Live Forever, Wonderwall, Don't Look Back In Anger… Noel Gallagher didn't choose any of them for the one Oasis song he'd have as his 'desert island disc'. Instead he chose another track that has special memories for him.
It was written in the studio on the hoof one night
"Supersonic," he told BBC Radio Manchester without hesitation in a recent interview. "It was written in the studio on the hoof one night. We mixed it there and then that night; it was written recorded and mixed in about six hours and it's just a moment of pure inspiration. And it's the original lineup jamming it out in the studio – magic.
As for a solo song from his High Flying Birds catalogue, he went for the opener of second album, Chasing Yesterday.
"Riverman. Why Riverman? When I hear it, now and again I'll play it or it will come on my shuffle or something, it still blows me away. I think the sound of it is incredible and it's another song that came out of nothing one afternoon."
Out of nowhere McCartney says, 'Oh, I had a dream about John last night.'
Another musician who knows all about capturing lightning in a bottle is Paul McCartney. And while Beatles fanatic Noel notes McCartney is still the Fab Four's biggest fan in the world, he's had the surreal experience of not only meeting his idol, but playing with him a few times too. When asked by BBC Radio Manchester's Mike Sweeney what his favourite memory of his time with Macca is, he recalled an unexpected encounter in Brazil.
"I was on tour with U2 in 2018 and we were doing a gig in São Paulo. As the gods of rock n' roll had decreed, Paul McCartney was playing in São Paulo at the same time. We were all staying in the same hotel and we end up at the bar and [I was] sat talking to McCartney with Bono and the Edge – we're all hanging out. Out of nowhere McCartney says, 'Oh, I had a dream about John last night.' And we were like, 'What?!'
"He said, 'We were just in the studio – grooving'. And we were like,'And?' He said, 'Yeah it was great'. And I remember thinking, what a brilliant tale to tell your grandkids that McCartney is just saying, 'I had a dream about John last night'. Far out man!"
The former Oasis man also weighed in on the lasting legacy of the Beatles and how he was "still getting into them and still in love with them."
"People do say, 'Why were they the best?' Noel pondered. "It's because they had the best words, the best parts, they played the best parts, they wore the best clothes, they had the best sense of humour… they were the best. They are the one band from that era, I mean there's a few, but those songs have never been bettered. Those albums… they will never be beaten."
Noel's explained how his admiration for McCartney goes beyond his achievements as a songwriter.
"He's a lovely, lovely guy," he added. "He's an astonishing musician, he's got great stories, he's got a brilliant sense of humour and when you're hanging out with him you can get on a level with him because he's just a scouser in a band and you're a Manc in a band. It's only about three weeks later when you think, 'That's one of the Beatles – that's one of the Beatles!' He's a dude and I've shared the stage with him a few times. I love him dearly."
Hear the full BBC Radio Manchester interview with Noel Gallagher here.
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