Colin Murray "Gem" Archer ( '; born 7 December 1966) is an English guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBeady Eye and

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 2010 as the solo moniker of Oasis (band), Oasis songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Noel Gallagher. The touring band consists of former Oasis members Gem Archer ( ...

, making him and Chris Sharrock the only members of Oasis to have been part of both Liam and Noel Gallagher's post-Oasis projects. He is also known for his work with Heavy Stereo. Archer joined Oasis as second guitarist in November 1999, and contributed to the writing of some of the band's songs. Oasis went on a 15-year hiatus in August 2009, but in November 2009,

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

announced he was writing new material with Archer as well as other Oasis members excluding his brother Noel, under the name Beady Eye. After two albums with Beady Eye, 2011's '' Different Gear, Still Speeding'' and 2013's '' BE'', the band had officially disbanded in October 2014. In 2017, Archer joined Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds as lead guitarist, thus reuniting with Oasis member

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

Career

The Edge and the Contenders

Archer began his musical career as lead guitarist in a group called the Edge in the early 1981. They released two singles, "Take a Walk" and "Little Girl Blue". In early 1987, he was part of a band called the Contenders. He then formed Whirlpool in 1991 and signed to Food Records and EMI Publishing. Simon Scott was also involved on a live basis playing keyboards and backing vocals. After gigging around the UK and recording for 18 months the group folded. This laid the foundations for Heavy Stereo, with Gem taking over the role of singer.

Heavy Stereo

Archer formed Heavy Stereo with bassist Nez and guitarist Pete Downing both previously of

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

indie band 2 Lost Sons who were subsequently signed with

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

. The band's only album, 1996's ''Déjà Voodoo'', did not enjoy much critical or commercial success. However, Heavy Stereo's next release did receive more attention through demos of new material, a critically acclaimed contribution to

The Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

tribute album, '' Fire and Skill: The Songs of the Jam,'' and opening on a

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

tour.

Oasis

Archer heard a report on ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...

'' that Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs had left Oasis after a massive row with

. He claims, "I thought, Shit! They'll split now. I was a real fan, and I'm not just saying that. For me, Oasis had breathed life back into rock 'n' roll." He was unaware that Noel Gallagher – who knew Archer from both their days on the Creation Records label – had rung his home in London and invited him to

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...

, where Oasis were mixing ''

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants ''Standing on the Shoulder of Giants'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band Oasis, released on 28 February 2000. It was the band's first album under their new record label Big Brother Recordings. In the year preceding the album's re ...

''. "We went to the pub and I couldn't stand not knowing if I was a part of the band. After less than half a pint of

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

I said, 'What does

Liam Liam is a short form of the Germanic name William, or its Irish variant Uilliam. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these ...

say?' And Noel said, 'It's my f*cking band. I'll have who I want.'" Archer claims the rest of Heavy Stereo were pleased for him to join Oasis. Since Archer did not perform on the ''Giants'' album, he received no royalties and, for the first few performances, was paid a standard session wage, about £85 a gig, as the new Oasis rhythm guitarist. His first official duty was to appear on the " Go Let It Out" video – on which he played lead guitar, as Andy Bell had yet to take over bass, so Noel played bass with Liam on acoustic guitar and vocals. Archer played his first rhythm guitar set at a session for alternative radio in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Though Archer was officially referred to as Oasis' rhythm guitarist, his role in Oasis was much more than that. In live settings, he and Noel often switched between lead and rhythm guitar and both Noel and Liam Gallagher have praised Archer for his contributions in the studio. Archer also had a role as a songwriter. His first songwriting contribution after joining Oasis was "Hung in a Bad Place", which appeared on Oasis' fifth album '' Heathen Chemistry''. This song was picked up for use in a commercial for

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing and beauty products, beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by a Stanford graduate student and his wife, Roy Raymond, Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner i ...

in the US. His role was expanded on Oasis' sixth studio album, ''

Don't Believe the Truth ''Don't Believe the Truth'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Oasis. It was released on 30 May 2005 by Big Brother Recordings. It reached number one in the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of 237,865, and is the 32nd fastest s ...

'', which features Archer's "A Bell Will Ring" and "Love Like a Bomb", the latter of which he co-wrote with singer Liam Gallagher. He also contributed the B-sides "Eyeball Tickler" and "The Quiet Ones" – an acoustic song. He also wrote "To Be Where There's Life" on the 2008 album ''

Dig Out Your Soul ''Dig Out Your Soul'' is the seventh and final studio album by English Rock music, rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. It was released on 6 October 2008 by Big Brother Recordings. The album was recorded between August and December 2007 at Abbey Road S ...

''. Archer has said that he found it quite daunting to submit songs for consideration to the band because of Noel Gallagher's stature as a songwriter, whom he cites as one of his favourite songwriters. Archer, in rare occasions, contributed backing vocals to Oasis songs, such as on "The Meaning of Soul", "Force of Nature", and on the band's cover of

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

's "

My Generation "My Generation" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. One of the band's most recognizable songs, it was placed number 11 by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the " 500 Greatest S ...

", played piano on "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and harmonica on "Mucky Fingers". It has been announced that Archer will take part in the set of Oasis Live '25 shows set to take place from the 4th July to the 23 November 2025.

Beady Eye

Noel Gallagher quit Oasis in August 2009, following an argument with his brother in Paris. Gallagher placed part of the blame for his decision to leave on Archer, and Andy Bell, for a lack of support saying "the lack of support and understanding from my... band mates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new." Soon afterwards the band announced they had split. However, Archer, Bell, Liam Gallagher and Oasis live drummer Chris Sharrock resolved to work together on a new project under a new name, Beady Eye. While Noel Gallagher maintains a friendship with Archer, as well as Oasis drummer Chris Sharrock, he claims that he has not spoken with his brother Liam or former Oasis bassist Andy Bell. Archer contributed guitar, bass and backing vocals to Beady Eye's debut album '' Different Gear, Still Speeding'', released on 28 February 2011. Archer also contributed guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals on Beady Eye's second album '' BE'', released on 10 June 2013. On 25 October 2014, Liam Gallagher announced, via Twitter, that Beady Eye had disbanded.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

In December 2015, Archer appeared with Noel Gallagher at an acoustic gig in Lincoln on 6 December 2015, followed by an appearance for BBC Radio 2 the following night. In October 2016, Gem joined

for their performance of "Half the World Away" dedicated to Caroline Aherne for Channel 4's Stand Up to Cancer telethon; leading to speculation he had become a permanent member of the band. In July 2017, it was confirmed that Gem had become a permanent member of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Other work

Outside of Oasis, Archer has collaborated with a few other artists, most notably

. He has contributed acoustic guitar to the song 'One x One' on Weller's 2002 album '' Illumination'' and guitars and

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

to the song 'Echoes Round The Sun on Weller's 2008 album '' 22 Dreams''. He participated in an acoustic tour of the US with Weller when Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene was unavailable, and provided guitar and backing vocals at the 2010 NME Awards when Weller performed a live set having received the 'Godlike Genius Award'. He also contributed guitar to David Holmes' 1997 album '' Let's Get Killed''. He also assisted Noel Gallagher in producing the first Proud Mary album, a band signed to Gallagher's Sour Mash record label. According to album notes, Gem also worked with his good friend and previous Oasis and Beady Eye colleague Andy Bell on his debut solo album (not under the “Glok” alias) called “The View from Halfway Down”, contributing some drums, bass and guitar tracks, and also providing some of the recording work.

Personal life

On 1 August 2013, Archer was admitted to hospital with serious head trauma and a fractured skull after a freak accident at home, by falling down a flight of stairs. After several scans, to ensure that there was no long-term effects, Beady Eye's V-Festival act was cancelled, so that he could be kept under observation. He was later said to be in a stable condition. On 26 November 2022, Archer married Christine Mary Biller in London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Gem 1966 births Living people English male singer-songwriters English rock guitarists Oasis (band) members Beady Eye members Britpop musicians British rhythm guitarists Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds members