Wonderwall (song)
Wonderwall is a single by the rock band Oasis. It was written by Noel Gallagher. Wonderwall comes from (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis's second album. The song also appears on Stop the Clocks and Time Flies... 1994-2009. It was the only song that reached the top 10 in America on the Hot 100 for Oasis. It also reached number 1 in four countries and reached the top 10 in 10 countries.
| "Wonderwall" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Oasis | |||||||
| from (What's the Story) Morning Glory?" | |||||||
| B-side | "Round Are Way", "The Swamp Song", "The Masterplan" | ||||||
| Released | October 30, 1995 | ||||||
| Recorded | May 1995 | ||||||
| Genre | Britpop | ||||||
| Length | 4:18 | ||||||
| Label | Creation | ||||||
| Songwriter(s) | Noel Gallagher | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Owen Morris and Liam Gallagher | ||||||
| |-
| colspan="3" |
| |||||||
Background
Noel Gallagher says the song was written about a girl he met at a concert when he was touring with Oasis. It is said that "Wonderwall" was written for Gallagher's then-girlfriend, Meg Mathews. Gallagher now says the song was not about her, but he did say "The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it. How do you tell your Mrs it's not about her once she's read it is? It's a song about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself."[1]
In 2008 Liam Gallagher said this about the song: Every time I have to sing it I want to gag. Problem is, it was a big, big tune for us."[2] Noel said that Liam, "...thought we had gone too dance when I wrote 'Wonderwall' because the drums didn't go boom-boom bap, boom-boom bap." [3]
Recording
The song was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales in May of 1995. According to producer Owen Morris, the song was done in 6 to 8 hours.
In the beginning, Noel wanted to sing this song, but he gave his brother Liam Gallagher the choice, and Noel ended up singing "Don't Look Back in Anger". He later said he had only ever wanted to sing "Don't Look Back in Anger", and had used "Wonderwall" as a bargaining tool.[4]
Music video
The music video to the song was filmed in the short period when bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan quit the band due to nervous exhaustion; Scott McLeod came in to replace him.[5]
The song won Best British Video at the 1996 BRIT Awards.
Awards and recognition
- In January 1996, the song was voted #1 in the Australian Triple J Hottest 100 1995, the world's largest music poll.
- In the Grammy Awards of 1997 "Wonderwall" and Oasis were nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rock Song. They did not win either.[6]
- In May 2005, "Wonderwall" was voted the best British song of all time in a poll conducted by Virgin Radio.[7]
- In August 2006, "Wonderwall" was named the second-greatest song of all time in a poll conducted by Q Magazine, finishing behind another Oasis song, "Live Forever".[8]
- In 2006, U2's guitarist The Edge named "Wonderwall" one of the songs he wishes he had written.[9]
- In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Wonderwall" at number 27 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.[10]
- In 20 December 2007, VH1 placed "Wonderwall" at number 35 in its list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[11]
- In July 2009, "Wonderwall" was voted at number #12 in the Hottest 100 of all time countdown poll, conducted by Triple J. More than half a million votes were cast.[12]
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[13] | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[13] | 6 |
| Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[13] | 7 |
| Belgium Singles Chart (Wallonia)[13] | 7 |
| Chilean Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[13] | 8 |
| Finnish Singles Chart[13] | 11 |
| French Singles Chart[13] | 10 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[13] | 5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[13] | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[13] | 12 |
| UK Singles Chart[14] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[15] | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40[15] | 30 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart | 1 |
Chart sequence
| Preceded by "Glycerine" by Bush |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single 30 December, 1995 - 24 February, 1996 |
Succeeded by "1979" by The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Preceded by "1979" by The Smashing Pumpkins |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single 9 March 1996 |
Succeeded by "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette |
| Preceded by One of Us by Joan Osbourne |
Canadian RPM Rock/Alternative 30 number-one single 15–22 January 1996 |
Succeeded by "Brain Stew" by Green Day |
| Preceded by "Let's Groove" by CdB |
RIANZ (New Zealand) number one single 8 March 1996 |
Succeeded by "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre |
| Preceded by The Cranberries "Zombie" |
Triple J Hottest 100 #1s 1995 |
Succeeded by Spiderbait "Buy Me a Pony" |
References
- ↑ "BBC Radio 2 interview, October 2002". BBC News. 2002-10-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2337721.stm. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
- ↑ "Liam Gallagher Hates 'Wonderwall'". Starpulse.com. 2008-08-31. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ "Opinion | Black Sky Thinking | Oasis Split: What Next For Noel Gallagher?". The Quietus. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ "Soccer AM Interview 2004". Soccer AM. Retrieved 3 June 2006.
- ↑ Robinson, John (19 June 2004). "Not Here Now". The Guardian (London). http://arts.guardian.co.uk/glastonbury2004/story/0,,1242267,00.html. Retrieved 25 January 2006.
- ↑ "39th Annual Grammy Awards - 1997". Rock On The Net. 1997-02-26. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ Oasis hit is named 'best UK song'. BBC News. 2005-05-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4592897.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ "The greatest song in the history of the world. Maybe". News.independent.co.uk. 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ "10 Questions for The Edge - TIME". time.com. 2011 [last update]. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - ↑ "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever". Web.nme.com. 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ "100 Greatest Songs Of The 90 s:VH1 100 Greatest Songs Of The Nineties List". spreadit.org. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ↑ "Countdown | Hottest 100 - Of All Time | triple j". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9 "Oasis - Wonderwall (Song)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ↑ "Chart Stats: Wonderwall - Oasis". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Chart Performance: Oasis". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-11-14.