Oasis “Champagne Supernova” charted

Champagne Supernova Oasis

Writer(s): Noel Gallagher (see lyrics here) Released: May 13, 1996 First Charted: February 24, 1996 Peak: 20 BA, 10 GR, 9 RR, 33 A40, 13 AA, 8 AR, 15 MR, 11 CN, 26 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 1.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 172.61 video, 342.32 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 1995, Oasis and Blur went head-to-head with competing singles released on the same day in what the British press proclaimed “The Battle of Britpop.” Blur won the battle with their “Country House” song outselling “Roll with It” but Oasis won the war. Their second album, What’s the Story Morning Glory? produced four hits which reached #1 or #2 on the UK charts and made the album one of the top 100 best-selling in the world. While Oasis were treated as a second coming of the Beatles in their native UK, they were competing with multiple alternative rock juggernauts in the United States. Interestingly, though, they found some success in the U.S. with songs that weren’t even released as singles in the UK. One of those was “Champagne Supernova.” While it didn’t chart in the UK, it topped the alternative rock charts in the U.S. “Noel Gallagher’s stab at psychedelic songwriting might not be up there with ‘I Am the Walrus,’… but no one ever went to him when they wanted great lyrics. ‘Champagne Superova’ is still up there with the very best of his tunes, thanks in large part to an epic vocal performance from his brother Liam and a crashing guitar guest spot from Noel’s dad-rock hero Paul Weller. Though the song has no distinct meaning, it works best as an escape fantasy.” XFM Noel has acknowledged that he hasn’t even made up his mind what the song is about, saying, “It means different things when I’m in different moods.” WK “When Noel bought his house in Hampstead he changed the name (from number nine) to Supernova Heights. The song provided an epic finale to their record-breaking Knebworth gigs of 1996.” XFM Resources: XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Pages 301-2. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/25/2023.