher's "The Meaning of Soul". The performance received negative reviews, with "NME" calling it a "disaster." The BBC's Tom Bishop called Oasis' set "lacklustre and uneventful ... prompting a mixed reception from fans", mainly because of Liam's uninspired singing and Starkey's lack of experience with the band's material.


title: Oasis (band)

text: After much turbulence, the band's sixth album was finally recorded in Los Angeles-based Capitol Studios from October to December the same year. Producer Dave Sardy took over the lead producing role from Noel, who decided to step back from these duties after a decade of producing leadership over the band. In May 2005, after three years and as many scrapped recording sessions, the band released their sixth studio album, "Don't Believe the Truth", fulfilling their contract with Sony BMG. It followed the path of "Heathen Chemistry" as being a collaborative project again, rather than a Noel-written album. The album was the first in a decade not to feature drumming by Alan White, marking the recording debut of Starkey. The record was generally hailed as the band's best effort since "Morning Glory" by fans and critics alike, spawning two UK number one singles: "Lyla" and "The Importance of Being Idle", whilst "Let There Be Love" entered at number 2. Oasis picked up two awards at the Q Awards: one People's Choice Award and the second for "Don't Believe the Truth" as Best Album. Following in the footsteps of Oasis' previous five albums, "Don't Believe the Truth" also entered the UK album charts at number one. To date the album has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.


title: Oasis (band)

text: In May 2005, the band's new line-up embarked on a large scale world tour. Beginning on 10 May 2005 at the London Astoria, and finishing on 31 March 2006 in front of a sold-out gig in Mexico City, Oasis played more live shows than at any time since the Definitely Maybe Tour, visiting 26 countries and headlining 113 shows for over 3.2 million people. The tour passed without any major incidents and was the band's most successful in more than a decade. The tour included sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and LA's Hollywood Bowl. A rockumentary film made during the tour, entitled "Lord Don't Slow Me Down" directed by Dick Carruthers was released in October 2007. A second DVD included live footage from an Oasis gig in Manchester from 2 July 2005.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis released a compilation double album entitled "Stop the Clocks" in 2006, featuring what the band considers to be their "definitive" songs. The band received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in February 2007, playing several of their most famous songs afterwards. Oasis released their first ever digital-only release, "Lord Don't Slow Me Down", in October 2007. The song debuted at number ten in the UK singles chart.


title: Oasis (band)

text: The band's resurgence in popularity since the success of "Don't Believe the Truth" was highlighted in February 2008 when, in a poll to find the fifty greatest British albums of the last fifty years conducted by "Q" magazine and HMV, two Oasis albums were voted first and second ("Definitely Maybe" and "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" respectively). Two other albums by the band appeared in the list – "Don't Believe The Truth" came in at number fourteen, and the album that has previously been heavily criticised by some of the media, "Be Here Now", made the list at no. 22.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Oasis recorded for a couple of months in 2007 – between July and September – completing work on two new songs and demoing the rest. They then took a two-month break because of the birth of Noel's son. The band re-entered the studio on 5 November 2007 and finished recording around March 2008 with producer Dave Sardy.


title: Oasis (band)

text: In May 2008, Zak Starkey left the band after recording "Dig Out Your Soul", the band's seventh studio album. He was replaced by former Icicle Works and the La's drummer Chris Sharrock on their tour but Chris was not an official member of the band and Oasis remained as a four-piece. The first single from the record was "The Shock of the Lightning" written by Noel Gallagher, and was pre-released on 29 September 2008. "Dig Out Your Soul", the band's seventh studio album, was released on 6 October and went to number one in the UK and number five on the "Billboard" 200. The band started touring for a projected 18-month-long tour expected to last till September 2009, with support from Kasabian, the Enemy and Twisted Wheel. On 7 September 2008, while performing at Virgin Festival in Toronto, a member of the audience ran on stage and physically assaulted Noel. Noel suffered three broken and dislodged ribs as a result from the attack, and the group had to cancel several shows while he recovered. In June 2008, the band re-signed with Sony BMG for a three-album deal.


title: Oasis (band)

text: On 25 February 2009, Oasis received the NME Award for Best British Band of 2009, as well as Best Blog for Noel's 'Tales from the Middle of Nowhere'. On 4 June 2009, Oasis played the first of three concerts at Manchester's Heaton Park and after having to leave the stage twice due to a generator failure, came on the third time to declare the gig was now a free concert; it delighted the 70,000 ticket holders, 20,000 of whom claimed the refund. The band's two following gigs at the venue, on 6 and 7 June, proved a great success, with fans turning out in the thousands despite the changeable weather and first night's sound issues.


title: Oasis (band)

text: After Liam contracted laryngitis, Oasis cancelled a gig at V Festival in Chelmsford on 23 August 2009. Noel stated in 2011 that the gig was cancelled due to Liam having "a hangover". Liam subsequently sued Noel, and demanded an apology, stating: "The truth is I had laryngitis, which Noel was made fully aware of that morning, diagnosed by a doctor." Noel issued an apology and the lawsuit was dropped. The band were due to perform on 28 August 2009 at the Rock en Seine festival near Paris, however mid-way through Bloc Party’s set at the festival their frontman Kele Okereke (alongside Bloc Party tour manager Peter Hill) announced that Oasis would not be performing. Two hours later, a statement from Noel appeared on the band's website:


title: Oasis (band)

text: Liam and the remaining members of Oasis decided to continue under the name Beady Eye, releasing two studio albums until their break-up in 2014. Liam started a solo career and has released three studio albums, with Arthurs joining him occasionally on tour. Noel formed a solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and has released three studio albums, with Sharrock and Archer later joining as members. Bell reunited with former band Ride.


title: Oasis (band)

text: On 16 February 2010, Oasis won Best British Album of the Last 30 Years – for "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" – at the 2010 Brit Awards. Liam collected the award alone before presenting his speech, which thanked Bonehead, McGuigan and Alan White but not Noel. Liam threw his microphone and the band's award into the crowd. On 15 March 2010, Liam defended his actions at the awards ceremony, saying: "I'm sick of it all being about me and Noel, the last couple of months has pretty much been all about me and him so I thought it was only right to mention the other lads who played on the album and the best fans in the world," and "I thought [throwing the award] was a nice gesture to give this to the fans, obviously it was misinterpreted as per usual."


title: Oasis (band)

text: "Time Flies... 1994–2009", a compilation of singles, was released on 14 June 2010. The album became the band's final album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. On 6 July 2011, Absolute Radio uploaded a video to YouTube where Noel Gallagher speaks about the night Oasis ended. Noel states within this video: "If I had my time again I would have gone back and done the gig. I'd have done that gig and I'd have done the next gig and we'd have all gone away and we could have probably discussed it. We may never have split up."


title: Oasis (band)

text: On 26 February 2014, Noel via the band's official website announced that the first three studio albums would be reissued, remastered and re-released throughout the remainder of 2014 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of "Definitely Maybe". A remastered 3-disc version of "Definitely Maybe" was released on 19 May 2014.


title: Oasis (band)

text: A documentary titled "" was released on 26 October 2016, which tells the story of Oasis from their beginnings to the height of their fame during the summer of 1996. Produced by the same team behind the Academy Award-winning biopic "Amy", "Oasis: Supersonic" features up close and personal footage, as well as never before seen archive material and interviews with the band.


title: Oasis (band)

text: On 29 April 2020, Noel announced through the band's social media pages that a new demo recording, "Don't Stop...", had been found, and would be released at midnight the following day. The track, previously only known from a recording during a soundcheck in Hong Kong, was rediscovered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and would be the first track to be released by the band in over 10 years. The demo passed 1 million views on YouTube on the morning of 3 May 2020 and reached number 80 on the UK Singles Chart based on streaming alone.


title: Oasis (band)

text: In July 2021, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Oasis's two record breaking concerts at Knebworth Park in August 1996, a new concert documentary film, combining new interviews, previously unreleased archival footage, and live concert footage from both nights, titled "Oasis Knebworth 1996", was released in cinemas on 23 September 2021. The release of the film marks the first time that concert footage from the two gigs has ever been released. The documentary was released on home media on 19 November 2021, alongside a double live album of the same name, containing 20 songs from across both nights.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Musically, Oasis have been regarded as a rock, Britpop, and power pop band. Oasis were most heavily influenced by the Beatles, an influence that was frequently labelled as an "obsession" by British media. In addition, members of Oasis have cited Bee Gees, David Bowie, Buzzcocks, the Damned, the Doors, Bob Dylan, Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, the Jam, Joy Division, the Kinks, the La's, Led Zeppelin, MC5, New Order, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, Slade, Small Faces, the Smiths, the Stooges, the Stone Roses, U2, T. Rex, the Velvet Underground, the Verve, the Who, and Neil Young, as an influence or inspiration.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Legal action has been taken against Noel Gallagher and Oasis for plagiarism on three occasions. The first was the case of Neil Innes (formerly of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and the Rutles) suing to prove the Oasis song "Whatever" borrowed from his song "How Sweet to Be an Idiot". Innes was eventually awarded royalties and a co-writer credit. Noel Gallagher claimed in 2010 that the plagiarism was unintentional and he was unaware of the similarities until informed of Innes's legal case. In the second incident, Oasis were sued by Coca-Cola and forced to pay $500,000 in damages to the New Seekers after it was alleged that the Oasis song "Shakermaker" had lifted words and melody from "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". When asked about the incident, Noel Gallagher joked "Now we all drink Pepsi." On the third and final occasion, when promotional copies of "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" were originally distributed, they contained a previously unreleased bonus song called "Step Out". This promotional CD was quickly withdrawn and replaced with a version that omitted the controversial song, which was allegedly similar to the Stevie Wonder song "Uptight (Everything's Alright)". Official releases of "Step Out", as the B-side to "Don't Look Back in Anger" and on "Familiar to Millions", listed "Wonder, et al." as co-writers.


title: Oasis (band)

text: On the flip side, the 2003 song "Life Got Cold" by UK band Girls Aloud received attention due to similarities between the guitar riff and melody of the song and that of the Oasis song "Wonderwall". A BBC review stated "part of the chorus sounds like it is going to turn into 'Wonderwall' by Oasis." Warner/Chappell Music has since credited Noel Gallagher as co-songwriter.


title: Oasis (band)

text: Despite parting ways in 2009, Oasis remain hugely influential in British music and culture and are now recognised as one of the biggest and most acclaimed bands of the 1990s. They are widely recognized as one of the spearheads of Britpop, which has claimed a prominent place in the British musical landscape. With their record breaking sales, concerts, sibling disputes, and their high-profile chart battle with Britpop rivals Blur, Oasis were a major part of 1990s UK pop culture, an era dubbed Cool Britannia. Many bands and artists have cited Oasis as an influence or inspiration, including Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Deafheaven, the Killers, Alvvays, Maroon 5, Coldplay, and Ryan Adams.


title: Oasis (band)

text: The band's success also helped local businesses. Pete Caban, owner of Bandwagon Music Supplies in Perth, Scotland, which closed in 2020 after 37 years in business, said: "The highlight years were the mid-90s to the early 2000s. That was the peak period. The Oasis period, as I call it, where everyone wanted to buy a guitar. That was the game changer for music and for me here in Perth. I was shovelling guitars out the door at the point. So hurrah for Noel Gallagher."


title: Oasis (band)

text: In 2007, Oasis were one of the four featured artists in the seventh episode of the BBC/VH1 series "Seven Ages of Rock" – an episode about British indie rock – along with Britpop peers Blur in addition to the Smiths and the Stone Roses.


title: Roman numerals

text: Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, each letter with a fixed integer value, modern style uses only these seven:


title: Roman numerals

text: The use of Roman numerals continued long after the decline of the Roman Empire. From the 14th century on, Roman numerals began to be replaced by Arabic numerals; however, this process was gradual, and the use of Roman numerals persists in some applications to this day.


title: Roman numerals

text: One place they are often seen is on clock faces. For instance, on the clock of Big Ben (designed in 1852), the hours from 1 to 12 are written as:


title: Roman numerals

text: The notations and can be read as "one less than five" (4) and "one less than ten" (9), although there is a tradition favouring representation of "4" as "" on Roman numeral clocks.


title: Roman numerals

text: Other common uses include year numbers on monuments and buildings and copyright dates on the title screens of movies and television programs. , signifying "a thousand, and a hundred less than another thousand", means 1900, so 1912 is written . For the years of this century, indicates 2000. The current year is (2022).


title: Roman numerals

text: Roman numerals use different symbols for each power of ten and no zero symbol, in contrast with the place value notation of Arabic numerals (in which place-keeping zeros enable the same digit to represent different powers of ten).


title: Roman numerals

text: This allows some flexibility in notation, and there has never been an official or universally accepted standard for Roman numerals. Usage in ancient Rome varied greatly and became thoroughly chaotic in medieval times. Even the post-renaissance restoration of a largely "classical" notation has failed to produce total consistency: variant forms are even defended by some modern writers as offering improved "flexibility". On the other hand, especially where a Roman numeral is considered a legally binding expression of a number, as in U.S. Copyright law (where an "incorrect" or ambiguous numeral may invalidate a copyright claim, or affect the termination date of the copyright period) it is desirable to strictly follow the usual style described below.


title: Roman numerals

text: A number containing two or more decimal digits is built by appending the Roman numeral equivalent for each, from highest to lowest, as in the following examples:


title: Roman numerals

text: Any missing place (represented by a zero in the place-value equivalent) is omitted, as in Latin (and English) speech:


title: Roman numerals

text: In practice, Roman numerals for numbers over 1000 are currently used mainly for year numbers, as in these examples:


title: Roman numerals

text: The largest number that can be represented in this notation is 3,999 ('), but since the largest Roman numeral likely to be required today is ' (the current year) there is no practical need for larger Roman numerals. Prior to the introduction of Arabic numerals in the West, ancient and medieval users of the system used various means to write larger numbers; see large numbers below.


title: Roman numerals

text: While subtractive notation for 4, 40 and 400 (, and ) has been the usual form since Roman times, additive notation to represent these numbers (, and ) continued to be used, including in compound numbers like , , and . The additive forms for 9, 90, and 900 (, , and ) have also been used, although less often.


title: Roman numerals

text: The two conventions could be mixed in the same document or inscription, even in the same numeral. For example, on the numbered gates to the Colosseum, is systematically used instead of , but subtractive notation is used for ; consequently, gate 44 is labelled .


title: Roman numerals

text: Modern clock faces that use Roman numerals still very often use for four o'clock but for nine o'clock, a practice that goes back to very early clocks such as the Wells Cathedral clock of the late 14th century. However, this is far from universal: for example, the clock on the Palace of Westminster tower (commonly known as Big Ben) uses a subtractive for 4 o'clock.


title: Roman numerals

text: Isaac Asimov once mentioned an "interesting theory" that Romans avoided using because it was the initial letters of , the Latin spelling of Jupiter, and might have seemed impious. He did not say whose theory it was.


title: Roman numerals

text: Several monumental inscriptions created in the early 20th century use variant forms for "1900" (usually written ). These vary from for 1910 as seen on Admiralty Arch, London, to the more unusual, if not unique for 1903, on the north entrance to the Saint Louis Art Museum.


title: Roman numerals

text: Especially on tombstones and other funerary inscriptions 5 and 50 have been occasionally written and instead of and , and there are instances such as and rather than or .


title: Roman numerals

text: There is a common belief that "any" smaller digit placed to the left of a larger digit is subtracted from the total, and that by clever choices a long Roman numeral can be "compressed". The best known example of this is the function in Microsoft Excel, which can turn 499 into , , , , or depending on the "" setting. There is no indication this is anything other than an invention by the programmer, and the universal-subtraction belief may be a result of modern users trying to rationalize the syntax of Roman numerals.


title: Roman numerals

text: There is, however, some historic use of subtractive notation other than that described in the above "standard": in particular for 17, for 18, for 97, for 98, and for 99. A possible explanation is that the word for 18 in Latin is , literally "two from twenty", 98 is (two from hundred), and 99 is (one from hundred). However, the explanation does not seem to apply to and , since the Latin words for 17 and 97 were (seven ten) and (ninety seven), respectively.


title: Roman numerals

text: There are multiple examples of being used for 8. There does not seem to be a linguistic explanation for this use, although it is one stroke shorter than . was used by officers of the XVIII Roman Legion to write their number. The notation appears prominently on the cenotaph of their senior centurion Marcus Caelius ( – 9 AD). On the publicly displayed official Roman calendars known as Fasti, is used for the 18 days to the next Kalends, and for the 28 days in February. The latter can be seen on the sole extant pre-Julian calendar, the Fasti Antiates Maiores.


title: Roman numerals

text: While irregular subtractive and additive notation has been used at least occasionally throughout history, some Roman numerals have been observed in documents and inscriptions that do not fit either system. Some of these variants do not seem to have been used outside specific contexts, and may have been regarded as errors even by contemporaries.


title: Roman numerals

text: As Roman numerals are composed of ordinary alphabetic characters, there may sometimes be confusion with other uses of the same letters. For example, "XXX" and "XL" have other connotations in addition to their values as Roman numerals, while "IXL" more often than not is a gramogram of "I excel", and is in any case not an unambiguous Roman numeral.


title: Roman numerals

text: As a non-positional numeral system, Roman numerals have no "place-keeping" zeros. Furthermore, the system as used by the Romans lacked a numeral for the number zero itself (that is, what remains after 1 is subtracted from 1). The word (the Latin word meaning "none") was used to represent 0, although the earliest attested instances are medieval. For instance Dionysius Exiguus used alongside Roman numerals in a manuscript from 525 AD. About 725, Bede or one of his colleagues used the letter , the initial of or of (the Latin word for "nothing") for 0, in a table of epacts, all written in Roman numerals.


title: Roman numerals

text: The use of to indicate "none" long survived in the historic apothecaries' system of measurement: used well into the 20th century to designate quantities in pharmaceutical prescriptions.


title: Roman numerals

text: and also in the now rare apothecaries' system (usually in the form ): but while Roman numerals for whole numbers are essentially decimal does not correspond to , as one might expect, but .


title: Roman numerals

text: The Romans used a duodecimal rather than a decimal system for fractions, as the divisibility of twelve makes it easier to handle the common fractions of and than does a system based on ten . Notation for fractions other than is mainly found on surviving Roman coins, many of which had values that were duodecimal fractions of the unit . Fractions less than are indicated by a dot (·) for each "twelfth", the source of the English words "inch" and "ounce"; dots are repeated for fractions up to five twelfths. Six twelfths (one half), is for "half". "Uncia" dots were added to for fractions from seven to eleven twelfths, just as tallies were added to for whole numbers from six to nine. The arrangement of the dots was variable and not necessarily linear. Five dots arranged like (⁙) (as on the face of a die) are known as a quincunx, from the name of the Roman fraction/coin. The Latin words ' and ' are the source of the English words "sextant" and "quadrant".


title: Roman numerals

text: Each fraction from to had a name in Roman times; these corresponded to the names of the related coins:


title: Roman numerals

text: During the centuries that Roman numerals remained the standard way of writing numbers throughout Europe, there were various extensions to the system designed to indicate larger numbers, none of which were ever standardised.


title: Roman numerals

text: One of these was the "apostrophus", in which 500 was written as , while 1,000 was written as . This is a system of encasing numbers to denote thousands (imagine the s and s as parentheses), which has its origins in Etruscan numeral usage.


title: Roman numerals

text: Each additional set of and surrounding raises the value by a factor of ten: represents 10,000 and represents 100,000. Similarly, each additional to the right of raises the value by a factor of ten: represents 5,000 and represents 50,000. Numerals larger than do not occur.


title: Roman numerals

text: Sometimes was reduced to for 1,000. Similarly, for 5,000 was reduced to ; for 10,000 to ; for 50,000 to (ↇ); and (ↈ) for 100,000 to .


title: Roman numerals

text: John Wallis is often credited for introducing the symbol for infinity , and one conjecture is that he based it on , since 1,000 was hyperbolically used to represent very large numbers.