Noel Gallagher has put a surprising tag on Oasis' classic, landmark debut album Definitely Maybe, offering the 1994 LP a new kind of legacy. Speaking to Mojo about the crazy year the band experienced in that time, effectively going from hot new prospect to one of the most talked-about bands on Planet Earth in the space of twelve months, Gallagher compares Definitely Maybe to a seminal British punk rock classic, even suggesting Oasis' debut might have been the natural heir to that particular record.
"Definitely Maybe was the last great punk album in many respects," he argues. "We were a punk band with Beatles melodies. We had no effects, barely any equipment, just loads of attitude, 12 cans of Red Stripe and ambition. If you listen to that and Never Mind The Bollocks, they’re quite similar. That album was about the angst of being a teenager in 1977. Fast forward to 1994 and Definitely Maybe is about the glory of being a teenager. It’s being down the park with a ghetto blaster distilled. It’s no coincidence that it’s lasted this long.
"Maybe there have been technically better or bigger records since, but that album is the real fucking deal. There’s no bullshit on it. It’s an honest snapshot of working-class lads trying to make it. It’s about shagging birds, taking drugs, drinking and the glory of all of that."
Earlier in the interview, Gallagher explains that there was no doubt within the band themselves that Oasis were ready for the big time.
"We’d been talking the talk amongst ourselves for a couple of years and when it came down to it, we were ready," he says. "Every minute I spent awake, I just knew it was going to happen."
Released on August 29, 1994, Definitely Maybe was a phenomenal success in the UK, going straight to number one on the UK album charts and eventually going on to be certified platinum eight times over, with sales of almost two and a half million albums.
Despite persistent rumours and the wishes of fans, Oasis are yet to reunite following their acrimonious split in 2009. Noel Gallagher and his brother Liam's endless on-again-off-again feud shows no sign of abating yet.
