Tear-jerking isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when Oasis’ name is mentioned, but Pete Townshend has revealed the one song by the Manchester indie legends that has him bawling — and he wasn't embarrassed to admit it.
The Gallagher brothers and company have reunited for their first shows together since 2009. The Manchester group's Oasis Live '25 tour kicks off July 4 and 5 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium ahead of three massive shows in their hometown next week. Their return comes almost a full 31 years after their seminal debut album, Definitely Maybe.
The single that has the Who guitarist weeping, however, didn’t actually make the cut for the record. It was originally releasing as a B-side to the swaggering, Beatles-esque stomp of “Whatever.” Written by Noel Gallagher, who assumes lead vocals on the track, the acoustic guitar affair left its mark on Townshend.
“The thing that got me about Oasis was Liam’s voice, not so much the attitude,” he tells The Times. “It took me a while to get used to the attitude, and I felt Noel was the one with the most edge.
“Liam used to come to Who gigs with his girlfriend, and he was always charming,” he reveals. “And despite the fact that it was intended to be threatening and to have no emotion, it was loaded with emotion.”
Through their tough-guy demeanor, Townshend could see the band’s musical DNA clear as glass, and it wasn’t just the Fab Four, from nearby rival city Liverpool, who Oasis were drawing influence from.
“The songs were inspired not just by the Beatles, the Who and the Kinks but also had this feeling of coming from an entirely new place, and I don’t really know where it is,” he muses, “I feel a bit exposed, talking about it now, but the song that brought me to tears is ['Half the World Away'].
“I’ve heard it again and again because I’m such a fan of The Royle Family [the British sitcom, which picked the track for its theme song], and it moves me. Beyond the swagger is an incredible view of normal British life they seem to tap into.”
Even without “Half the World Away” on it, Definitely Maybe has gone down as a timeless indie classic. It’s certified Platinum in the U.S. and nine times Platinum in the U.K., and it launched the band’s career with serious fireworks.
By their third album, Be Here Now, the group were kings of the rock world, but the hangover from that album — no doubt literal and metaphorical considering their reputation — Noel Gallagher kicked his Marshalls to the curb as he overhauled his gear.
“No disrespect to Marshalls, but they have one sound, and that's just about it,” he explained to GP at the time. “They're either really loud or really quiet. In the past, I would just have a couple of 100-watt Marshalls, a Les Paul, and my Epiphone Casino, and that would be it.”
In related news, Liam Gallagher has issued a hilarious response to a fan trolling Green Day by playing “Wonderwall” on stage in Luxembourg instead of their 1997 hit, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”.
Side-splitting quips aren’t exclusive to Liam, however. Noel has revealed what he said when his son asked him why he couldn’t shred like the guitar slingers on Instagram, and it's brilliant.
And despite their ticket site-crashing comeback, there's no Rock Hall spot for Oasis this year, after being shunned once again. The White Stripes, Soundgarden, and esteemed session player Carol Kaye, who isn't best pleased about her impending induction, are set to be inducted alongside Bad Company, meaning Oasis miss out despite nominations across two consecutive years.
