The 10 best Oasis B-sides

24 April 2024, 14:29 | Updated: 24 April 2024, 14:33

Sometimes the greatest songs from the Gallaghers were nestled away on a single, as their album The Masterplan proved. Here’s the ultimate Oasis B-sides playlist.

Oasis single Some Might Say was released on 24th April 1995 along with its unforgettable B-side, which included the tracks Talk Tonight, Acquiesce and Headshrinker.

Later on on 2nd November 1998, The Masterplan album brought together some of the legendary Manchester band's best flip sides, and reminded the nation of how many hidden gems were tucked away in their back catalogue.

Radio X has taken a look at ten of the best B-side moments from Oasis. Do you agree with our choices?

1. Talk Tonight

   “I want to talk tonight / Until the morning light / 'Bout how you saved my life.”

   Inspired by Noel Gallagher’s epic flounce after a disastrous show in Los Angeles, this gentle ballad concerns the elder brother’s time cooling off with a girl he’d met - later to be revealed as one Melissa Lim. Appearing as a B-side to Some Might Say with Acquiesce, this package stands alongside the first two albums as the ultimate Oasis package.

2. Acquiesce

   “Because we need each other / We believe in one another…”

   An outstanding song that originally featured on the flip of Some Might Say in April 1995. It was their first Number 1 in the UK, so a LOT of people got to hear it.

3. Rockin’ Chair

   Part of the package that took on Blur alongside Roll With It in August 1995, this song showcases the bigger sound that the band were exploring on their second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?

4. Half The World Away

   Now best known as the theme tune to Caroline Aherne’s excellent TV comedy The Royle Family, this acoustic ballad is sung by Noel Gallagher and first appeared on the other side of the one-off single Whatever in December 1994.

5. The Masterplan

   "Life on the other hand / Won't make us understand / We're all part of the masterplan."

   Noel at his most philosophical? Alan McGee claimed this should have been a single. Originally the flip to the huge single Wonderwall, this thoughtful track is another Noel-led song, and later gave its title to the official collection of Oasis b-sides.

6. Step Out

   “You might think you're gonna cry / It will be all right / Step out tonight.”

   This would have made the cut for the (What’s The Story) Morning Glory if it wasn’t for the chorus sounding similar to Stevie Wonder’s Uptight (Everything’s Alright). Lawyers intervened, relegating Step Out to play second fiddle to the mighty Don’t Look Back In Anger in February 1996.

7. Round Are Way

   A barnstorming big tune about life in everyday Burnage, which contrasted sharply with its parent track Wonderwall. The title is deliberately mis-spelt in tribute to Oasis’ spiritual grandfathers Slade, who loved a typo.

8. Fade Away

   The early Oasis singles were jam-packed with Noel Gallagher tunes that were every bit as strong as the material that ended up on their debut Definitely Maybe. This early track appeared on the b-side of Cigarettes And Alcohol in October 1994 and it’s no exception.

9. D’Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?

   One of the songs that appeared on the original Oasis demo tape back in 1993, this Noel-sung tune originally appeared on the back of the Shakermaker single in June 1994, two months before the release of Definitely Maybe.

10. The Swamp Song

    Another bonus track on the Wonderwall single (along with Round Are Way and The Masterplan), this stomping instrumental jam later found fame as the opening song at Oasis live shows. Its chiming arpeggios pay tribute to Johnny Marr’s work on The Smiths’ What Difference Does It Make?