Oasis reunion: Meeting Mr Sifter

National World - LocalTV

In an Oasis treasure hunt, casual fans could be forgiven for being confused as to why a record shop in Didsbury is such an important landmark.  The answer is found in the song Shakermaker: “Mister Sifter sold me songs, When I was just sixteen.”  So let’s meet Peter Howard - Mister Sifter himself.

Transcript

00:00My name's Peter Howard. I was owner of Sifter's Records, which I was lucky enough to be mentioned in Shaker Maker,

00:09off a Definitely Maybe album, and it doesn't happen to many people, you know, getting referenced into a rock song.

00:17Hi, I'm Theo with Manchester World, and today I'm out front of Sifter's.

00:20Now, of all the places in Manchester that's associated with Oasis, and Liam and Noel Gallagher in particular,

00:25this is one of the most infamous. It's probably got the biggest cult following,

00:29because this ordinary-seeming record shop is actually where they used to buy their own records at the age of 16.

00:35And the owner, Peter, who we're going to talk to in a minute, was actually referenced in a song,

00:38and was called Mr. Sifter, obviously after the name of the shop.

00:42In just a minute, we're going to go in and we're going to talk to Peter, yes, about Oasis,

00:45but more importantly, about his store and about his legacy, and essentially,

00:50what it means to him to have been able to keep this shop going for so long, with such great success.

00:56They rang me up, you know, and they asked if they could do it, basically.

01:01You know, like I was going to say no.

01:03Not many people have got, sort of, verses in rock songs, have they?

01:07But they had to find a new verse, you know, so Noel was driving past here, apparently,

01:12and I got lucky, didn't I? Very lucky.

01:16Sort of thing happens to other people, innit?

01:18I just, I like good songs, and good tunes, really.

01:21I always had a few of them, you know, so they were fine.

01:24You know, I do like some of the stuff, you know.

01:27I knew they were popular, but I had no idea they were this popular.

01:30So, I mean, that was sort of a shot in the arm for me.

01:33I've been going since 1977, and I'm just making a living, really,

01:36and then there was renewed interest.

01:38And now, of course, it's another shot in the arm, you know, for the music industry,

01:42when they've got not just Oasis fans, but it's, you know,

01:45and it's coincided with the increasing interest in vinyl.

01:48They've always come from around the world, Japan and South Korea and places like that.

01:53They're very big there, but honestly, so many people have come in, you know,

01:58and I can't get the stock, so it's proved to be a bit embarrassing.

02:02I'm a second-hand shop, you see.

02:04I'll be remembered for Oasis, probably, the most, you know.

02:08I would think that that would be the main memory, you know,

02:13because I built up a following, you know, long before Oasis came in,

02:17and, you know, I've got to, and if you can stick here this long,

02:20I mean, people are going to carry on coming.

02:22I mean, people remember where they bought the first record.

02:25Noel did an interview in here in the middle of June, you know.

02:28It was a long interview, and he must have known then, you know,

02:33that they were getting back together again, you know, but he never let on.

02:36I was sort of sworn to secrecy about this, and we were, why?

02:40You know, people were looking through the window, saying,

02:42what's Noel doing in your shop?

02:44I said, I'm not telling you.

02:46No, I wouldn't go, no, not that keen.

02:49As the sort of first week progressed, I mean, I wouldn't dare ask anybody.

02:53I mean, they'd just laugh you out of the place, you know,

02:55because they're a cool band, really,

02:57and they sort of appeal to all generations, you know.

Category

Transcript

Recommended