Some Might Say: The Best Britpop Band Ever!

The important debate that will probably never die: Which Britpop band was better – Oasis or Blur?

We’ve already looked at – and discussed – the latter of those two earlier this year when they released “The Magic Whip” back in April. But today, on Liam Gallagher’s 43rd Birthday, we look at the Mancunian group Oasis.

Formed in 1991, the group was developed from a previous band called The Rain (named after a Beatles B-Side track) who’d got together earlier that year. When Chris Hutton was replaced as lead singer by our birthday boy Liam, he suggested a name change to Oasis. This would happen when later, Liam’s brother Noel offered to join the group. From there, we got the Oasis sound we came to know and love to this day.

How do we know about the love for Oasis? The statistics don’t lie. EVERY studio album by Oasis reached #1 in the UK. Every single one of them. Definitely Maybe, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, Be Here Now, Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, Heathen Chemistry, Don’t Believe The Truth and Dig Out Your Soul. Seven albums, seven number 1’s. Not even The Beatles, Queen, Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson can boast that strike rate.

While Definitely Maybe definitely was a major success, it would be the sophomore album – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? that would prove to be Oasis’ greatest success. With over 4.5 million copies sold in the UK and over 22 million worldwide, Morning Glory the the 5th-best selling album in UK history (beaten only by Adele’s 21 in 4th, The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 3rd, ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits in 2nd and Greatest Hits by Queen in 1st).

It’s foolish to look solely at the success of their albums, however – Oasis also have EIGHT UK number one singles, spanning from 1995 to 2005: Some Might Say (1995), Don’t Look Back In Anger (1996), D’You Know What I Mean? (1997), All Around The World (1998), Go Let It Out (2000), The Hindu Times (2002), Lyla and The Importance of Being Idle (2005, the only year they scored more than one #1).

Liam Gallagher’s Rogue cover – plus an “As Worn By” – are available in store now!

To top it all off – their best-selling single is not one of those number one singles. As everyone can probably guess, it’s the incredible Wonderwall which only reached number 2 (beaten by Robson & Jerome’s I Believe/Up On The Roof, believe it or not). The song has been covered many times too – most notably and hilariously by Mike Flowers Pops, who made a easy-listening version (and charted two months later after Oasis’ version, and also reached #2 in the UK Charts).

Oasis’ version is one of (as of writing) only 161 songs in UK chart history to have sold more than one million copies.

Eventually a falling out between brother Liam and Noel would see the the latter leave Oasis in 2009 and form his own new group, Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds, whereas Liam and the remainder of Oasis would continue under the name of Beady Eye until they disbanded last year.

Statistically, you couldn’t deny that Oasis (8 Number One singles, 7 Number One albums, 1 million-selling single) wipe the floor with Blur (2 Number One singles, 6 Number One albums, 0 million-selling singles) – but from a cultural impact viewpoint, both really were as important as the other.

Why not celebrate Liam Gallagher’s birthday with some great designs in store here?

Ashley Redman
Knows The Importance of Being Idle