Oasis has sued its former sound engineer to block the sale of a vast archive of unreleased material, prompting an auction house to withdraw the collection just days before it was expected to go up for sale for as much as £1.6 million.
Oasis, Noel and Liam Gallagher and Sony Music Entertainment U.K. filed the case Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in London’s High Court against former sound engineer Huw Richards, his son Owain Richards and Littleton Auctions. The collection, known as the “Desk Tapes,” had been scheduled for auction Oct. 3 with a guide price of £1.2 million to £1.6 million.
Littleton confirmed that the recordings had been pulled from the sale following the legal action. The rest of its Oct. 3 auction, which includes other Oasis memorabilia, is scheduled to proceed.
The archive includes recordings of 63 live shows along with rehearsals, soundchecks and conversations between Noel and Liam Gallagher from the height of the band’s 1990s success. Huw Richards worked with Oasis from around the release of its 1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe, until 2001 and recorded material directly from the sound desk while working with the band.
The case is at an early stage. Oasis and Sony have filed the claim, but the detailed allegations and legal grounds have not yet been made public. Until those filings emerge, it remains unclear whether they are challenging ownership of the recordings, asserting copyright or performers’ rights, relying on contractual restrictions, or advancing another basis to stop the sale.
Physical possession of the tapes does not necessarily carry every right connected to the material on them. Ownership of the recordings themselves can be separate from rights to copy, distribute or commercially exploit the performances they contain, making the precise claims central to what Oasis and Sony are asking the High Court to protect.
Among the material is a recording of Oasis performing near Loch Lomond in Scotland in 1996 that has been described as potentially the only recording of that concert. Other tapes document concerts, rehearsals and soundchecks that have never been released, while recordings of conversations between the Gallagher brothers drew additional attention when the collection was announced.
Oasis had objected to the proposed auction before filing suit. Littleton previously acknowledged that the band had raised concerns about the sale, while Owain Richards said his father had held discussions with Oasis about the recordings before negotiations ended without an agreement. After the lawsuit was filed, Richards said the auction would be postponed so the dispute could be resolved through litigation or another agreement.
The dispute comes as Oasis again draws major commercial interest following Noel and Liam Gallagher’s reunion. The band announced its return in 2024 and completed its first reunion tour in 2025. A sold-out 42-show Oasis Live ’27 tour is scheduled to begin May 21, 2027, in Glasgow before continuing through Europe, the United States and Ireland. Oasis was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.
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