Paul Francis McGuigan (born 9 May 1971), known as Guigsy ( ), is an English retired musician. He is best known as the original bassist and co-founder of the rock band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs Paul Benjamin Arthurs (born 23 June 1965), better known as Bonehead, is an English musician. He is best known as the co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Oasis, playing with the band from its inception in 1991 until his departure in ...

on guitar, Chris Hutton on lead vocals, and

Tony McCarroll Anthony McCarroll (born 4 June 1971) is an English drummer and one of the founding members of the English rock band Oasis, as their drummer from 1991 until his dismissal in April 1995. He played the drums on their debut studio album, ''Definit ...

on drums. After Hutton was fired, McGuigan invited his school friend

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 ...

to join on vocals. Liam's brother

Noel Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community *Noel Park, a suburb in Greater London, Engla ...

then joined the band as a guitarist and the primary songwriter, at which point they changed their name to Oasis. Though a functional bassist onstage, McGuigan's bass parts were occasionally played by Noel on the band's first two albums. Despite a rumour that McGuigan did not play bass on ''

Definitely Maybe ''Definitely Maybe'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released on 29 August 1994 by Creation Records. The album features Noel Gallagher on lead guitar, backing vocals and as chief songwriter, Liam Gallagher on lead vo ...

'' and that his and Bonehead's parts were replaced by Noel on the first two albums, this has been denied by the band's producer

Owen Morris Owen Morris (born in Caernarfon, Wales) is a Welsh record producer who has worked with rock bands including Oasis, the Fratellis, Ash, the View, Loso and the Verve. Biography Morris started working in the music industry as a sound engineer at ...

. Like the other band members, McGuigan has said he smoked a lot of

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

during touring. McGuigan left Oasis in 1999 and was replaced by then-former

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a comedy film by Millicen ...

frontman and guitarist Andy Bell as bassist. Noel claims that McGuigan quit via fax and avoided phone calls from the band in the following weeks. Though he eventually gave up trying to contact McGuigan, Noel said he does not hold any grudges. McGuigan occasionally performs as a DJ. He declined to appear in the 2004 ''Definitely Maybe'' DVD documentary, although a polite letter explaining his reasons for doing so appears as a hidden extra and there is also a short segment featuring pundits giving their views on him. He also declined to be interviewed for the 2016 '' Oasis: Supersonic'' documentary, though archive recordings of him was used instead. McGuigan said of his playing style in 1995, "When I first started I just played up and down the top string of the bass. Come to think of it, that's what I still do now."

Personal life

An avid sports fan, McGuigan especially loves football and is a lifelong supporter of

Manchester City FC Manchester City Football Club is a professional football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Assoc ...

. In 1996, he told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' "watching football is my main hobby. Watching football, watching videos about football, reading about football, and talking about football. That's pretty much all I care about". In the 2016 documentary '' Oasis: Supersonic'',

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 ...

quipped that being in Oasis was a "lowly fifth" on the list of McGuigan's favourite things after "

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'',

, and Man City". McGuigan is renowned for his encyclopaedic knowledge of football and cricket. During a

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

interview in 1995, he named ''

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...

'' as his favourite magazine. Whilst still with Oasis, he co-wrote a book with journalist

Paolo Hewitt Paolo Hewitt is a music journalist and writer from Woking in Surrey. Biography Hewitt was placed in care at a very early age, and went to live with a foster family. Following years of abuse he was sent to Burbank children's home in Woking at t ...

about football player

Robin Friday Robin Friday (27 July 1952 – 22 December 1990) was an English association football, footballer who played professionally as a forward (association football), forward for Reading F.C., Reading and Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City during a ...

, entitled ''The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw''.

References

External links

Paul McGuigan interview from ''FourFourTwo'' football magazine (December 1997)Toazted Interview (part 2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuigan, Paul 1971 births Living people English rock bass guitarists British male bass guitarists Musicians from Manchester Oasis (band) members Britpop musicians British rock bass guitarists 20th-century English bass guitarists 21st-century English bass guitarists