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There was no one else who could beat the momentum that Oasis had in their early years. After claiming themselves to be one of the greatest bands in the world, the Gallaghers were living up to that performance both live and in the studio, making one timeless song after another. And when it came to record throwaway tracks, the band spared no expense on the quality of songs. 

Compared to the B-side material of most bands, Noel Gallagher always had something special saved for his singles, some of them turning into their most celebrated creations. Though the albums might be a more concise statement than a single, each of these songs pack as much punch as any A-side that they were paired with, some of them even eclipsing what the single was promoting.

Since these songs were relegated to the B-sides, though, most of them show a different side of Noel Gallagher, either having him on vocals for a little while or being more open about what’s going on in his head outside of just rock and roll. 

Regardless of how they turned up in the Oasis canon, each of these songs deserve to be remembered more than just a throwaway track, containing some of the most adventurous playing that the band ever made and anthemic choruses that could match songs like ‘Wonderwall’. B-sides might be a placeholder word for lower-tier material, but in their ‘90s prime, Noel Gallagher didn’t know how to write shit songs. 

The 10 best Oasis B-sides:

‘Street Fighting Man’

Before they even got the ball rolling, Oasis were already an incredible cover band. Outside of their jam sessions that could run on for ages, the band were known to sprinkle bits and pieces of rock history into their sets, from tunes by the Beatles to glam rock superstars like David Bowie and T. Rex. Though ‘Street Fighting Man’ looks like another bit of classic rock worship, there was a certain method to this cover of the Rolling Stones.

When Oasis were watching a documentary being made about them, they had seen footage of the Stones slagging them off, with Keith Richards dismissing them as crap. After spoiling for a fight live on the radio, the band went back into the studio to record some B-sides and used the Stones’ own song to troll them right back to their faces.

Although the whole thing was meant as a bit of a joke, the band do a respectable job with the Stones classic, ditching the acoustic foundation of the original for a snarling electric guitar and Liam sounding as much punk as you can get this side of John Lydon. The Stones may have entered their elder statesmen phase around the ‘90s, but the Gallaghers were ready for war if Jagger and Richards were waging one.

‘Let’s All Make Believe’

The album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants marks a bit of a departure in the Oasis canon. With most of the band being replaced outside of the Gallaghers, their first album after a long break made them look like they were running out of steam. Though the album might have had a few lacklustre moments, one of the best songs from the era was relegated to the B-sides.

Although ‘Let’s All Make Believe’ might read like a fantasy world that the band were creating in your mind, the lyrics are a lot more pointed when you hear about the Gallaghers’ turbulent relationship. Since Noel and Liam are far from the best of friends on or off the stage, this song is one of the most honest tracks the band ever made, as Liam sings about pretending that the two like each other even though everyone knows that’s not the truth. 

Even with the brothers’ acrimonious relationship, the band continued on for nearly another decade before it all came crashing down after a failed gig in Paris. Though Oasis may have remained a key part of British rock music in the 2000s, the writing was already on the wall that the band weren’t going to stick around forever.

‘Step Out’

Not every B-side is made with the intent of being a flipside to a single. When Oasis were making their first stab at recording songs for the album What’s the Story Morning Glory, ‘Step Out’ was slated to be a part of the track-listing, containing some of the key foundations of the Oasis sound. Then the copyright lawyers got involved.

Although the song was hard rock by Oasis standards, Gallagher came under fire when he lifted the chorus melody almost note for note from ‘Uptight’ by Stevie Wonder. While the connections are fairly close, Gallagher wasn’t going to let a good song go to waste, throwing it on the flipside to ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’.

Despite getting into legal trouble, this is a new turn for Oasis, with Noel taking the lead on a straight-ahead rock song, which he would normally save for Liam to sing. Liam Gallagher might be the undisputed king of cool in the Oasis camp, but Noel could still light a fire under a song’s ass if the time called for it. 

‘D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman’

Oasis were always far more eclectic than rock journalists gave them credit for. Outside of the comparisons to the Beatles, the band tried out loads of different ideas, from using electronic sound effects in their music to taking cues from the world of psychedelic rock. When left to his own devices, though, Noel found his calling in making more folk-tinged rock and roll.

Written in the vein of Neil Young’s unplugged material, ‘D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman’ has a delightful bounce to it, as Noel sings about meeting up with an old friend and seeing them with stars in their eyes. Instead of his brash attitude, Noel is a lot more tender here, talking about sitting down with this person and wasting the day away trying to forget about their meaningless lives back home.

Since this person wants to be a spaceman and live in the sky, it’s easy to substitute them for the idea of fame in the Gallaghers’ minds, as they try to work their way out of Manchester and into the heights of stardom. Considering this could be an imaginary friend, there’s a good chance that this same friend might have turned up in ‘Wonderwall’ one album later.

‘Sad Song’

Oasis’ upward trajectory has always been defined by false starts. Despite having the talent and charisma to fill a stadium full of people, the band always had luck turning against them, including a showcase where every member of the band got detained when travelling to Amsterdam. Noel might not have been arrested that day, but he did have his guitar to keep him company.

While ‘Sad Song’ might not have been written about the Amsterdam incident, it speaks to the problems that Noel was having at the time, thinking that the band were pissing away all of their dreams just so they could raise hell. For all of the self-belief happening on other Oasis songs, Gallagher is much more vulnerable here, talking about the problems that are going on behind the scenes and wondering if the band even has a future.

These questions were still on his mind later, too, asking someone not to put their life in the hands of a rock and roll band in ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. Self-confidence has driven most of Oasis’ best songs, but you can’t appreciate self-confidence if you don’t have self-doubt as well.

‘Acquiesce’

There’s no way to nail down the perfect Oasis song. Though the band have made efforts to top themselves on every single song in the ‘90s, the entire Oasis canon is full of different facets of what the band are capable of. While ‘Acquiesce’ might not be the most high profile Oasis song, it might do the best job at defining what the band is all about.

Featuring a rare duet from Noel and Liam, both singers’ verses have the best of both worlds from each of their singing styles. Starting off in the first verse, Liam is his brash self, living up to his hellraiser persona by asking to see the light that shines behind his lover’s eyes. When Noel steps in, though, you get a lot more depth in the story.

Considering this is a love song, Noel seems to be singing about the dependence one has on love, thinking that love will keep them going forward and awaken what’s sleeping in their soul. While Oasis have never been one for love songs, Noel may as well be singing to his belief in his brother as well as a lady friend.

‘Half the World Away’

At the start of the ‘90s, Noel Gallagher was just a kid with some big dreams. After spending most of his days in Manchester, he had always dreamed of leaving his hometown in search of what the rest of the world had to offer. While he knew what the world was like at a young age, ‘Half the World Away’ is a glimpse into that young Noel before everything blew out of proportion.

As much as this song is hopeful for what’s going to come next, Noel acknowledges just how hard it has been trying to wake up every day in a town that wants nothing to do with you. Since Manchester held a lot of bad memories, Noel knows that the dreams he wants can’t be found in a day job, and chooses to find refuge with his guitar as he dreams of something better.

Even though Noel might be young to be writing a song like this, his mind is far too old to continue down the same road until he becomes an old man living in his hometown. He had found his calling in rock and roll, and once he got ahold of his guitar, the future was wide open.

‘Going Nowhere’

The Gallaghers had mentioned time and again how much they wanted to be famous. Even though they idolised the Stone Roses in the beginning, they admitted to wanting to leave them in the dust by comparison. Despite wanting fame and attention, ‘Going Nowhere’ makes those big dreams feel like more of a need than a desire.

On ‘Going Nowhere’, Noel talks about wanting to get all of the riches that he thinks are within his power, from rolling around in a Jaguar and having more money than he knows what to do with. Once you get to the chorus, Noel talks about wanting all of the riches because he knows that his life is going to be so tame by comparison if he decides to keep to himself.

What makes this song even more interesting is that it was recorded during the height of the Be Here Now period, a time when Oasis were experiencing their highest resurgence in popularity that they would probably ever see. The band had already become iconic through the eyes of the British public, but no amount of money can cure a life that feels this tame. 

‘Talk Tonight’

The cornerstone behind Oasis songs are about not getting knocked by anybody. The Gallaghers were looking to tear down any other band that stood in their path when they got the ball rolling. When they tried to conquer America though, the band almost got torn apart by themselves in Los Angeles.

After a disastrous gig at the Whiskey a Go Go, Noel Gallagher left the band and moved out to San Francisco to cool off, where he met up with an old flame. While he contemplated what he was going to do, his old friend convinced him to go back to the band, thinking that he shouldn’t throw away something as big as Oasis because of one failed gig.

Though Noel claimed not to even remember the girl’s name, he wrote ‘Talk Tonight’ about his lost week in San Francisco, where he thanks this woman for saving his life and keeping him on the right track. While ‘Talk Tonight’ might have been the moment that saved the band, it was a different playing field the moment Noel came back into the fold a few weeks later.

‘The Masterplan’

When you think of the orchestral side of Oasis, it tends to be fairly tasteful. Although the band like to go all out on some of their epic material like ‘Champagne Supernova’, their flirtations with classical instruments normally stall at just a string quartet being used. Before the band got overblown on Be Here Now, ‘The Masterplan’ was the perfect example of how they could do brash rock and roll exactly right.

As a string section comes in, Noel strums away on an acoustic guitar about taking the time to make some sense. Once the song starts getting brighter, the horns come in on the chorus like the sun coming out, as Noel talks about taking comfort in the fact that we never truly know what life is going to throw at us. 

Although Noel turned a blind eye to rock journalists throughout most of his career, the best review that he ever got was when his brother Liam heard the song for the first time. After coming back for some shenanigans outside the country, Liam listened patiently as Noel laid down the final version of the track to go on the flipside of ‘Wonderwall’. His one sentence review said it all: “Fuck me, and it’s a B-side”. 

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