More about: Oasis
Definitely Maybe The Documentary marks 20th anniversary of band's seminal debut
To mark the 20th anniversary of Definitely Maybe, a documentary chronicling the creation of Oasis' seminal debut has now been made available to stream online.
Definitely Maybe The Documentary, directed by Dick Carruthers, details the making of the 1994 classic, the stories behind it, and the legacy it's left behind. It features interviews with both Gallagher brothers, as well as those closely connected to Oasis.
Wonderland magazine and VEVO have now teamed up to share the documentary with fans. Check it out - it's certainly worth a watch.
Watch Definitely Maybe The Documentary below:
Creation Records founder and former Oasis manager Alan McGee recently revealed how Definitely Maybe track 'Digsy's Dinner' was a "p*ss take" of their rivals Blur. "I don't think Noel's ever admitted to that," McGee told XFM. "It's a piss-take of that Britpop thing. It was Noel proving that he could do that in his sleep."
Below: 10 things you didn't know about Definitely Maybe
Frustrated by various scrapped recording sessions for their debut album, Oasis handed the tapes for 'Definitely Maybe' to engineer/producer Owen Morris to mix in desperation. In a few days, Morris' mixing yielded the beefier sound Noel was after.
'Live Forever' was released as Oasis' third single on 8 August 1994, just prior to the release of Definitely Maybe. It became the band's first top 10 hit and one of the defining songs of Britpop, reaching No.7. The cover art for the single is a photo of John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool.
Speaking on Oasis' 'Stop The Clocks' DVD, Noel said Live Forever was written while he was working on a building site as a response to depressing lyrics in US grunge music, such as Nirvana's 'I Hate Myself and I Want To Die'. "Seems to me that here was a guy who had everything, and was miserable about it," said Noel. "And we had fuck-all, and I still thought that getting up in the morning was the greatest fuckin' thing ever."
The photograph of the band on the front of 'Definitely Maybe' was taken in guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs' house. Pictures in the room include footballers Rodney Marsh and George Best (Bonehead was a Man Utd fan, whereas the Gallaghers were Man City fans). There is also an LP sleeve of Burt Bacharach shown, as Noel is a big fan.
Eagerly anticipated, 'Definitely Maybe' was released on 30 August 1994 and went straight to No.1 as the fastest selling debut LP of all time in the UK. This record was later broken by Arctic Monkey's debut LP in 2006 and then by Leona Lewis 'Spirit' album in 2007.
Oasis are reportedly named after a leisure centre in Swindon (Oasis Leisure Centre) - a venue that was listed on an Inspiral Carpets tour poster.
Fan favourite 'Slide Away' was considered as a fifth single from the album, but Noel Gallagher eventually refused, saying: "You can't have five [singles] off a debut album." Noel wrote the song about the difficult relationship with his then girlfriend Louise Jones.
Noel temporarily quit Oasis (for the first time) while touring Definitely Maybe in the US. Noel was angry after a drug-induced incident onstage which saw Liam hit him with a tambourine. He rejoined only days later, writing the song ''Talk Tonight'' (Some Might Say b-side) about his time spent away from the band in San Francisco.
The band had to pay out $500,000 in damages after being successfully sued by Coca-Cola for single 'Shakermaker's similarity to the version of 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony)' that was featured in a Coke TV advert. "Now we all drink Pepsi" Noel later quipped.
"Your music's shite, it keeps me up all night" - a line from the final song on the album 'Married With Children', is allegedly something one of Noel's ex-girlfriends told him after she heard some early versions of Oasis songs.
More about: Oasis
