Leaked Oasis album 'not finished version'

The leaked Oasis album which is now freely available to millions on the Internet is not the final version which will go on sale, the band’s management said today.

The bootlegged version, which appears to have been made with a hidden recording device, is ‘‘a poor substitute for the finished record’’, they said.

Bosses at Sony were dismayed yesterday when the eagerly awaited Heathen Chemistry appeared on the net.

The album is not due for release until July but fans will now be able to download the tracks for free from MP3 audio files.

A spokesman for the band’s management, Ignition, said in a statement:

‘‘The MP3s of Oasis tracks in circulation on the net appear to be illicit recordings (probably made with a hidden Walkman or similar device) of early mixes of the tracks for the band’s new album, which were made some time ago.

‘‘The recordings are of very poor quality and are not of the final album mixes. We hope anyone who has downloaded the tracks enjoys them but does not take them as any indication of the finished album which has come a long way since these recordings were made.’’

Some newspapers have printed album reviews today based on the bootleg recordings but the statement urged them to wait for the finished product, calling the leaked tracks ‘‘a very poor substitute for the finished record’’.