Be Here Now

Oasis are re-releasing 1997's Be Here Now album, remastered, b-sides and unreleased demos from Noel Gallagher's Mustique Holiday.

I've written about Oasis a number of times and it is safe to say I fell head over heels in love with the band when they arrived on the scene in April 1994, 3-months after I turned 18. They had sky scraping anthems like Live Forever and Slide Away , they turned out b-sides like Acquiesce and The Masterplan; Some Might Say soared and Wonderwall wooed a nation.

I have to say that the Be Here Now era of Oasis was a disappointment for me. Don't get me started on Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants! I fell out of love and that heady rush of love I had with the band from 1994 all the way through to Knebworth in 1996 was never recaptured. It was only with Heathen Chemistry that I really got back into them, but it was never the same.

Why was Be Here Now a disappointment?

The simple answer for me was that I just didn't get the feeling from the songs that I got from those released before. I'd been spoiled with two cracking albums and loads of b-sides. I wanted more of the same. I didn't get it.

Looking back, the Mustique demos situation offers a clue. Noel wrote the first two albums and all the incredible b-sides while he was dreaming of escape, when he was falling in and out of love. Now he was on holiday with the Stones, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp. Not quite the same vibe regardless of how much cocaine he could get up his nose.

If you were Meg Mathews then you'd be thrilled to have Wonderwall written about you, but I bet she doesn't mention The Girl In The Dirty Shirt when she is reminiscing about the heady days of Britpop.

Reflecting more, Oasis went from wanting to be the best to being the biggest band. It was all 'size matters' when we all know it's what you do with it that counts.....isn't it :-)

Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger sent Oasis stratospheric. Knebworth was insane. It was brilliant, what a ride.

From that point on there was a period of time when you couldn't criticise Oasis. You were shot down in flames if you did. I remember when D'You Know What I Mean came out and I was at a party where it was being played on repeat. I asked for Stay Young (one of the b-sides) to be played and said that it should have been the single as it was a total summer anthem. It was like I had walked into the party from the moon!

Stay Young - live in Manchester

The NME and music publications knew Oasis features and interviews would massively boost sales, so they couldn't criticise. They needed Noel and Liam.

Some people had walked into the Oasis party a little late, they wanted Be Here Now to be as good as the songs and albums it was following. It wasn't anywhere close to it, but they didn't care, they believed the hype, or wanted to believe it. Or, many truly did fall for it; people who had been too young or too out of tune to miss the glory years from Supersonic through to Knebworth wanted a slice of the action, they wanted to be part of the band for a generation....and Oasis were.

In that sense, and I know from speaking to fellow Oasis fans, Be Here Now is an incredibly important album. It would have been the first album that many teenagers bought, the first band they fell in love with and the first shows they went to; in the same way Definitely Maybe had been so important to me - right band, right time.

The hype around the 'comeback' single and the album was outrageous. Radio 1 played the single back to back, occasionally 3 times in a row! The country went daft, everyone was out to buy the album. No-one said a bad word about it.

There was a BBC documentary Right Here, Right Now that showcased the Gallagher's attitude, belief and humour alongside songs from the album; ranging from a studio romp through It's Getting' Better Man, to a poolside Don't Go Away.

The hype worked; 424,000 copies were sold on the first day! 

By 1999 it was the album that was most sold to second hand shops in the UK.

I have rarely listened to the album as a complete work of art. Selective songs - yes, but I have had absolutely no desire to listen to Magic Pie over the last 19-years!

Ahead of a deluxe boxset re-release, I thought I would listen to Be Here Now again, 19-years down the line.

BE HERE NOW - THE REAPPRAISAL

D'You Know What I Mean was a strong comeback single. I just preferred (and still do) the b-side summer sing-along of positivity Stay Young. However I totally understand why they went with the 7-minute and 42 second epic instead.

They looked great; on the sleeve, promo shots and the crazy promo video that must have costs hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Noel's guitars sounded great, Liam (of course) sounded amazing, there were backwards vocals, psychedelic sounds, it was like the band were moving forwards in terms of trying some new sounds. D'You Know What I Mean? was a line/question that Noel often used during his 100 mph interviews.

The first of many Beatles song titles/references comes early and features 2 in one line!

The fool on the hill and I feel fine

In the heady days of July 1997, this was all over the radio and all over the country. Oasis were continuing to soundtrack the nation but the chorus was lazy and uninspiring, completely at opposites from the verses and bridge that hinted that the band might just be moving forwards.

Liam Gallagher, D'You Know What I Mean video shoot

My Big Mouth was one of two Be Here Now songs to be played at Knebworth. It's got a ferocious feel to it, the multi(multi) tracked guitars are played with pace and aggression and Liam matches that with a fantastic vocal delivery.

I enjoyed listening back to this initially, but delving into it, it feels like Noel was getting somewhere with some lyrics and then he filled in the blanks with whatever came to mind. Could have been better if some more time was spent on it...and not in terms of song length!

Beatles reference - The Long And Winding Road in the 1st verse.

Magic Pie.....must I listen to it again? OK here goes.......

It is a struggle to get through this song. It takes an age to get to the chorus and then Noel sings about having a magic pie. Somehow this song is dragged out to 7 minutes and 19 seconds. I would be lying if I said I made it to the end. Congratulations if you can. Where was the quality control? Did anyone dare criticise Noel in 1997? Why this was on the album ahead of b-sides Stay Young or the Noel sung Going Nowhere remains a mystery to me.

Stand By Me is like music to your ears after the torture of Magic Pie. There is a brilliant positive flowing upsurge for the bridge to the chorus;

The cold and wind and rain don't know

They only seem to come and go away

Stand by me, nobody knows the way it's gonna be

Stand By Me catches your attention, Liam's voice is great, still only 25 at the time of release, Liam was the coolest front man around with a sensational voice. The melody is strong, one of the best moments on the album, if not an Oasis classic. Like all of Be Here Now, the song is stretched out a little long though.

Liam live circa 1997

Stand By Me live at Wembley 2000

I remember liking I Hope, I Think, I Know when it came out.  Great song title, powerful, pacey and Liam sounding in good voice, spitting out the bridge to the chorus. It flows well and teases by almost going into the chorus of Wonderwall.

The aforementioned The Girl In The Dirty Shirt is a plodder. No wonder Noel and Meg split up if this was the best he could come up with for her after Wonderwall!

Fade In-Out sounded great in 1997 and it sounds great in 2016. I haven't listened to Be Here Now for a long, long time. Probably not in this century! There is a menacing feel to the intro and guitars and Liam's voice strains with the energy and soul he is pouring into it. There is a great bit when Liam and Noel's voices join together to sing;

Today is just a daydream

Tomorrow we'll be cast away

This time the length of the song has a purpose with Liam screaming Cold Turkey Lennon style before  everything goes mental, leading us back into the chorus.

Don't Go Away is a song that I have listened to this side of 2000! Liam's yearning vocal and the fact he hits the bridge and chorus so quickly give the song much more feeling to it. It sounds like Noel has actually given it some tender, loving, care.

The bridge flows into the chorus and it's uplifting and soulful. It's hug your mate, punch the sky and sing your heart out like the best Oasis songs.

In the time of my life

'cause I need more time

Yes I need more time

Just to make things right

So don't go away

Noel also comes up with a beautiful and tender acoustic outro. It's one of only 2-songs (not counting the All Around The World reprise) under 5-minutes long.

The title track is..... well the lyrics don't really mean anything but at least they are fun and the song has a bit of a groove to it. But it is lazy, Liam turns it into Columbia off of Definitely Maybe at the end . If you were choosing an epic Oasis comeback setlist then this would be nowhere near it. And to be honest I don't much (if anything) of Be Here Now would be.

Beatles reference - Let It Be

And then we arrive at the 9-minute and 20 second All Around The World. In early interviews Noel talked of this song and said he was saving it for his third album and that he wanted to enter it in Eurovision. I remember reading a review where it was described as something like Hey Jude made by kids from a council estate in Burgage. The recent Supersonic documentary had incredible footage of a pre-signed Oasis rehearsing this song in Manchester.

I like it. It has that sense of dreaming and escapism that Noel's best songs tend to have.

Take me away

Cause I just don't want to stay

These are crazy days but they make me sssshhhiiiiiinnnneeee

Pretty simple, pretty effective. And then it goes on......and on.......and on.....and on.

Guitars are layered upon guitars, there is a hell of a lot of na na na na na's and then the chorus is rammed down your throat enough times to make you vomit. Seriously, there is another 5-minutes of it. It gets pretty sickly. There is no valid reason for this song to be over 9-minutes long. Blame cocaine.

I made it to 7 minutes 48 seconds and then skipped forwards.

It's Getting' Better Man was my personal favourite from the album back in 1997. Loud and squalling guitars, a flowing bridge and chorus and a sense of Pistols punk energy. They played it at Knebworth and I had it on bootleg before it appeared on Be Here Now.

Maybe the songs that we sing are wrong

Maybe the dreams that we dream are gone

It's stretched out but at least the band sound like they are enjoying it, rather than some of the other tracks that sound like they are being dragged out. The production doesn't help, this is a song that should have soared like those on Definitely Maybe.

Oh FFS I forgot about the All Around The World reprise!!! And do you know what, in 2016 this is one of my favourite songs on the album. Horns, strings, great beats, crashing symbols.....I enjoyed listening to it.

Be Here Now hasn't aged well for me. In fact it dated incredibly quickly.

In 1997 Radiohead brought out the incredible OK Computer, The Verve had Urban Hymns, Primal Scream gave us the glorious melting pot Vanishing Point, Spiritualized released the sensational Ladies And Gentleman We Are Floating In Space and earlier in the year Blur had released a brilliantly eclectic eponymous album. Oasis sounded bloated and uninspired in comparison to their competitors, but also against the skyscraping anthems they produced with ease between 1994-1996.

Noel had set the bar high, he has talked of being Champions League winners from 1994-1996 and then struggling to get top 4 in 1997. Not a bad assessment. Continuing that theme; Standing On The Shoulder... was relegation form!

The Masterplan, a b-sides album (featuring only 2 from the Be Here Now era) was released in 1998, the year after Be Here Now and it is head and shoulders above. That golden period from 1994-1996 for Oasis produced so many good songs.

Oasis then had the cheek to release something even worse than Be Here Now - Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants featuring the likes of Little James and the god awful I Can See A Liar, I'm not looking forward to listening to that again for the 20th anniversary! In fact, I won't!

I think the band only recaptured some of their magic in 2002 with the release of Heathen Chemistry when Andy Bell and Gem Archer had joined the band and been involved in writing and recording. But they could never recapture the magic of 1994-1996.

I'll always have time for Noel and Liam as they meant so much to me during an important time of my life. They soundtracked nights out, I made lifelong friends through a shared love of the band....but Be Here Now kind of felt like the band were cheating on me - they were better than that.

Listening back has been interesting. There are some good songs, but for me Be Here Now doesn't light a spark and for me that is what Noel and Liam are all about - making your spine tingle, causing you to punch the air and sing from the bottom of your heart. Too many of the songs are 'alright', almost all are too long and I just don't hear any soul in the vast majority of the album.

Wonderwall

Cover version of the month #17

Ryan Adams covers Wonderwall

I think Ryan Adams is the only person to have ever got that song right
Noel Gallagher

Wonderwall was the song that truly sent Oasis stratospheric. There had already been lots of talk of The Beatles and comparisons through songs like Live Forever and Slide Away, but much of the earlier Oasis material tipped more of a nod to the ferocity of The Pistols with a dab of T-Rex, rather than the Fab Four.

Wonderwall changed everything. Oasis had released a number of acoustic b-sides, but this was the first acoustic single. In the Autumn of 1995 it felt like the whole world was singing it. Somehow it was kept off the number 1 slot by Robson and Jerome!

Oasis crossed over with Wonderwall. They had already won hearts and fans across the world, but all of a sudden they had a song that kids and their Gran's could sing. Noel Gallagher once said he wanted to hear his songs being whistled by the milkman. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker were all whistling them, humming them, singing them.....everyone was.

The original Oasis version of Wonderwall

Many songwriters (and bands) tire of playing their most famous hits at times. Liam sang it, then Noel took over, then the crowd practically sang it for the band or for Noel as a solo artist. Liam's voice sounded soulful, Noel's made it more tender, stadiums singing in unison made it an anthem.

Noel tired of Wonderwall, but hearing it being covered by Ryan Adams changed things......and it changed how Noel would go on to perform the song.

I went to see Ryan Adams in Manchester...so he's playing away and he just does Wonderwall right in the middle of the set. The f**king place went silent. It was so beautiful. I was just like 'F**king Jesus Christ what a f**king song!' Afterwards I told him, 'You can have that song, man, because we could never quite get it right.       Noel Gallagher

Post hearing Ryan Adams

And here is a wonderful heart wrenching version by Ryan, silencing a huge Glastonbury crowd. Pretty astonishing! To have the balls and talent to perform like this to such a huge crowd is incredible. Adams slows things down, Wonderwall suddenly sounds like a song written many moons ago by a seasoned country singer with a broken heart. His delivery is beautiful, enhancing the soul the song always had and also increasing its beauty.

I know who I'm singing it to....unfortunately I don't think she does.
Ryan Adams

Ryan is a serial coverer of songs....and albums. He's covered Is This It? by The Strokes and 1989 by Taylor Swift in full. What else? Pretty much anything by anyone - from Elvis to his near namesake Bryan Adams!

So expect to see Ryan Adams featured again on a future cover of the month blog.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16. California Soul

Oasis at Knebworth

It is 20-years since I travelled from Glasgow down to Knebworth to see Oasis with one of my best friends, Elliott. We bonded over Oasis in 1994 and went on a rollercoaster ride with them.

Knebworth came a little over 2-years since I first saw the band supporting The Boo Radleys at the Tramway in Glasgow. In that time, Oasis had won over a nation with songs, soul, humour and a work ethic that put others to shame. They embraced it; the gigs, the parties, the lifestyle. From the Tramway in April 1994 to Knebworth in August 1996, it was quite a ride.

Oasis came along at just the right time for me - I turned 18 in the January of 1994 and during that year I was fortunate to catch them live on 5 occasions; at the Tramway, the Cathouse, in a tent at T in the Park which remains one of my all-time favourite gigs and twice at Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom......Twice as Liam walked off stage during the first gig after losing his voice. Noel played on and urged us all to keep our ticket stubs and they would be back. They were as good as his word.

Fast forward to 1996. Oasis announced that they were going to be playing huge shows at Loch Lomond in Scotland and Knebworth in England. Here are my memories...and some pictures dug out from an old album that was gathering dust in my loft.

Me, age 20, Sunday 11th August 1996, Knebworth.

Getting tickets

I remember tickets going on sale on Cup Final day. A crowd of us went down to my friend Scott's to drink beer and watch United v Liverpool. I was trying non-stop to get through to the ticket phone lines - either for Loch Lomond or Knebworth.

Being a United supporter, I celebrated a double that day. Cantona scored just minutes before I got through to the Knebworth line and I booked 2 tickets for the Sunday (Saturday was sold out), also booking return bus travel from Glasgow.

The whole nation had been trying to get tickets, they could have put on 10 nights at Knebworth. There were only 2 and my mate Elliott and I were going.

Oasis Knebworth press call  - could have brushed up a bit!

Travel

We travelled overnight by a bus which left from George Square. I think it left at 2am. Back in 1996 I was working in an office on Woodside Place up by Charing Cross. I had access to the office, so after a few drinks in town, Elliott and I went there for a couple of hours to hang out before getting the bus! I seem to remember us being ridiculously drunk. If my boss had known.....

Arrival

We arrived down early mid-morning and there was time to hang out before gates opened. There were bootleg t-shirts galore and touts selling tickets for a fiver! Knebworth was the middle of nowhere so there wasn't exactly a queue of people looking to buy tickets on the day.

My Knebworth ticket is at the centre of my ticket collage

The size

On entering the site, the first thing that struck us was the size. Looking back I wish we had run straight down to the front to get into Pit 1 (more on that later). But for the time being we did what most 20-year old Scot's would do....we headed for the bar.

Try getting out for a beer in that crowd!

The beer queue

Knebworth was hopelessly ill-prepared for 125,000 people. There were only a handful of bars and a couple of rows of food stalls/vans. And if you were stuck in the middle of the field then you had no real chance of getting out.

The queue for the bar snaked on for what seemed like miles. No real concern for 6ft 4, good looking and charming Elliott. He simply waltzed up to near the front and charmed a couple of girls to let him in and no-one else was going to argue.

Elliott came back with four beers each and we lay in the early afternoon sunshine and guzzled them down, promptly falling asleep in the sun to the mellow vibes of Dreadzone.

Elliott - got the beers in!

The supports

So yeah, I vaguely remember Dreadzone who had a great song called Little Britain. I don't remember Cast or Kula Shaker at all, I think we were content to just hang out and drink beer at that stage as we were so far back. Or maybe we slept for longer than I thought! We had travelled through the night and polished off a homemade Supersonic (gin n tonic) as a carryout. I have no recollection of those bands at all.

The Charlatans on the other hand, have been one of my favourite bands since 1991. They had very sadly lost hammond/keyboard player Rob Collins only 2-weeks prior to Knebworth in a car accident. Emotions were running high and the band issued a statement saying they would be playing Knebworth with Martin Duffy from Primal Scream standing in, ending it by saying We Are Rock!

A super charged Charlatans blitzed Knebworth. We moved to down the front of Pit 3 (the back section where the majority of the crowd were). There was a moat before Pit 2, full of security, no chance of jumping sections.

It felt like we were about a mile back from the stage, watching tiny Charlatans rocking out, but we had the big screens to help us. Come In Number 21 and Feelin' Holy sounded huge and Tim Burgess was singing his heart out. He later admitted that he didn't know if it would be their final show or not.

Great view for The Charlatans....

Pit One

After watching The Charlatans we were determined to get closer to the action. Everyone was sat down chilling and we started picking our way through the crowd to the side, eventually reaching the section where there were some burger vans.

We found the entrance to Pit 1 and brazenly tried to just waltz in, only to be rejected and ejected by a couple of burly security guards. We went for a burger and then Elliott tried plan B; spotting one of the security guards on a break he asked if there was any way he could get us into Pit 1 - closest to the main stage.

He said to meet him back at the burger van in 10-minutes. We waited, we were not going anywhere.

The security guard arrived back with a coffee cup in that coffee cup were loads of wristbands - our golden ticket to Pit 1. £20 each was the fee, we would both gladly have paid double.

Elliott handed over a couple of Scottish twenty pound notes to which the security guard memorably said; 'What kind of Mickey Mouse money is this?'

Elliott just as memorably said; 'It's Scottish mate, it's good shit.'

We got the bands, we were going in

Entering into Pit 1 was incredibly exciting. We gazed back up the hill, looking at Oasis fans for miles and miles on end. The Manics entered the stage just as we arrived and with a disposable camera we snapped some pictures, high on excitement.

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head was a real highlight of their set.....then the countdown was on for the main event.

Elliott - we blagged and bribed our way into Pit 1

Oasis

The gap between The Manics and Oasis was filled by a rubbish fight! Pit 3 into Pit 2 and Pit 1, bags of rubbish were flung about with innocent glee. It was crazy and quite a site.

The pre-show entertainment - a rubbish fight!

The atmosphere was absolutely electric as Oasis strolled on stage. We couldn't believe we were so close to the action.

Oasis - Columbia, live at Knebworth 11.08.96

The whole gig is available on YouTube

Noel - 'This is history, this is history, right here, right now, this is history.'

Liam - 'I thought it were Knebworth man.'

Noel changed the intro to Columbia to include a euphoric and uplifting guitar section with Liam asking the crowd if they were 'Mad for it' before launching into the groove. The place erupted. The memory of that opening still sends tingles down my spine.

The band were incredible. Noel's guitar sounded huge, Liam sang his heart out and was in a playful mood. When Noel was singing he wandered around near the side joking with security guards and swinging from camera cranes. He looked like a star in an XXL Arran jumper and shades!

My disposable kodak camera served me well

I remember Elliott hoisting me on his shoulders during Morning Glory and still being able to pogo due to the fact that we were so charged with elation at being there. I looked around and behind me at 125,000 people going crazy. It was an amazing feeling.

It was one sing-song after another. Whatever, Wonderwall, Cast No Shadow dedicated to Rob Collins, Don't Look Back In Anger, Live Forever.....

The band were incredibly relaxed. Joking like this was a normal show for them! Liam was only 24 at the time, totally living the dream and loving every minute.

Two new songs were played with It's Getting' Better Man sounding incredible, the chorus seemed to go on forever. I still think it is a very under-rated song in the Oasis catalogue, although I prefer the live version.

John Squire from the Stone Roses came on for the encore. Absolutely shredding his guitar during a glorious Champagne Supernova that went stratospheric; we were there when the band were at their highest high. Squire then went crazy on I Am The Walrus. It was a special end to a special event.

Champagne Supernova with John Squire

We ended up being just a couple of rows from the front at the end and Elliott actually had his hand on Liam's tambourine as he walked along the front before he handed it to someone he had promised it to.

It was all over in a blur (pardon the pun), it flew by. It was just one anthem after another, a truly incredible performance by a band not only flying, but soaring. So much of that day remains fresh in my mind 20-years on. I dare say that Elliott and I will be reminiscing in another 20-years time. In many ways, Knebworth was the event of our generation.

We stayed back to let the crowds out, resting against the barrier at the front watching fireworks overhead to the strains of Hey Jude.

What a trip. We'd done it; Oasis at Knebworth, we'd got down the front! 20-years on, I still get that buzz from looking back. We did it; Oasis at Knebworth, we got down the front.

Oasis, Knebworth, 11.08.96, setlist

1. Columbia
2. Acquiesce
3. Supersonic
4. Hello
5. Some Might Say
6. Roll With It
7. Slide Away
8. Morning Glory
9. Round Are Way
10. Cigarettes and Alcohol
11. Whatever
12. Cast No Shadow
13. Wonderwall
14. The Masterplan
15. Don't Look Back In Anger
16. My Big Mouth
17. It's Gettin' Better Man
18. Live Forever
19. Champagne Supernova
20. I Am The Walrus

20-years since Whats The Story Morning Glory

(What's The Story) Morning Glory? was the album that propelled Oasis towards Maine Road, Knebworth and breakdown. The band pushed it as far as they possibly could between 1994 and 1996 - they burned bright - white light, white heat.

It was released 20-years ago today. I was 19-years old. The band had been an important part of my life, a fixture, since April 1994 when I saw them supporting The Boo Radleys at the Tramway in Glasgow ahead of the release of Supersonic. They blew my mind - the look, attitude, the songs...

They were f**king consistent - in fact they were better than that - they were improving all the time; live and in the studio. Noel was becoming more confident by the month.

Lets take a look back at the album that took over the world in 1995.

It's worth noting the b-sides that were released at that time and thinking of the album it could have been! Talk Tonight, Acquiesce, Round Are Way, The Masterplan...

On to the album - it just blew up. Some Might Say and Roll With It were the singles that proceeded the album. Cracking songs, much in the vein of Definitely Maybe. But Morning Glory was much more varied than Definitely Maybe, which in the words of Noel Gallagher was '10 singles with a nice corny track at the end.'

Morning Glory had the mellow acoustic moments like Wonderwall (an out and out love song) and Cast No Shadow, the emotional Don't Look Back In Anger (with Noel on lead vocals!) and the sky scraping Champagne Supernova. Definitely Maybe remains my favourite Oasis album, but Morning Glory was an important step away from the debut - along with the b-sides mentioned above, it highlighted that Noel was developing as a songwriter and he had a lot to his cannon. Noel wanted his band to mean as much to people as The Smiths, The Roses, The Jam and The Pistols...he succeeded!

The album opens with the cheeky glam stomp of Hello with Liam singing 'it's good to be back, it's good to be back'. In truth, the lads hadn't been away. They kept on gigging and releasing throughout 1994 and 1995 and all the while Noel Gallagher was writing and storing songs away. An interview with Bonehead from the time of release said that he was in tears when Noel played the album on acoustic guitar to him.

Everyone was familiar with Roll With It due to the summer slanging match with Blur that set the peaking point of Britpop that lasted a full year until Oasis reached Knebworth the following summer.

Wonderwall was the song that took Oasis to a different audience. A crossover smash hit, this was a song that transformed and transfixed the nation. I remember going for a drink in neighbouring Wishaw at the time of release and me and my friends were walking about town after the pub closed and unfortunately came across a gang who looked like they were going to kick our heads in. They shouted across the road asking what we were doing in their town and despite not being a fighter I remember taking my belt off, thinking I'll get a good whack in first before we take a kicking.

Then one of them saw I had an Oasis t-shirt on. Within seconds, both groups of lads were singing Wonderwall and punching the air in delight! Next time we were in town we met for a drink!

This song probably deserves a blog in its own right. For all their self proclaimed love of The Beatles, this was the first time Oasis produced something that could be termed Beatlesy and the nation fell in love with it.

Liam's voice sounds incredible - rich and soulful. He was only 23 when it was released, so would have been a youthful 22 when he recorded it. His voice stretched and strengthened from over a year on the road from the release of Supersonic.

The structure is what would become classic Noel - verse - bridge - chorus. Some bands talked of only writing and recording songs for themselves, in interviews around this time Noel talked of writing songs to be whistled by the milkman and the guy off to buy his 20 Benson and Hedges. With Wonderwall, he got the country singing.

Noel famously said to Liam during recording the album - 'You can either have Wonderwall or Don't Look Back In Anger, but not both.'

Liam took Wonderwall and despite a heft trawl through the wonders of the internet - there seems to be no evidence that he ever demo'd or has ever sang Don't Look Back In Anger - at least not recorded.

So Noel gets DLBIA which begins with the chords of Imagine pounded out by a kid from Burnage. It is a bitter sweet song, Noel is in fantastic form with vivid lyrics and his voice suits the song, soaring for the chorus. Funny at times, especially with;

Please don't put your life in the hands, of a rock n roll band

Who'll throw it all away

Other lyrics go back to his childhood - stand up beside the fireplace, take that look from off your face

And the you ain't ever gonna burn my heart out line was one that you sang from the very bottom of your heart with full gusto. And did we ever find out who Sally was, or is the myth that Liam suggested the line true?

Hey Now, at least in my humble opinion, is a total plodder. Round Are Way, The Masterplan or Acqueisce would have been a much better selection on the album. From memory Noel said he was wanting to write something like Neil Young - he failed. In comparison to the highs of Wonderwall, DLBIA, Cast No Shadow and Champagne Supernova then this is a low and probably the most boring song in the Oasis cannon up to that point. It unfortunately lasts for almost 6-minutes, far too long.

Swamp Song is 45-minutes of a promising jam with all kinds of gutsy attitude that would become Oasis entrance music for a while.

Meanwhile, Some Might Say soars towards the stars. The guitars are turned up and sound magnificent. This was Oasis' first number one. It is pop rock perfection. Doesn't really mean anything, doesn't matter. Noel dovetails Liam throughout and it all just sounds glorious. And any song that allows Liam Gallagher to sing suuunnnnnssssshiiiinnnnneeee is a winner in my book.

Some might say, we will find a brighter day

Cast No Shadow is dedicated to the genius that is Richard Ashcroft in the sleeve notes (remember them?!). Mellow, heartfelt and soulful, it is one of Liam's best vocal performances. Check out his exceptional performance at Knebworth below.

Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say

And as he faced the sun he cast no shadow

One of my abiding memories of Morning Glory is travelling from Carluke to neighbouring Lanark in my mate Dave's car listening to the album. We were heading to the house of some guy he worked with at the time and it was in quite a rough part of Lanark. The sun was shining, windows were open and the sounds of Morning Glory were everywhere. It was incredible. She's Electric was blasting out of Dave's friends house, it just sounded absolutely perfect for the time and the environment. I love The Beatles story of McCartney taking Sgt Peppers to a party and opening the windows of the flat at dawn to blast it out. It seemed like every single house in this estate in Lanark was playing Morning Glory on this sunny Autumn day.

Somehow She's Electric has become a bit of a staple at weddings. It is poppy, catchy and funny. You can't fail to like it.

Morning Glory is electric - absolutely sensational - Oasis in pure punk form and Liam really going for it with the vocals. I was lucky enough to be at Knebworth in 1996 (in the front pit after bribing security) and my mate Elliott hoisted me on his shoulders for this. Looking back at 125,000 people going nuts was unbelievable. Ferocious.

Untitled/Swamp Song 2 eases us into the closer. Paul Weller allegedly appears on Swamp Song and Noel apparently wanted to call it The Jam which would have been amazing!

Champagne Supernova is a skyscraping anthem. It feels fantastic, starting off with acoustic guitars and Liam singing his heart out and then it just builds and builds. The beat kicks in and Liam and Noel lead the song towards the sun.

Cause people believe that they're gonna get away for the summer

 You and I, we live and die

The world's still spinning round

We don't know why

Why, why, why, why?

There is a brief respite and then Noel launches into one of his most stratospheric guitar riffs, just to tease us, before Liam comes in and lulls us down before it all kicks off again.

Someday you will find me, caught beneath the landslide

In a Champagne Supernova, a Champagne Supernova in the sky

This is a gem, an absolute belter, with moments of searing brilliance leading to some of the most tender and soulful Liam lyrics in the Oasis catalogue.

Where were you while we were getting high

We were getting high, we were getting high....

Oasis were certainly getting high 20-years ago and they took a hell of a lot of people along for the ride. Take some time to listen back to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? over the weekend and think back to those heady days when Oasis kicked down the door to the mainstream and a whole heap of bands rushed through. A seminal album from the time.

Oasis live at Earls Court, 4th November 1995

I follow Alan McGee on twitter. Madman, genius, he was a guy who put out some of my all-time favourite records through Creation Records. My life would be quite a lot different without Alan, Creation or the bands he discovered, promoted and released.


Alan just tweeted a link to the entire first night of Oasis at Earls Court back in 1995. A seminal gig by the band. I'm watching it just now and they were just on it, totally on top of their game. 

Oasis came along at the right time for me. I saw them for the first time in April 1994, 3-months after I turned 18. They were supporting fellow Creation band The Boo Radleys and in a short set they blew them off the stage.


They were my band, especially for two glorious years from 94-96, I caught them quite a few times along the way; the Tramway, The Cathouse, an amazing show in a tent at T in the Park, the Barrowlands (twice as Liam walked off the first time), Ingliston Market, Sheffield Arena...culminating in a trip to see them at Knebworth with my mate Elliott. Somehow we blagged and bribed our way into the front VIP trip. Seeing Oasis with 125,000 people behind us was a buzz that still sends tingles down my spine.

The footage from the first night of their Earls Court shows probably captures them at their coolest. Liam just looks fantastic, great haircut, cool shirt and he makes a real rock star entrance. I've never seen another front man who can command so much attention. 

Noel bought all of the band a scooter for the shows!

Oasis, Liam and Noel, have their knockers. Any band that gets to be that size and has two brothers that like to talk so much is going to have people who knock them.

The footage below speaks for itself. Liam's voice is incredible, he was only 23 for this show. Anthem after anthem is belted out by a band on top of their game, completely tight as their chief, Noel Gallagher leads them through an exceptional performance.

The audience sing-a-long for 'Wonderwall' at 56 minutes in sends shivers down my spine. It was a song that captured the nation. I remember going for a night out in a rival town (Wishaw) and being totally wrecked with a couple of mates. We attracted some 'attention' from a group of lads as we walked up the street and they came over menacingly. I was wearing an Oasis tshirt and within seconds we were all singing 'Wonderwall' and being invited to a party!

Where were you while we were getting high?