Don't look back in anger but The Oasis was never a concert venue
As the campaign to save the leisure centre heats up we shouldn't be sidetracked, as it was only ever a gym used because Swindon lacked a concert venue
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The Oasis Leisure Centre might be the inspiration behind the band name but it was only ever a gym
It was always to Swindon’s shame that we didn’t have a concert venue and had to make do with The Oasis Leisure Centre as the one space with the capacity for larger touring bands to play the town. We might have fond memories of some of the gigs there but there was never any doubt that you were in a gym rather than a concert venue, as it wasn’t really fit for that purpose with poor acoustics and hardly any crowd facilities. Jamie Hill reports…
My first ever concert was at The Oasis Leisure Centre.
It was Musical Youth in the early Eighties.
So, I would have been about eight or nine years old with a bowl haircut (thanks mum!) and National Health specs, with my older brother stood in a crowd listening to ‘Pass the Dutchie’ with no real understanding of what a ‘Dutchie’ was but safe in the knowledge that I was watching a band live that I had only seen before on Tiswas.
It was a pretty heady experience. And it’s safe to say that I do look back on The Oasis with rose-tinted (National Health) glasses for that reason.
But we have to be realistic here. It was only ever a gym that had been rejigged to be a 3,000 capacity venue. It wasn’t really a proper concert venue (something that little me had no idea about).
When I was older I caught several more acts there, from Razorlight to The Kooks to Kings of Leon.
But being older, and having been to different concert venues across the country in the meantime as my love of music grew and grew, I was always left disappointed by The Oasis as it really was lacking when it came to being a concert venue.
The sound was a bit crap and the toilet and bar facilities weren’t exactly what a crowd of that size needs.
And the fact that as you walk down the stairs to get to the venue you had to walk past the pool changing facilities did nothing to add to its mystique as a concert venue.
It was always to Swindon’s shame that there was no proper purpose-built facility in the town and we had to make do with a converted gym.
So you can understand why it sticks in my craw that the campaign group Save Oasis Swindon have been banging on no end about it being a world-renowned concert venue and that the sports hall needs to be saved for that reason. I see that as not reflecting reality.