Oasis fans gather outside record shop immortalised in Shakermaker

Oasis fans marked the band's reunion today by descending on a record shop immortalised in their hit, Shakermaker.

Sifters Records in Didsbury, Manchester, was where the Gallagher brothers first started buying music as youngsters.

It is referenced in the Definitely Maybe track in the line written by Noel which goes: 'Mr Sifter sold me songs when I was just 16, now he stops at traffic lights but only when they're green.'

Superfans pitched up this morning to take in the small piece of music history as the famous brothers unveiled a mammoth run of stadium tour dates next year after a 15 year hiatus, including four dates each in Manchester and London.

Sports writer Razz Ashraf, 29, drove down to the store before work and said the reunion was a 'monumental moment'.

Speaking outside the store, he said: 'I've just been blasting [Oasis songs] Shakermaker and Columbia, I am buzzing.

'I set my alarm for 7.30 this morning, I woke up and I felt pure excitement and ecstasy. It's an amazing feeling. They've reunited after 15 years.

'I've come down to Sifters, that's where it all started, that's the record shop where they bought their records before they formed the band.

'The owner was the one who educated them on music and there's a big mural on the side. I wanted to feel the energy of where it all started.

'I've been to the shop a few times but never seen this mural actually, it's stunning.'

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The line about Sifters was supposedly born out of a frustrating taxi ride between the Gallagher brothers, as Liam begged Noel to hurry up and finish writing the song.

The cab stopped outside the shop on Fog Lane, named after how one 'sifts' through records and run by Peter Howard from 1977, so Noel penned the lyric.

Sifters Records became so famous that owner Mr Howard told Manchester Evening News that he has been asked to sign autographs as 'Mr Sifter'. 

The Gallaghers - who shared a famously volatile relationship - broke up Oasis for good in 2009 after a row backstage on tour.

A public war of words broke out over the ensuing years and the pair were believed to have never been in the same room since.

But talks are believed to have began in recent months and they secretly came together for a photoshoot to promote the gigs.

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Razz added: 'It's not just the band to getting back together, it's beautiful that two brothers have reunited. Just to see them let bygones be bygones is amazing.

'I never got the chance to see them live first time round, I was too young.

'Parents and teachers would tell us about them as kids, but we never really took it in, we were too young.

'It's only as you get older, you do your research and you realise what they meant to Manchester, they put the city on the map musically on a global scale.

'For many Mancunians, they're the blueprint of what a Manc is. The swagger, the way they dress, the way they talk. It's a monumental moment, I'm so happy.

'They need to pack their bags and leave Hampstead Heath or wherever they live and come back home to Manchester.'

The band will hit the road next year with gigs which will take in Cardiff, Dublin, Manchester and London.

Razz said he was hoping to get his hands on tickets, adding: 'I want to go to all of them that I can. I'm definitely getting a ticket.'