Back at the end of 1994, Oasis were free to be whatever they, whatever they choose and they’ll sing the blues if they want. Not that they did sing the blues, though. Instead, they followed the humungous success of their era-defining debut Definitely Maybe with Whatever, a string-drenched 60s pop singalong that was released as a standalone, non-album single in December 1994. But just because it doesn't have a parent album doesn’t mean it shouldn’t get to celebrate a milestone birthday and today the band have announced a 30th anniversary remaster and re-release for the stirring anthem.
Available to order now and released in limited edition, numbered “pink and blue splatter” seven-inch alongside B-side (It’s Good) To Be Free, Whatever (Remastered) is estimated to be delivered to fans at the end of February.
It was a source of surprise at the time their even-more-humungous second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? rolled around in autumn 1995 that Whatever had been omitted from the tracklist, with one possible reason that Noel Gallagher didn’t want to have to divvy up the songwriting royalties that would’ve come flooding in: not long after its release, Oasis were forced to add Rutles and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band member Neil Innes as a co-writer on Whatever due to the song’s similarities to his tune How Sweet To Be An Idiot. David Bowie must have been a bit more relaxed about it given the song also nods very strongly towards his own track All The Young Dudes. Still, wherever Noel nicked the ideas from, he crafted an all-timer. Watch the video for Whatever below:
