Gem Archer

Colin Murray "Gem" Archer (born 7 December 1966) is an English musician, best known as a member of the English rock bands Oasis and Beady Eye. He is also known for his work with Heavy Stereo. He joined Oasis as rhythm guitarist in November 1999, and handled lead guitarist for acoustics as well. He also contributed towards the writing of some of the band's songs. Oasis broke up in August 2009, but in November 2009, Liam Gallagher announced he was writing new material with Gem as well as other ex-Oasis members minus 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 officially disbanded in October 2014.

The Edge and The Contenders

Archer began his musical career in a group called The Edge in the early 1980s. They released two singles, "Take A Walk" and "Little Girl Blue".

Started at Willington Parkside School in County Durham, The Edge existed in varying incarnations of Jeff "Jay" Walker, Gem's high-spirited, best friend also on guitar, with a local doctor's son Michael Chesters on drums.

Paul Weller

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John William "Paul" Weller, Jr. (born 25 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock band The Jam (1976–82). He had further success pursuing a blue-eyed soul style of music with The Style Council (1983–89), before establishing himself as a solo artist in 1991.

Despite widespread critical recognition as a singer, lyricist and guitarist, Weller has remained a national rather than an international star, and much of his songwriting is rooted in British culture. He is also the principal figure of the 1970s and 1980s mod revival, and is often referred to as The Modfather.

The Daily Telegraph has said of Weller: "Apart from David Bowie, it’s hard to think of any British solo artist who’s had as varied, long-lasting and determinedly forward-looking a career." The BBC described Weller in 2007 as "one of the most revered music writers and performers of the past 30 years". He has received four Brit Awards—winning the award for Best British Male twice, and the 2006 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

Heavy Stereo

Heavy Stereo were an English alternative rock band, who were active in the 1993 to 1999. There were known for having had a 1970s glam rock styled sound, and for their album, Déjà Voodoo. They are also known for opening for Oasis, which Heavy Stereo’s frontman Gem Archer later joined.

Career

Heavy Stereo was fronted by lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and producer Gem Archer, later of Oasis. They were heavily influenced by 1970s glam rock, including Gary Glitter, The New York Dolls, and Sweet. They released their debut album, Deja Voodoo, in 1996. The band split up after Archer joined Oasis as a rhythm guitarist and keyboardist, replacing Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs for their Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Tour, and on all albums and tours afterwards until their breakup in 2009. Archer then began work on a new project with other members of Oasis, called Beady Eye. Jones is now playing in The Jim Jones Revue.

Band members

Noel Gallagher

Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He served as the lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the rock band Oasis. Raised in Burnage, Manchester, Gallagher began learning guitar at the age of thirteen. After a series of odd jobs in construction, he worked for local Manchester band Inspiral Carpets as a roadie and technician in 1988. Whilst touring with them, he learned that his brother Liam Gallagher had formed a band of his own, known as the Rain, which eventually took on the name Oasis. After Gallagher returned to England, he was invited by his brother to join Oasis as songwriter and guitarist.

Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), marked the beginning of the band's rise to fame as part of the Britpop movement. Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), reached the top of the album charts in many countries and their third studio album, Be Here Now (1997), became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. Britpop eventually declined in popularity and Oasis' next two albums failed to revive it. However, the band's final two albums, Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and Dig Out Your Soul (2008), were hailed as its best efforts in over a decade and found renewed success. On 28 August 2009, following an altercation with Liam prior to a gig in Paris, Noel Gallagher announced his departure from Oasis and on 23 October 2009, he confirmed he would embark on a solo career. Gallagher would go on to form Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Archery

Archery is the sport, practice or skill of using a bow to propel arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity. A person who participates in archery is typically called an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite.

History

The bow seems to have been invented in the later Paleolithic or early Mesolithic periods. The oldest signs of its use in Europe come from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and dates from the late Paleolithic, about 10,000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft and a 15–20 centimetres (5.9–7.9 inches) long fore shaft with a flint point. There are no definite earlier bows; previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by spear-throwers rather than bows. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark. Bows eventually replaced the spear-thrower as the predominant means for launching shafted projectiles, on every continent except Australasia, though spear-throwers persisted alongside the bow in parts of the Americas, notably Mexico and among the Inuit.