Oasis have announced they are launching a project called Rock N’ Roll Stars, which will sell prints of the band with funds going to help “put music back into UK schools.”
It’s in collaboration with the ‘cultural platform’ CIRCA. The idea is to sell prints of handwritten lyrics for the Oasis classics Don’t Look Back In Anger, Stand By Me, Champagne Supernova, Wonderwall and Rock N’ Roll Star, together with a screen print or Noel and Liam walking out hand in hand at one of their recent Wembley gigs.
There is a time limit on them though – you have exactly 60 days to purchase them, until November 25 this year.
And yes, all of Oasis’ royalties from the prints (or 50% of the total proceeds) will be used to purchase and distribute musical instruments and provide educational support in UK state schools. It’s a rare act of altruism from a band not generally known for being bleeding hearts.
CIRCA have issued a press statement that explains the project. “Music in schools is in crisis. Since 2020, the number of music teachers entering training has dropped by 76 percent. A-level entries are down more than 13 percent since 2017, and almost half of schools no longer offer GCSE Music. For working-class kids, the chance to make noise is being stripped away.”
Schools who want to take part in the project have until November 25 to apply online on the CIRCA website. Those selected will receive instrument packs tailored especially to different age groups, which include percussion kits (say tambourines and glockenspiels) for younger kids to guitars, keyboards and drum kits for secondary school pupils.
As well as the instruments, the project is providing online resources and backing tracks (including some Oasis classics) which will be available for free online, so that “even schools with little or no existing music provision can bring entire classrooms together to play...ensuring that the project inspires future rock ‘n’ roll stars worldwide.”
The lyric prints are going for £175 plus VAT, though the image of Noel and Liam at Wembley is a bit more expensive, at £500 plus VAT. It is going to a good cause, though…
Schools that are interested in getting involved in the project should head over to the CIRCA website at https://circa.art/oasis
