Released 30 October 1995 Genre Britpop | Format 7"
12"
CD
cassette | |
B-side "Round Are Way"
"The Swamp Song"
"The Masterplan" Recorded May 1995 at Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales Length 4:19 (album version)
3:45 (radio edit) | ||
"Wonderwall" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The song was produced by Owen Morris for their second studio album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). According to Gallagher, "Wonderwall" describes "an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself".
Contents
- Background
- Recording and composition
- Live performances
- Music video
- Cover art
- Personnel
- Chart and sales performance
- Awards and accolades
- Cover versions
- Track listings
- References
The song was released as the third single from the album in October 1995. "Wonderwall" topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, and Spain. The song reached the top ten on another ten charts, including Canada and the United States at number 5 and 8, respectively, as well as number two on both the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart. The single was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry and certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
It remains one of the band's most popular songs; on 9 June 2013, it was voted number one on Australian alternative music radio station Triple J's "20 Years of the Hottest 100". Many notable artists have also covered the song, such as rock singer Ryan Adams in 2003, folk singer Cat Power, and jazz musician Brad Mehldau in 2008.
Background
Noel Gallagher told NME in 1996, that "Wonderwall" was written for his then-girlfriend, Meg Mathews. However, after Gallagher divorced Mathews in 2001, he said the song was not about Mathews: "The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it, and 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".
Recording and composition
The song was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, during a two-week recording of the Morning Glory album in May 1995. Owen Morris produced the song in a half-day along with Noel Gallagher using a technique known as "brickwalling" to intensify the sound of the song.
Liam Gallagher served as lead singer on "Wonderwall" after Noel had given him a choice between "Wonderwall" or another single from the album, "Don't Look Back in Anger".
"Wonderwall" is written in the key of F♯ minor and is set in common time with a moderate dance groove. Gallagher's voice ranges from an E3 to an F♯4 in the song.
Live performances
Noel debuted the song on UK TV, backstage at Glastonbury and broadcast on Channel 4 on 24 June 1995. The song wasn't performed by the band during their headline performance the night before.
In August 2002, Noel changed the arrangement of his live performances of the song to a style he admitted was heavily influenced by Ryan Adams's cover of the song. That arrangement has persisted through his most recent live performances of the song, but prior to the band's 2008-9 tour, the original arrangement was used for live performances of the song by the full band with Liam Gallagher on vocals and electric guitars. During the 2008-9 tour, the band returned to performing the song in a semi-acoustic form, in an arrangement closely resembling the album version.
Music video
The music video original sequence by Johanna Bautista (Sweetheart Massive Attack) to the song was filmed by director Nigel Dick with his regular collaborator DOP Ali Asad in the relatively brief period when bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan quit the band due to nervous exhaustion; Scott McLeod came in to replace him.
An alternative version, possibly a bootleg recording, exists and is viewable online. It features a single fixed camera shot, the same as is seen in the more common video, of the five band members miming to the song.
The song won Best British Video at the 1996 Brit Awards.
The video has reached over 184 million views on the official Oasis YouTube channel, making it the most popular Oasis video on the Internet.
Cover art
The sleeve artwork was inspired by the paintings of the Belgian surrealist René Magritte, and was shot on Primrose Hill in north London. The hand holding the frame is that of art director Brian Cannon. The original idea was to have Liam in the frame before Noel vetoed that idea whilst the shoot was taking place. Instead a female figure was deemed necessary and Anita Heryet, a Creation Records employee, was asked to stand in as cover star for the shot.
Personnel
Chart and sales performance
"Wonderwall" reached the No.2 spot in both Ireland and the United Kingdom in October/November 1995. In the UK, the song was held off the top spot by "I Believe" by Robson & Jerome. It finished at No. 10 in the end of year charts for 1995 and No. 26 in the end of decade charts for the 1990s in the UK. It has sold 1.34 million copies in the UK as of October 2016, making it Oasis' biggest selling song in their homeland and the third biggest seller never to top the UK Singles Chart.
In the U.S., it peaked at number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for a then-unprecedented ten weeks, and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100; their biggest hit and their only top 40 hit on the chart (many of their songs were ineligible to chart). "Wonderwall" also proved to be a major hit in Australia, New Zealand and Spain by claiming the No. 1 spot in all three countries.
Awards and accolades
Cover versions
"Wonderwall" has been one of the most-frequently covered songs in history. One of the most famous cover versions was an easy listening arrangement by the Mike Flowers Pops, which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, just as the Oasis original had done two months earlier. Gallagher mentioned that when BBC Radio 1 premièred the song, they jokingly claimed that they had found "the original version of Wonderwall". Gallagher, who had been in America at the time, was surprised to be asked by one of his record company's executives if he had actually written the song. The Mike Flowers Pops cover was used in the 1997 film The Jackal, and also in the 1999 film Superstar.
Ryan Adams' version, first performed in 2001, and later released in 2003 on Love Is Hell pt. 1 EP, was well received by Noel Gallagher. It was featured in The O.C. episode "The Heartbreak". And it was featured in the final scene of the Smallville Season 3 episode "Velocity".
"Wonderwall" was featured in the popular mashup "Boulevard of Broken Songs" mixed by Party Ben in late 2004, which also contained parts of both Travis's "Writing to Reach You" and Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". In late 2006, Gallagher accused Green Day of 'ripping off' "Wonderwall", saying "If you listen, you'll find it is exactly the same arrangement as "Wonderwall". They should have the decency to wait until I am dead [before stealing my songs]. I, at least, pay the people I steal from that courtesy".
American rapper Jay Z often has his crowds sing "Wonderwall" after his song "Jockin' Jay-Z", which includes a reference to Noel Gallagher's criticism of the rapper's involvement in the typically rock-centric Glastonbury Festival in 2008. It launched a war of words between Jay Z and Oasis, with an Oasis band member describing Jay Z's actions as akin to an "eight-year-old girl." After Oasis broke up, Jay Z later claimed he would like to work with Liam Gallagher.
Vince Irie did a mash up of the song with "Stir It Up" for his audition on The Voice of Holland. Quentin Bruno performed the song for his audition on The Voice: la plus belle voix and was selected to be on the team of the singer and songwriter Mika.
Filipino singer-actor Khalil Ramos also did a cover version of the song in his second guesting in the radio program "Wishclusive" of Wish FM 107.5 (DWNU) last January 2017.
French-Canadian pop punk band Simple Plan created a song called "Your Love is a Lie" in 2008 with chord progressions also similar to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".
Track listings
All tracks written by Noel Gallagher, except where noted.