On July 4, the moment that many around the world have been counting down to for years will finally arrive. Yes, Oasis will return to the stage together as they officially get their Live ’25 tour underway in Cardiff. For the UK business, it is one of the most hyped events in recent memory, a story that has everyone talking. Of course, those conversations involve plenty of reminiscing, too, which is why Music Week has gathered an array of top names and tasked them with one thing: to pick their No.1 Oasis track. Buckle up, then, for part one of our supersonic ride down memory lane...
Photo: Simon Emmett
ACQUIESCE (1995)
“Oasis changed my life and soundtracked everything I did in my youth. I’ve picked this song as I can still picture myself, arms round my mate Paul, pints in the air, singing this at the top of our lungs at Earls Court in ’95. It was the first time the 14-year-old me saw them live, the first time my mum let me go to a gig with my mates. I just love the energy of the record and hearing Noel and Liam duet like this. Also, it’s wild this was a B-side! See you in Cardiff, can’t wait!” Tom March (Capitol Music Group)
“This is the quintessential Oasis song, with both Liam and Noel taking turns on the vocals. Although they’ve never acknowledged that the song is about each other, the Liam verse and the Noel chorus are so emotional and euphoric that the world wants to believe it’s about their brotherhood. It’s going to be a special moment and get the biggest sing-along when it’s played at the shows this summer.” Jen Ivory (Parlophone Records)
“I found it really hard to pick one song. It could easily have been the first time I heard a demo of Live Forever and just knew we were onto something really special, or the first time I heard Supersonic, or when I went to the studio with [my former Creation colleague] Alan McGee and heard the songs for (What’s The Story)… for the first time and thought every track was a hit single. But I am going to pick Acquiesce. I heard an early version, was totally blown away and was convinced it should have been the next single. I remember saying this to Noel at the NME Awards and that it would be No.1 and he said something like, ‘Dick, don’t worry, at this moment I could fart into a microphone and it would go to No.1!’. I still think this song stands out in their catalogue.” Dick Green (Wichita Recordings)
“Prior to their Wembley show in 2009, Oasis did a warm-up gig in London and I was fortunate enough to be invited along. Unfortunately, I very much entered into the ‘rock’n’roll star’ spirit of the evening resulting in an extremely awkward conversation with Noel backstage, one that to this day he delights in bringing up every time I see him. Waxing lyrical about the epic show, I proceeded to list a couple of the songs they had performed that had blown me away, only for Noel to calmly point out that in fact they had not performed them at all! And so, because I was convinced that they had played it and because it makes for the perfect answer to the question, ‘What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you during your career?’ – plus, of course, because of its raw, raucous brilliance – I plump for Acquiesce.” Dave Berry (Absolute Radio)
“Like many legendary bands, there is great depth in Oasis’ B-Sides. Acquiesce is one such song and a personal favourite. That the Gallagher brothers share vocal duties makes the track particularly special. I hope Liam and Noel take the chorus (‘Because we need each other, we believe in one another’) to heart this summer.” Tom Kiehl (UK Music)
“Acquiesce demands to be played loud – that grungey, distorted guitar just cuts right through you, and you can hear Liam’s attitude in the way he shakes the tambourine alone. I’ve seen Liam play it solo and he’s always let the crowd sing Noel’s part. It’ll be special to see them do it together.” Dan Noble (Absolute Radio)
CIGARETTES & ALCOHOL (1994)
“Although I’d seen Oasis and heard the music loads, and also realised what a total star Liam was, Cigarettes & Alcohol arrived and threw everything I loved – Bowie, T Rex, terrace culture, guitar pop, proper clobber, Saturday nights, feedback – and mashed it all into a better version of itself. All the other tunes are top, but this is the one that flies to the stratosphere. Gotta make it happen!” Tony Harlow (Warner Music UK)
“Growing up in South Manchester, I was a teenager when Definitely Maybe was released. I remember it provoking all kinds of antics – there was just this big buzz about the band straight away. The record captured the essence of young working-class life, the hunger for escapism, the simmering frustration and aggression, the cockiness and euphoria all mixed with that raw ambition to get at it and be someone.” Laura Lukanz (Amazon Music UK)
“Cigarettes & Alcohol came out when I was 15 years old, and it felt as much a transgressive directive order to my teenage self as it did an incredible, mind-blowing rock’n’roll song. Suddenly, the Strongbow cider we were drinking in the park and Marlboro Lights we were smoking had a full-on theme tune to go with them, giving us a Hollywood movie scripted sense of destiny. I pray all teenagers have at least one song when growing up that affects them like that!” Alex Kennedy (Believe)
“Three weeks before their first single, my band Longpigs supported Oasis at the 100 Club. They swaggered on stage, a childlike Noel, serene and sneering, plugged in his Les Paul, smiled and struck the opening riff of Cigarettes & Alcohol, mainlining pure musical ambrosia up the spinal cord of everyone there. My favourite Oasis anecdote, which I wear with both tremendous and shameful pride, is that Noel was once asked in an interview what the best party he’d ever been to was. He said, and I paraphrase, that there were too many to remember, but there was this Longpigs aftershow in a gay sauna in Covent Garden that was the wildest he’d ever seen. Of course, one can only grow old and wise if one has once been young and foolish!” Crispin Hunt (PRS Members’ Council)
CAST NO SHADOW (1995/1996)
“My favourite Oasis song is Cast No Shadow, but actually the version live from Knebworth because I felt like it was a bit more dirty and they really meant it there. It was a moment. When the strings come in… it’s perfection to me. And my favourite song on record is Talk Tonight – it’s got to be.” Yungblud (artist)
LIVE FOREVER (1994)
“The lyrics and sentiment couldn’t ring truer for me – it was perfectly timed for my teenage years and evokes memories of growing up in the North East, living carefree, getting into trouble and having all the fun! Me and my close friends at the time were huge Oasis fans, it wasn’t until around 15 years later I got to witness them live at The Roundhouse.” Dipesh Parmar (Columbia)
“I was living in New York when they performed at Knebworth, so as I couldn’t go I decided to have an Oasis party with a whole bunch of New York bankers, who truth be told weren’t really fans, but after about my fifth play of Live Forever they were all joining in – and I was almost evicted from my apartment block!” Kim Bayley (ERA)
“Live Forever is the reason I picked up a guitar. I first heard it on Now 33, of all places. I was only eight years old at the time, I knew absolutely nothing about music, but that song hit me like a bolt of lightning.’’ Tom Speight (artist)
“After the joint Oasis headline gig with Whiteout at the Duchess Of York in Leeds in April 1994 – the day after Supersonic was released – me and some friends hosted an impromptu afterparty, and at the end of the night Liam asked me to come back to Manchester in the van with the band. I declined as I had college the next day and was very serious about my A-levels, but my friends went and had a wild time. A month or so later, I saw them backstage after a Blur gig in Manchester and bought Liam and Bonehead a pint as they were short of cash. I then moved to Brussels in 1995 and saw them play at the Luna Theater. In the bar of the Hilton after the gig, Liam spotted me and bought me and my friend a bottle of champagne in exchange for the pint he owed me! Live Forever was the track that really stood out for me. There’s such a timeless teenage sentiment, of massive ambition tempered by a fear of the future.” Annabella Coldrick (MMF)
“In August 1994, I was on a choir holiday in Llandudno on the North Wales coast, aka the Scouse Riviera. My best friend and I visited Kavern Records where we bought a bunch of albums and singles, including Live Forever. I was struck by the intro drum signature, the vocals and how incredible the songwriting was. Also, the cover featured a photo of John Lennon’s house, which is just up the road from where I grew up.” Bryan Johnson (Spotify)
“Live Forever was one of the first songs I ever remember recording off the radio. In 1994, I was too young to have my own money to spend on music, but I knew I wanted to listen to it again and again. I sat for hours waiting for it to be played and perfecting my button agility so I didn’t cut off the opening drums.” Lizzie Dickson (YouTube)
“When I was growing up amidst the furore of Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis were an incredible band for making you feel heard, but part of something bigger. This encapsulation of hope and togetherness, followed by the inevitable hangover, is perhaps best captured on Live Forever. This song is a best friend, teacher, lover and soulmate in one, it was the unification of a whole generation.”
Tim Dellow (Transgressive)
“The early ’90s had me completely wrapped in the darkness of grunge. Kurt Cobain’s death was paralysing and I didn’t know where to turn, but then I heard Live Forever. I’ve never needed a song more, it was a lifeline. Liam’s voice just grabbed me: that confidence, that swagger, that melody. It was an electric shot of optimism, a beacon of light in a dark time. This song kicked off my love for Oasis, but it was What's The Story... that sealed it. I just did a full deep dive on that album and more 1995 classics in my new series with Vinyl.com."
Allison Hagendorf (The Allison Hagendorf Show)
“The Live At Knebworth, August 11, 1996 version still hits like the first time. Liam’s vocal never sounded better, and Noel’s solo feels like a defining moment in music history.” Kieran Yeates (Apple Music UK & Ireland)
“Live Forever is widely regarded as one of the best British songs. In my mind, this anthem defines the Britpop era, and its lyrics and melody capture ’90s culture perfectly.” Andrea Czapary Martin (PRS For Music)
