There is no doubt that the music of Noel and Liam Gallagher defined a generation. The attitude and bravado of Oasis is well remembered amongst all music fans who grew up in the band’s most prominent period. Mat Whitecross’ highly anticipated 2016 documentary Supersonic was rightly greeted with high acclaim. The film portrays the drive and the belief of the band to show the world how good they really were, but tells the story of their tricky start, getting arrested off a ferry in Amsterdam on their way to support their British rock ‘n’ roll counterparts, The Verve. Whitecross does an excellent job in not leaving anything to the imagination, telling the story how it happened. He follows the Gallaghers’ story from 1991, from rehearsing in the Boardwalk, an indie music club in Manchester, to the Rock ‘n’ Roll stars stepping out on stage at Knebworth Park, where over half a million-people applied for tickets. Oasis’ two days in Hertfordshire in 1996 set the bar astronomically high for all successors of the band; rising from the bare minimum in dreary working class Northern England to worldwide stardom in little over two years.
The narrative on Noel and Liam’s rise and rise to one of the biggest British gigs of all time encapsulates the definition of a generation. The madness and belligerence of Oasis is constantly on the red line throughout the film, but the story of the songs that will forever stand the test of time will send anyone back down the path of their hazy youth.
The largely untold story of the making of Definitely Maybe and the rocky ground the band encountered recording the album shows the drive and expeditious incline of the indie rockers, but not without the infamous ‘hourly’ fights and arguments between the Gallagher’s that drove the band skyward.
The delirious first tour and gigs, from Japan to the USA, details the colossal violence, alcohol and drug abuse of all five members and road crew, but shows the contrast between that and the recording and performing of the second Album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, after a near split in the band, they rejoice with a new outlook.
So why did Oasis have such a massive cultural impact? Well, the answer is quite simple: they were relatable. The band, particularly the brothers, were never at any point afraid to speak their mind, and their music, especially the band’s earlier records, were strong social statements and spoke out about problems and scenarios that working class ‘normal’ people have experienced themselves. The songs were aggressive and contentious, and hooked people on the attitude and to an extent, carelessness of the bunch.
Whether you absolutely adored or positively hated Oasis, the music effected every single person in the UK in the mid-nineties. Everybody had an opinion on them and everyone’s life was touched in some way by the awesome explosion of not-giving-a-f*ckness that the band showed, and that is the only way to put it. They were great and they absolutely knew they were.
British music and music in general needed a serious wake up call, and Oasis burst in with a megaphone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. When Supersonic, Shakermaker, and Live Forever were released as successive singles in 1994, there was a sense that this was the jump start that the decade needed. After releasing seven albums since the release of their first, including The Masterplan, compiled of solely B-sides, there’s not one album that doesn’t have a memorable, classic Oasis tune on it. Champagne Supernova, Fade Away, Stand By Me, Who Feels Love, Lyla, The Hindu Times, Wonderwall, Falling Down, Slide Away… you could sit here for hours and reel off all of Oasis’ best songs. Noel Gallagher’s song writing expertise was and still is incredible, and will be indefinitely impossible for any other artist to replicate for a very long time.
Oasis were the first and last. They were the greatest British Rock ‘n’ Roll band of all time. Nothing anyone can do will ever be as big as them. Even after splitting up in 2009, their music has been the soundtrack of a generation. The Supersonic documentary hits the nail square in the head, and sums up every fan’s love for Oasis. Now, enough of this, give me Gin and Tonic…
