NEED TO KNOW
\nA new book reveals the inside story behind every Oasis song ever recordedA Sound So Very Loud, cowritten by music journalists Ted Kessler and Hamish MacBain, is out on Aug. 19, just in time for the band’s highly-anticipated U.S. reunion tour datesThe authors, who have interviewed Oasis members Noel and Liam Gallagher multiple times, spoke with PEOPLE about the book’s origins and writing for a new generation of fans<\/p>\n
The long-awaited reunion of British rock band Oasis<\/a> is, arguably, the live music event of the year.\n<\/p>\n No one thought the group \u2014 fronted by brothers Noel<\/a> and Liam Gallagher<\/a> \u2014 would ever reconcile after a brutal backstage fight in Paris led to their split in 2009. It\u2019s why the siblings broke the internet (and Ticketmaster) when they announced their Live ’25 comeback tour<\/a> last year, and loyal fans \u2014 including celebs like Tom Cruise<\/a> and Dua Lipa<\/a> \u2014 sold out every show prior to the band’s kick-off concert in Wales on July 4<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Now, a new book that delves into the stories behind every Oasis song arrives just in time for the band\u2019s return to the U.S.<\/a> for a series of tour dates to close out the summer.<\/p>\n Ted Kessler and Hamish MacBain\u2019s A Sound So Very Loud<\/a>, out Aug. 19 from Pegasus Books, examines Oasis\u2019 entire discography, from era-defining albums like (What\u2019s the Story) Morning Glory? to the group\u2019s rarest B-sides.<\/p>\n It’s a book only they could have written. Kessler and MacBain, music journalists formerly of outlets like NME and Q Magazine, have each interviewed (and partied with) the Gallagher brothers many times over the years.<\/p>\n The cover of ‘A Sound So Very Loud’ by Ted Kessler and Hamish MacBain.<\/p>\n Pegasus Books<\/p>\n \u201cWe went to see Liam Gallagher during his [2024] Definitely Maybe anniversary show in London,\u201d Kessler tells PEOPLE of the book’s origins. \u201cWe were remarking upon how many young people were there, singing quite obscure Oasis songs. We discussed whether that would make a good basis for some kind of project.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The Live ’25 tour was the motivation the coauthors needed to finally finish the book. MacBain tells PEOPLE that they wanted A Sound So Very Loud<\/a> to tell Oasis\u2019 story through the band\u2019s songs, rather than just their infamous past<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to do something more celebratory, going deep on the music,\u201d he explains. \u201cI feel like every single piece that I read when they got back together was like, \u2018Here’s a history of the fights. Here’s a history of the times they walked out on each other … We got a sense from seeing younger people at Noel’s solo gigs and Liam’s solo gigs [that] they’re not really looking at it like that.”<\/p>\n \u201cEssentially, it’s a book for people who love them, and are obsessed by them, and want to know the story behind every song,\u201d MacBain continues. \u201cAnd also people who are coming to them. There are lots of new generations coming to them.”<\/p>\n Read on for the inside scoop behind some of Oasis\u2019 iconic songs,\u00a0from tracks inspired by disastrous nights out to ones featuring unexpected celebrity guests.<\/p>\n \u2018Live Forever\u2019 <\/p>\n Noel Gallagher.<\/p>\n Ian Dickson\/Redferns<\/p>\n Oasis officially formed in Manchester in 1991, when Noel Gallagher joined the band his brother Liam was in alongside friends Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Tony McCarroll.<\/p>\n Prior to Oasis, however, Noel was working in building construction, where a steel part from a gas pipe fell and broke his foot while on the job one day. After returning from sick leave, Noel took a less treacherous gig in the company\u2019s storeroom, where he played guitar to pass the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first song he wrote in there was \u2018Live Forever,’ though it wasn\u2019t called that \u2014 or called anything \u2014 then, but he came up with the melody, the outline,\u201d Kessler writes. Noel would pen several songs in the storeroom that would appear on Oasis’ 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe.<\/p>\n \u2018Roll with It\u2019 <\/p>\n Oasis (left) and Blur.<\/p>\n Luciano Viti\/Getty;Koh Hasebe\/Shinko Music\/Getty<\/p>\n The fights between the Gallagher brothers are as synonymous with Oasis as their music, but so was their longtime feud with the band Blur. Led by singer Damon Albarn (who would later form the virtual band Gorillaz), Blur was the other popular rock group dominating Britain in the ’90s. What began as a friendly rivalry between the groups soon turned into scathing digs in the media and blatant taunting on live TV.<\/p>\n But their beef came to a head in the summer of 1995, when both groups put out new singles. Oasis\u2019 track, \u201cRoll with It,\u201d was set to be released in mid-August, with Blur\u2019s song \u201cCountry House\u201d to arrive a week later.<\/p>\n When Blur realized that Oasis had accelerated their release date, they rescheduled “Country House” to come out Aug. 14, the same day as “Roll with It.”<\/p>\n \u201cHistory now tells us that Oasis went into this seemingly high-stakes battle that they\u2019d provoked curiously under-armed,\u201d Kessler writes of the incident, which the papers dubbed \u201cThe Battle of Britpop.\u201d<\/p>\n Blur\u2019s \u201cCountry House\u201d did claim the U.K. chart’s top spot with 274,000 sales, but Oasis\u2019 (What\u2019s the Story) Morning Glory? broke records when it was released that October. The album sold 345,000 copies in its first week \u2014 and cemented itself as a pivotal part of British music history.<\/p>\n \u2018Don\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u2019 <\/p>\n From left: Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Tony McCaroll and Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan” of Oasis in 1993.<\/p>\n James Fry\/Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n One of Oasis\u2019 most beloved hits, \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u201d has long sent stadiums around the world to their feet, screaming the anthem’s lyrics right back at the band. Noel told Esquire in 2015<\/a> that he first wrote the song in a Paris hotel room, after Oasis finished a gig at a nearby strip club.<\/p>\n The song\u2019s instantly-recognizable chorus, however, is thanks to Liam. Kessler writes that Noel was strumming an early version of \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back\u201d during a soundcheck, making up the words as he went along.<\/p>\n Liam misheard his brother singing the phrase “so Sally can wait,” and told him as much. Liam’s new lyrics “stopped Noel in his tracks” \u2014 and made it into the final version.<\/p>\n For years, fans have tried to figure out who “Sally” is, but the song’s writer has been elusive with her identity, if there even is one.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clearly about a woman of a certain age who is looking back on her life and thinking, \u2018I am who I am, and that\u2019s it,’\u201d Noel said of the hit during an interview with BBC\u2019s First and Last, per Far Out Magazine<\/a>. \u201cAnd she\u2019s kind of raising a toast to it. When you get to our age, it\u2019s all about acceptance anyway. Accepting who you are and what you\u2019ve become and what you\u2019ve been, and how you got there. And that\u2019s how I see it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n ‘Wonderwall’ <\/p>\n Noel (left) and Liam Gallagher in 1994.<\/p>\n Michel Linssen\/Redferns<\/p>\n A beloved song for street buskers, tipsy bar patrons and casual Oasis listeners alike, the reach of \u201cWonderwall\u201d can\u2019t be understated. But the band\u2019s seminal classic almost didn\u2019t become the version that the world knows today.<\/p>\n According to Kessler, Noel was originally supposed to sing the track, but Liam wanted to do so instead. The elder Gallagher gave his brother a choice: he could either take lead on \u201cWonderwall\u201d or \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger.\u201d<\/p>\n “\u2018I was, like, \u2018\u201cI\u2019m singing one of them, so you take your f——- pick,\u201d Noel said in an interview, according to the book. \u201cHe chose \u201cWonderwall.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n MacBain writes that despite the now-legendary status of the song, Oasis have expressed \u201cmixed feelings\u201d about “Wonderwall” and its many covers over the years.<\/p>\n \u201c[Liam] came around to it, with time realizing what exalted company he was in, having sung a song that so many people all over the world know every word of,\u201d MacBain writes.<\/p>\n \u2018Fade In-Out\u2019 <\/p>\n Noel Gallagher (left) and Johnny Depp.<\/p>\n Dave Benett\/Getty;Gareth Cattermole\/Getty<\/p>\n Oasis has rubbed shoulders with many celebrities throughout their career, but this song from the band\u2019s 1997 album Be Here Now actually featured one.<\/p>\n MacBain writes that Noel was on vacation in 1996 with his then-partner Meg Mathews<\/a>. The couple was staying at Mick Jagger<\/a>\u2019s house on the private island Mustique, where Noel was working on some tracks for Be Here Now during the trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to the bit in \u2018Fade In-Out\u2019 where the slide guitar solo is, and I was playing just a regular guitar solo. And it was rubbish. It was doing me head in,\u2019\u201d Noel recalled in the book.<\/p>\n Lucky for him, Johnny Depp<\/a> and then-girlfriend Kate Moss<\/a> were also on the island. An Oasis fan, Depp saw the band play in 1995, and convinced them to do a concert later that year at his L.A. nightclub, The Viper Room. Depp also lent his guitar-playing skills to an Oasis charity track, so it was only natural for Noel to host Depp for a drink and see if he could manage slide guitar too.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018Yeah,\u2019 so I gave it to him and he played it,\u201d Noel said. \u201cWe recorded the one bit that he\u2019d done separately, brought it back to England and played it over the top of the final tune.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2015, Depp formed his own music supergroup Hollywood Vampires<\/a> with rock legends Joe Perry<\/a> and Alice Cooper<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \u2018Songbird\u2019 <\/p>\n Liam Gallagher (left) and Chris Martin.<\/p>\n Ethan Miller\/Getty;Francesco Prandoni\/Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n Though Noel was responsible for many of Oasis\u2019 hits, Liam was also a prolific songwriter for the band, as seen with this track from their 2002 album Heathen Chemistry.<\/p>\n The younger Gallagher wrote “Songbird” for his then-partner Nicole Appleton in just three minutes, according to Kessler.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in France. We were at this massive f—— mansion, doing our album,\u201d Liam recalled in a 2006 Lock the Box interview<\/a>. \u201cI went out with a guitar one day, sat under the tree, had a bit of a biblical moment. And [“Songbird”] pops up and that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSongbird\u201d would be covered by many fans over the years, as well as one of today’s best-known groups: Coldplay<\/a>. The band’s frontman, Chris Martin<\/a>, even told NME in 2003<\/a> that the track was \u201cthe most beautiful song in the world.”<\/p>\n But Liam wasn’t a fan of Coldplay’s version, even telling Martin at one point, \u201cdon\u2019t ever f—— sing that song.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n