Oasis - the bad and the good

Sad days for the Vicster after finding out I hadn't secured tickets to the gig of the century - Oasis at The Eden Project. Tears all round on that one I'm afraid. Was hoping I'd pull it out of the bag in the same style as my wee sister did with her Metallica tickets but no such joy.

Then I find out that the lovely Oasis have teamed up with the Arts Council and NME to encourage aspiring young musicians to pick up instruments. Cue smiles all round!

Instead of the all the usual marketing tricks - giving away downloads to promote an upcoming album a la Coldplay giving away a whole album to increase ticket sales a la Prince, Oasis will give away a DVD and book featuring the sheet music and lyrics to three new songs with music weekly NME. The idea is aimed at promoting the Arts Council's Take It Away scheme, which provides interest free loans for musical instruments.

Readers will be asked to reinterpret Bag It Up, The Turning and (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady from the group's seventh studio album, Dig Out Your Soul, which is released next month, without having heard them first. Guitarist Noel Gallagher, who has argued that giving music away for nothing devalues it, said: "The gift of music is very special ... and anything that can bring music into a kid's life is an incredible thing."

Aspiring young musicians will be asked to submit their own versions to a special website, with the winning entry able to travel to an Oasis gig anywhere in the world. In just over a year the Arts Council scheme has delivered £6m worth of loans to more than 10,000 people. Mary-Alice Stack, manager of Take It Away, said it was "a way of inspiring individuals to develop their musical talents and interests".

Emma Greengrass, of Oasis's label imprint Big Brother Recordings, said that as soon as the band's new single, The Shock of the Lightning, was premiered on the radio fans began uploading their own renditions of the song on YouTube.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with. I hope that there are some quieter versions and some interesting variations," she said. The DVD will be given away free with next week's issue of the NME, which has expanded to become a multimedia brand with its own radio station and TV channel.

Here, here Emma, so am I...bring on the Oasis revolution:)