Oasis Dominate Radio X 'Ultimate British Song' Poll

Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody is the ultimate British song according to Radio X listeners, in our second annual Best of British poll.

The classic 1975 single toppled Oasis’s Wonderwall off the top spot, moving up 11 places to be named the best British song of all time by Radio X listeners.

RADIO X BEST OF BRITISH TOP 20:
1. QUEEN – BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
2. OASIS – LIVE FOREVER
3. OASIS – WONDERWALL
4. OASIS – DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
5. THE VERVE – BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY
6. OASIS – CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA
7. THE STONE ROSES – I AM THE RESURRECTION
8. ARCTIC MONKEYS – I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR
9. DAVID BOWIE – HEROES
10. PULP – COMMON PEOPLE
11. DAVID BOWIE – LIFE ON MARS?
12. THE STONE ROSES – FOOL’S GOLD
13. OASIS – SLIDE AWAY
14. THE SMITHS – THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT
15. OASIS – SUPERSONIC
16. LED ZEPPELIN – STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
17. NEW ORDER – BLUE MONDAY
18. THE STONE ROSES – I WANNA BE ADORED
19. PINK FLOYD – WISH YOU WERE HERE
20. THE ROLLING STONES – GIMME SHELTER

Source: www.radiox.co.uk

Vote For Oasis At The NME Awards

You can vote for Oasis at the NME Awards, the band are nominated in two categories.

Best Music Film

Oasis: Supersonic
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ One More Time With Feeling
Sing Street
Gimme Danger
The Rolling Stones Havana Moon
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years

Best Reissue

REM – ‘Out Of Time’
Pink Floyd – ‘Meddle’
Oasis – ‘Be Here Now’
Michael Jackson – ‘Off The Wall’
DJ Shadow – ‘Endtroducing’
Blur – ‘Leisure’

To vote click here.

More On Liam Gallagher's New Music

Liam Gallagher has said in an interview with Q that he's working on new music with "two lads I know". He elaborated: "One's a multi-instrumentalist and he can play anything. Not that there's much to play on these songs. One guitar, acoustic. One guitar, electric. Drum kit, keyboard about that big [measures out 12 inches between his hands]. That's your lot. Proper sparse, really pumping. How it should be. We've demoed some songs..."

"I am not embarking on a solo 'career'," Gallagher went on to clarify. "Everyone should know that. There are just 10, 11 songs I've written that are eligible to be recorded. They've got flair, attitude, the melodies are sick and the words are fucking funny. We'll record them this year and release it next year. It'll shock people. It's a record written by me, that's got all the right ingredients and sounds well tasty. You won't be scratching your chin. It's not Pink Floyd and it ain't Radiohead. It's chin-out music."

The current issue of Q is on sale now.

Noel Gallagher, The Stone Roses And Royal Blood Among Best-Selling Vinyl Albums Of 2015

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' latest album 'Chasing Yesterday' is the biggest-selling vinyl album of 2015 so far.

The Official Charts Company has unveiled a list of the Top 40 vinyl albums of the year, with Gallagher's second post-Oasis LP, released in February, beating the likes of The Stone Roses, Royal Blood, Led Zeppelin and Arctic Monkeys to the top spot.

As well as 'Chasing Yesterday', among the Top 10 only two other albums were released this year: Blur's 'The Magic Whip' and Jamie xx's 'In Colour'.

Other records, such as The Stone Roses' eponymous debut and Led Zeppelin’s 1975 album 'Physical Graffiti', were recently reissued.

Outside the Top 10, new albums from Muse, Sufjan Stevens, Foals and The War On Drugs fill the top 20, while Tame Impala, Florence + The Machine, Wolf Alice and more feature elsewhere in the Top 40.

See the full Top 10 below. View a full list of the Top 40 vinyl albums of the year so far here.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - 'Chasing Yesterday'
The Stone Roses - 'The Stone Roses'
Royal Blood - 'Royal Blood'
Led Zeppelin - 'Physical Graffiti'
Arctic Monkeys - 'AM'
Pink Floyd - 'The Dark Side Of The Moon'
Amy Winehouse - 'Back To Black'
Blur - 'The Magic Whip'
Jamie xx - 'In Colour'
Ed Sheeran - 'X'

Source: www.nme.com

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

Noel Gallagher Dominates Vinyl Sales In The UK

Gallagher’s High Flying Birds top sales of both albums and singles on vinyl during the first half of the year.

Let no one say the vinyl market is dominated by the dinosaurs of rock or their fans. Actually, scratch that – because it is. The Official Charts Company has released its lists of the best selling vinyl albums and singles this year, and both are dominated by Men of Rock of a certain age.

Chasing Yesterday by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds is the best selling vinyl album of the year, with Nos 2 and 3 being Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti and the Stone Roses’ debut album. The highest placed album by a woman, or an act including women, is Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, at No 18. The only other women or acts featuring women to feature in the top 40 are Courtney Barnett (Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit, No 23), Florence + the Machine (How Big How Blue How Beautiful, No 27), Fleetwood Mac (Rumours, No 29), Belle & Sebastian (Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance, No 36), Björk (Vulnicura, No 37) and Wolf Alice (My Love Is Cool, No 40).

The singles chart is even more skewed, with Gallagher and his Birds occupying the top three places, as well as No 7. David Bowie, meanwhile is at No 5 and No 6 , as well as No 10 (for a split single with Television’s Tom Verlaine released for Record Store Day). Florence + the Machine (What Kind of Man, No 14) and Courtney Barnett (Kim’s Caravan, No 17) are the only women in the top 20.

The top 10 vinyl albums of 2015 so far

1 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Chasing Yesterday
2 Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
3 The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
4 Blur – The Magic Whip
5 Royal Blood – Royal Blood
6 Arctic Monkeys – AM
7 Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
8 Led Zeppelin – IV
9 Sufjan Stevens – Carrie and Lowell
10 Public Service Broadcasting – The Race for Space

The top 10 vinyl singles of 2015 so far

1 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Riverman
2 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Ballad of the Mighty I
3 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – the Dying of the Light
4 Blur – Y’All Doomed
5 David Bowie – Changes
6 David Bowie – Young Americans
7 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – In the Heat of the Moment
8 Paul Weller – Saturn’s Pattern
9 Mark Ronson – Uptown Funk
10 David Bowie/Tom Verlaine – Side by Side/Kingdom Come

Source: www.theguardian.com

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

Noel Gallagher's: Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere Vol 3: The Good, The Bad And The Bubbly (Part 10)

Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere Vol 3: The Good, The Bad And The Bubbly:

Now then... What's happening? Anything exciting? No? Excellent!!!!

I didn't bother sending regular updates from Japan as the days to tend to be quite similar over there... MITHER, FUSS, MITHER, FUSS, PROMO, FUSS, SOUNDCHECK, MITHER, MORE PROMO,

MITHER AND FUSS, GIG, FUSS AND MITHER, HOTEL, FUSS, BULLET TRAIN, MITHER, MITHER, MITHER...repeat. Didn't seem any point bothering you with it.

Here then is a quick round up:

Every day is the same... hassled in hotel lobbies... chased through train stations... arrive at the gig... marvel at the latest brass section... There was one particularly shit mob in. Can't remember now but they were awful...funny almost.

Some guy at one of the shows had a placard held what said: "WHAT COLOUR UNDERPANTS ARE YOU WEARING?". I'd like to say the crowd were stunned into silence when I told them I don't wear underwear onstage, but as it was quieter than a comedy club that Madonna's doing stand up at (did you see that thing? Holy shit balls!!) I'm not sure anyone noticed, least of all me!

Been given some truly wonderful gifts by that mob. Not a day goes by that someone's not thrusting something or other at you shouting "GIFT FOR YOU!!" or  "GIFT FOR SARA!!" or  "GIFT FOR YOUR CHILDREN!!"

Bless you and thanks by the way if any of those people were you.

I did get a bit concerned when someone give me this bag of...stuff. In amongst it was a box with, what I would describe as, quite shouty Japanese writing on it. Being curious and all that I decided to open it up and see what was in it. Turns out it was individually wrapped little mini chocolate bars. BINGO!! I put the kettle on and sat down to sample the delights of yer oriental fun size snack. I'm on about my 3rd little shouty chocolate things when I start examining the box and I notice that underneath the shouty Japanese writing is, written in shouty English, "The legend: BLACK THUNDER!!" Black thunder? I'm thinking... Oh fuck these better not be laxatives!!

The lad with the placard followed the entire tour with different variations on his original sign, at least I think it was him... My favourite being him holding up a sign with just a pair of underpants drawn on with the words: "WHAT COLOUR ARE THEY?" He was obsessed!

The interviews were as you might imagine... Unique I think is the best way to put it.

Someone asked me about our "upcoming erection?"... 'Scuse me? Who gives a fuck about that anyway? 79% of the fiscal this...2.4% growth of the annual that, spend, cut, borrow, lend, build...blah, blah FUCKING BLAH. Say something radical you utterly contemptible bastards.

Sorry about that. Where were we? Yes... Tokyo, The Budokan, a great way to end the tour... 2 nights.

Excellent shows. First night was my favourite. The sun even came out. Lovely!

Japanese fans you are without doubt the most strangely strange yet oddly normal people in the whole world.

Thank you for everything... until Fuji Rock... SAYO-FUCKIN'-NARA!

You currently find me at home, alone, in our kitchen. Nancy and the 2 princes have gone out for the day to a safari park. Even the cat's gone out!!

The silence is deafening...bit like in Osaka!!

Keep it livid yeah?

GD.

PS:on that tour I listened mostly to:

Sunday Shining by Finley Quaye.

Cymbaline by Pink Floyd.

Lunatics Lament by Kevin Ayres.

Everybody's Got To Clap by LuLu.

Going My Way by Paul Weller.

Just One Time by Juicy Lucy.

Work Your Body by Moonbotica.


Guöngyhaju lány by Omega.

Source: www.noelgallagher.com

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here

Check Out Pretty Green's 'Storm' Capsule Collection

Click here to check out Pretty Green's 'Storm' Capsule Collection that is inspired by the ground breaking 1973 Pink Floyd album ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and it's striking album cover designed by Storm Thorgerson.

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

Noel Gallagher On Chasing Yesterday, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Guitars And More

Click here to read an interview with Noel Gallagher who talks about Chasing Yesterday, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Guitars and more.

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here

Noel Gallagher On The Saxophone In Riverman

Taken from a interview with Dutch magazine 'OOR' that is on sale now, thanks to General Dread for the translation.

If you live outside the Netherlands you can buy the magazine from here.

Interviewer: Baker Street or Careless Whisper

Noel: Ah, the saxophone. Baker Street, I guess. Proper tune. I've got it in my collection, but I never put it on not to even speak of Careless Whisper, but I do get it. The saxophone is a powerful instrument and that comes to the surface full on in those tunes. On this record I've got a sax and bass clarinet. That comes from some old 50’s rock ‘n roll which I enjoy, it’s more frequent in that era. And of course Pink Floyd. Dick Parry was the name of their sax player and he did lots of interesting things.

Listen to Dark Side Of The Moon. Pink Floyd to that moment, and still don’t make music in which you would expect such an instrument to show up and still it’s just there. Great really. It’s a risky move, breaking though all the rules and boundaries. When it became clear that it would fit Riverman, I directly thought fuck it, bring in the sax! Not in the line of expectations for a Noel Gallagher album, but it paid off immensely. Riverman just asked for it, it’s a tune that I'm very proud of, it’s a song that really hits home.

I'm really proud of it, putting aside that I can blow myself away with my own tunes. I already thought it is one of my best. Then the lad came in to play the sax and I thought: now it’s the greatest thing ever. And that it happens now, even after all those years. The guitar solo is ace. The vibe is grand. Throw in the sax and it’s beyond belief. Pink Floyd meets fucking Santana in a weird funk atmosphere. Fucking amazing.

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

Noel Gallagher On Pink Floyd, David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, The Who, The Jam And More

Below are Noel Gallagher's top iTunes album recommendations, check out his favourite songs, movies and TV shows here.

The Sex Pistols: Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
"Probably the single most important important album of all time. Why? Because it reignited youth culture."

Pink Floyd: The Wall
"The scope, the vision, the story, the iconic guitar playing - not to mention the songs! I know every single word of it... staggering."

The Beatles: Revolver
"The '90's would never have happened without this album."

The Kinks: We Are The Village Green Preservation Society
"Probably the most underappreciated album of all time. Ray Davies was the unsung hero of the '60's... Storytelling of THE

The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses
"It doesn't sound like it now but at the time this really did seem like it came from another universe... at that moment they were the greatest band of all time."

The Who: The Ultimate Collection
"Undoubtedly the greatest singles band of all time... laughable how many truly great youth anthems Pete Townshend wrote."

Various Artists: The Hacienda Classics
"You really should've been there. One of my most treasured musical possessions... the sound of my youth. When it came out, it transported me right back to some of the greatest nights of my life. It never EVER lets you down."

The Velvet Underground: The Very Best Of The Velvet Underground
"Without The Velvet Underground no David Bowie. No David Bowie, no point getting up in the morning."

David Bowie: The Next Day
"No matter how hard they try (and they will try!) they'll never beat the jaw dropping moment when 'Where Are We Now?' was aired... the whole thing was mind blowing... properly mind blowing. A masterpiece."

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives: Behind The Music
"It changed the way I wrote music. Probably the biggest influence on my thing (whatever that is?!) since The Beatles."

The Jam: Snap!
"Weller the teenager writing teenage anthems... Rare as a decent B-side these days! No point in listing them, there's too many. Intense and unrelenting and he was only 23 when they split up!"

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

Noel Gallagher Talks About A Number Of New Tracks From His New Album

Noel Gallagher has spoken to the Q Magazine about his album 'Chasing Yesterday' that is released in March.

Album opener 'Riverman' drifts on a blissful acoustic grove, before building to a skyscraping guitar solo and a gentle sax solo.

Noel says "It's the sound of 1970's Sunset Boulevard with Santana playing lead guitar over a pothead groove, and a Pink Floyd saxophone player in the background".

He said the track was inspired by a night out with Russell Brand and Morrissey in Los Angeles.

On 'Lock All The Doors' he says he's "nicked a bit from 'Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't Have) by the Buzzcocks".

There are a few reworked tracks from his aborted 2011 collaboration with 'Amorphous Androgynous' 'The Mexican' is a stomper and 'The Right Stuff' is "proper psychedelic jazz".

He said he loves the way these things sit on the same record.

The 'Ballard Of Mighty I' apparently sums up the entire album's lyrical theme "the things in life that will always remain slightly out of reach". The hope in the song, he adds, "is that the chase is what is great".

"I'm not sure I really want Manchester City to win the Champions League for 10 consecutive seasons. It shouldn't be that easy. I don't like to use the word 'Journey' because you sound like a contestant on a reality TV show, but surely the journey is better then the destination.

The current issue of Q is on sale now here!

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

No Oasis Or Rolling Stones - For The Queen's 12 Minutes Of British Pop

The Beatles and Blur make the cut but there’s no room for Oasis and the Rolling Stones. A 12-minute medley of British rock’s greatest achievements will be performed at Buckingham Palace after the Queen requested a potted history of Britpop.

A four-day festival, with a “Best of British” theme, opens to the public on Friday in Buckingham Palace's gardens, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.

The event will showcase British fashion, food, technological innovation and the arts. For the musical contribution, the Palace has chosen the chart-topping band The Feeling, to play a tightly-constructed medley featuring the most essential music of the Queen’s reign, which neatly encompasses the popular music era.

The Feeling, whose set list was approved “at the very heighest levels” by the Palace, have boiled down 60 years of artistic innovation and cultural reinvention into just seven songs.

The medley begins with The Beatles and revives the sonic crunch of The Kinks. It singles out the 70s rock operatics of The Who, the flamboyant showmanship of Queen with David Bowie and the artful state-of-the-nation addresses delivered by Pink Floyd and Blur.

There are unavoidable omissions, said Dan Gillespie Sells, frontman of The Feeling. “We had to leave out the Rolling Stones and we chose Blur over Oasis because they were the band who most influenced us,” he said. “We could have chosen from a million songs but we went for artists we liked and tried to cover all the bases inside 12 minutes. We didn’t want the medley to be too quickfire either, we restricted it to seven songs.”

The Queen was spared some controversial choices. “We couldn’t have the Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen. I’d have liked to do an Elvis Costello song but it would have been too political,” said the singer.

“We had to send the set-list to the Palace for approval but that’s fair enough – the event is in her house.”

However some may wish to send The Feeling to the Tower for including their own hit, Love It When You Call as the climax of their Britpop history. “The palace asked us to include one of ours. It was the most played song on the radio so I think it’s fair enough,” explained Gillespie Sells.

The band debated whether Pink Floyd’s “We don’t need no education” lyric was appropriate for the Palace. “We wanted some Floyd but they don’t really do pop songs,” said Gillespie Sells. “This one clips along and helps with the pace of the medley.”

At least The Feeling, soon to release a new album called Boy Cried Wolf, did not use their valuable minutes to try out some new material. “We could have included a noughties song from Coldplay,” Gillespie Sells said. “But it’s a bit weird to cover a song by your contemporaries who are your friends.”

The Feeling will perform their medley each day during the festival and hope the Queen will attend one of the performances.

Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson, Katie Melua and Laura Wright will also perform at the festival of “innovation, excellence and industry”. Each day more than 6,000 ticket holders will attend the palace gardens which will be filled with more than 200 display stands exhibiting products and services.

Tickets for the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace at: https://www.coronationfestival.com/

The Best of Britpop?
Day Tripper – The Beatles (1965 UK chart peak - No 1)
You Really Got Me – The Kinks (1964 No 1)
Pinball Wizard – The Who/Elton John (1969 No 4)
Under Pressure – Queen & David Bowie (1981 No1)
Another Brick In the Wall (Part 2) – Pink Floyd (1979 No 1)
Parklife – Blur (2004 No 10)
Love It When You Call – The Feeling (2006 No 18)

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Andy Bell And Gem Archer Mixtape And Interview For Xfm

Andy and Gem from Beady Eye deliver 60 minutes of short chat and big tunes with classics from Jimi Hendrix, The Stone Roses and Pink Floyd.

The Xfm Mixtape with Ford SYNC - Beady Eye (Show 1) by Xfm Radio on Mixcloud

Oasis Up For Inclusion In Music Walk Of Fame

Camden Town is to get a Hollywood-style walk of fame, which will honour pop music greats linked with the area such as Pink Floyd, Oasis and Amy Winehouse.

Endorsed by the Los Angeles movie-star original, Camden's will honour music's greatest performers with a bronze and stone disc, presumably to mimic a vinyl record, set in the pavement. Each disc is set to cost about £500.

Those chosen will be split into five groups: influential artists; innovative artists; unsung heroes; and industry types. After a committee has come up with a shortlist, we all get the chance to vote on the Music Walk of Fame's website.

The shortlist hasn't been decided yet, but hints have been dropped that among those in the first tranche will be Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, The Doors, Marc Bolan, The Move, Cream, Hawkwind, Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass, Suede, Madonna, Radiohead and Public Enemy.

The list is to be announced in May.

Source: www.londonnet.co.uk

Liam Gallagher Says Beady Eye Have Gone For The Full Pink Floyd Trip On New Album

In Oasis's heyday a call going out to a brass band to join a studio session would have been a sign the drug threshold had been reached.

But Liam Gallagher insists his new band Beady Eye are willing to do things a bit differently on their second album in a quest for more rock ’n’ roll success.

Last week he had a pop at Mumford & Sons for looking like they might have nits — but the brass section isn’t a sign he’s joining a colliery band.

Speaking at the launch of his new fashion range for Pretty Green, he said: “We’ve gone for the full Pink Floyd trip, man.

“There’s the psychedelic stuff and then the rock ’n’ roll bangers.

“Our producer Dave called up our manager and told him to get a brass band round sharpish one day.

“If it makes it a better record, I’m having it man. I’m buzzing for it. It’s going to blow people’s minds.”

It was a brave move getting Dave Sitek on board. He’s in a band called TV On The Radio and produced Foals and Yeah Yeah Yeahs records.

They are the kind of characters you might expect to be mingling with the Derek Zoolander fashion crowd with ironic facial hair.

But Liam and his team have done the business slipping into the fashion world over the last four or five years — and they are cashing in.

Pretty Green unveiled the new face of their brand, Jesse Wood, the guitarist son of Rolling Stone Ronnie.

He’s a top bloke and a great shout for the brand. He brought his heavily preggers missus Fearne Cotton along, but they did the back door shuffle when her feet couldn’t take any more.

Inbetweeners hero James Buckley was in his element, too.

The actor, who owns so much he must keep Liam’s label ticking over, joked that he was trying to steal some threads. He tweeted: “Tried to walk out with those suit jackets.”

Speaking about being newly married to Scottish girlfriend CLAIR MEEK, he said: “My father-in-law came over to me at the wedding and said, ‘Don’t you ever be doing a Scottish accent in any films now, you hear me?’ I got the message loud and clear.”

Kasabian’s Tom Meighan was out for the night too. And being out for the night, he’s probably still going as you read this.

Source: www.thesun.co.uk

Oasis, One Direction And The Spice Girls Most 'Scrobbled' Artists Following Olympic Closing Ceremony

Oasis, One Direction and the Spice Girls were the top three artists streamed via Last.fm following the Olympic Closing Ceremony according to data from the digital music service.

By recording trends in ‘scrobbling’ - where Last.fm keeps a record of every track listened to on various digital platforms - the platform's live data found that the music event greatly impacted listening habits.

Wonderwall by Oasis was the most scrobbled track after Liam Gallagher performed the seminal single under the moniker of his new band Beady Eye.

One Direction hit What Makes You Beautiful was second place on the list with Spice Girls Spice Up Your Life taking third place.

Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here and Muse Survival rounded off the top five with John Legend, The Who and Queen all making appearances in the top ten.

George Michael’s Freedom-90 was bottom of the pops and received a relatively low-level of listeners on Sunday night.

The performances also created a natural spike in listening habits, with the majority of acts benefitting from increased listeners following their appearance.

The spikes occurred shortly after the Spice Girls, Beady Eye (Oasis), John Lennon (performance of Imagine), Pink Floyd (performance of Wish You Were Here), The Who and One Direction took to the stage.

Source: www.musicweek.com

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' new single 'Everybody's On The Run' is available now digitally and in stores more details can be found here.

Oasis, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols And More On List For Olympics' Opening Ceremony

The Sex Pistols’ song appears on a leaked list of music proposed for the ceremony on July 27, alongside some more notable classics.

The song includes the lines: “God save the Queen, the fascist regime...God save the Queen, she ain’t no human being” and ends: “No future, no future, no future for you.”
Use of the track, which was banned by the BBC when it was released in 1977, reflects an eclectic and controversial style to be adopted by Danny Boyle, the creative director, in contrast with that of the Golden Jubilee concert earlier this month.

The list also includes Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax, which was similarly banned by the BBC when it was released in 1984 on the grounds of its explicit lyrics.

Other music on the list of 86 tracks is more traditional, including patriotic favourites such as Land Of Hope And Glory, Jerusalem and the Dambusters March.

Tracks by the elder statesmen of British pop music are included, such as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and David Bowie.

And there are classics such as London Calling by The Clash, Going Underground by The Jam, My Generation by The Who and Rudy by The Specials.

They come alongside more recent tunes such as the Sugababes, Push the Button, Amy Winehouse’s version of Valerie and Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.

Rock acts such as Radiohead, Coldplay, Muse, Oasis and Blur are on the list alongside rappers such as Rizzle Kicks, Tinie Tempa and Dizzee Rascal.

Classic TV and radio theme tunes include Eastenders, Coronation Street, the Archers and the BBC news and film theme tunes such as Chariots of Fire and the James Bond Theme.

Among the fun tunes listed are My Boy Lollipop and Tiger Feet, but there is no room for performers at the Diamond Jubilee Concert including Cliff Richard, Elton John, and Tom Jones.

The music will be mixed together by Underworld – DJs Karl Hyde and Rick Smith – at Abbey Road Studios and the pair have included their own dance music classic Born Slippy, which featured in Boyle’s film Trainspotting, as well as the Prodigy’s Firestarter.

Mr Boyle, 55, has already revealed that the spectacular will feature a Glastonbury-style “mosh pit” but an Olympics spokesman said: “We want the ceremony to be a fantastic surprise for the watching world, and we want the British public to be proud of it.

“There is endless speculation about the content – much of which is simply guesswork, as we are keeping the show under wraps.”

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Oasis Feature In The 100 Best Albums Of All Time

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon has come top in a new poll of the 100 best albums of all time.

Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? was second and Definitely Maybe is at number twenty.

'(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' has sold over 14 million copies worldwide, 4.2 of which are in the UK alone.

The number one album marked the band's first UK number one single with 'Some Might Say' and featured live favourites such as 'Roll With It' and 'Champagne Supernova'.

It also contains the singles 'Wonderwall' and 'Don't Look Back In Anger'.

'Wonderwall', released in 1995, was the band's 8th single in the space of 18 punch-drunk months that saw the band rise from noisy Manchester lads to the most talked about band in the world.

'Definitely Maybe' was released on 30th August 1994 on Creation Records and debuted at number 1 in the album charts. On release it became the UK's fastest-selling debut album and featured classics such as 'Rock 'n' Roll Star', 'Live Forever', 'Supersonic', 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' and 'Slide Away', all of which became live favourites throughout the band's career.

The full list can be heard today and tomorrow on Absolute Radio between 10am and 2pm.

1. Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
2. Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
3. U2 – The Joshua Tree
4. Keane – Hopes And Fears
5. The Stone Roses – Stone Roses
6. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
7. David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust
8. Queen – A Night At The Opera
9. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
10. Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction
11. Meatloaf – Bat Out Of Hell
12. AC/DC – Back In Black
13. The Beatles – Abbey Road
14. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
15. Nirvana – Nevermind
16. Radiohead – OK Computer
17. The Clash – London Calling
18. Depeche Mode – Violator
19. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
20. Oasis – Definitely Maybe

Beady Eye, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Bird's, Radiohead Score Best Selling Vinyl Singles Of 2011

Beady Eye scored the biggest selling vinyl singles of 2011, with three of their singles featuring in the top five of the year's best sellers.

The band's debut single 'The Roller' was the biggest selling vinyl single of the year, with its follow-up 'Millionaire' not far behind. Morrissey's one-off release 'Glamorous Glue' was third, with Beady Eye at Number Four again with the 'The Beat Goes On' and the ex-Oasis' men's former bandmate Noel Gallagher at Number Five with 'The Death Of You And Me', reports The Official Charts Company.

Arctic Monkeys were sixth with 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair', while Noel Gallagher was at seven with '…AKA What A Life', Beady Eye were also at Number Eight with Miles Kane and the Manic Street Preachers occupying the other two places in the top 10.

Radiohead had the biggest selling 12" singles of the year, with their split single 'Supercollider'/'The Butcher' taking the top spot. Behind the Oxford band in Number Two was Paul Weller with 'Starlite', then the Tuff Productions' single 'Always Searching'. Radiohead were also at Number Four and Six with Kasabian inbetween them at Number Five.

Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Rhythm Robbers and Burial made up the rest of the Top Ten.

In terms of vinyl album sales, Radiohead's 'The King Of Limbs' came out on top, just ahead of Noel Gallagher at Number Two and Adele at Number Three. PJ Harvey was fourth with 'Let England Shake', while Arctic Monkeys were fifth with 'Suck It And See'. Bon Iver, Beady Eye, Kate Bush, Alex Turner and Pink Floyd's re-released 'Dark Side Of The Moon' made up the rest of the top 10.

The Top 10 selling vinyl singles of 2011 were as follows:

1. Beady Eye - 'The Roller'
2. Beady Eye - 'Millionaire'
3. Morrissey - 'Glamorous Glue'
4. Beady Eye - 'The Beat Goes On'
5. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - 'The Death Of You And Me'
6. Arctic Monkeys - 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair'
7. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - '...A.K.A What A Life'
8. Beady Eye - 'Four Letter Word'
9. Miles Kane - 'Come Closer'
10. Manic Street Preachers - 'Postcards From A Young Man'

The Top 10 selling 12 inch vinyl singles of 2011 were as follows:

1. Radiohead - 'The Butcher/Supercollider'
2. Paul Weller - 'Starlite'
3. Tuff Productions - 'Always Searching'
4. Radiohead - 'Morning Mr Magpie'
5. Kasabian - 'Days Are Forgotten'
6. Radiohead - 'Little By Little'
7. Arctic Monkeys - 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair'
8. Kasabian - 'Re-Wired'
9. Rhythm Robbers - 'Plastic Dreams'
10. Burial - ' Street Halo'

The Top 10 selling vinyl albums of 2011 were as follows:

1. Radiohead - 'The King Of Limbs'
2. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds'
3. Adele - '21'
4. PJ Harvey - 'Let England Shake'
5. Arctic Monkeys - 'Suck It And See'
6. Bon Iver - 'Bon Iver'
7. Beady Eye - 'Different Gear, Still Speeding'
8. Kate Bush - '50 Words For Snow'
9. Alex Turner - 'Submarine OST'
10. Pink Floyd - 'The Dark Side Of The Moon'

Source: www.nme.com

Brian Cannon Talks Oasis And More

Brian Cannon, the man behind some of the most iconic sleeve designs in the history of British music this year celebrates 20 years in the business. Over the past two decades, Brian’s company Microdot has worked with bands such as The Verve, Suede, Insprial Carpets, Super Furry Animals and of course Oasis.

After training as a graphic designer, Brian set up Microdot in 1990 and first came to prominence working with The Verve. Sleeve designs such as those for singles ‘She’s A Superstar’, ‘Gravity Grave’ and the band’s debut album ‘A Storm In Heaven’ are still regarded as some of the most innovative and original of the last two decades. The company eclipsed their own early success however with their work with Oasis in the mid-nineties.

From the iconic white on black logo Oasis to every single and album sleeve until 1998, Microdot’s designs were seen as a fitting visual companion to the bands music, often referencing both the songs themselves and giving a nod to band’s own influences. Brian is a central figure in Oasis history not just for his work with Microdot but as a friend of the band, he often made appearances on record and is one of the few ‘eye witnesses’ to the band’s early success.

In 4 short years, the company founded in a small office in the North West of England saw their work on the covers of multimillion selling records across the world in a not so distant era before technology diluted the prominence of sleeve designs and the skill of ‘man made’ cover art. Microdot resisted digitized artwork until the release of Super Furry Animal’s 1996 debut ‘Fuzzy Logic’ however Brian would still rely on traditional graphic design methods as would become their trademark in the years to come.

In a Q magazine poll of the Top 100 album covers of all time, Microdot were featured twice, for Definitely Maybe (Oasis) and This is Music (The Verve). As well as these classic pieces, Microdot also designed the StopCryingYourHeartOut logo, arguably the zenith of their 20 years in the business....

A retrospective of their work is currently on display at www.microdotcreative.co.uk and to celebrate the company’s 20th, Brian Cannon granted us an exclusive Q&A this month.

What's the strangest thing happened to you while shooting a band?

That has to be the Wonderwall story, originally Liam was the person seen through the picture frame. I had sent a message to Marcus Russell, Oasis manager to tell him and Noel about the shoot, a message he obviously didn’t receive. Mid shoot, and this is totally true, Noel just happened purely by chance to be passing in a taxi!! Next thing you know an irate Noel Gallagher jumps out the taxi which screeched to halt and shouted ‘What the f****s going on here?’ he put a halt to proceedings saying it had to be a girl in the shot!

Are there any recent bands that you'd like to work with?

I’d absolutely love to work on Noel’s new stuff, and seeing as he, probably more than any other rock star, values the opinions of his fans – get a petition going!! Other than that, I think the Arctic Monkeys are ace and The Whip.

Besides photography have you tried any other kind of art, like painting?

I am actually trained as a graphic designer, photography is just one of the disciplines I enjoy. I haven’t painted for a while and used to really enjoy printmaking. Compiling collages is also something I enjoy.




















What in your opinion are the top three album/single covers you have worked on?

Can I have four?... The Verve - A Storm In Heaven, Oasis – Some Might Say, Oasis - Definitely Maybe and The Verve – This Is Music.

What album covers first inspired you to take up the profession?

It was all about The Sex Pistols for me as a young lad, Never Mind The Bollocks is, in my opinion, the greatest typographical album sleeve of all time. It was punk generally and the Pistols in particular that inspired me to do the job.









On a overwhelming majority of Microdot sleeves NO digitisation was used. Why was this so important to you?

A lot of it was down to the fact that in the early days I simply couldn’t afford the technology!! Then when we could we still resisted as it became our trademark. It gives me great satisfaction to look back on all those great sleeves and think, ‘we actually DID that.’




















For the cover of The Verve 'She’s A Superstar' how much food colouring did you add to the water to get that effect? And did you have to get permission to do it?

It was a plastic dustbin full, the sort you’d have in your garden and no we didn’t ask for permission, it was after all bio degradable and caused no harm.

How involved was Noel in the creation of the album and single artwork. How much collaboration was there between him (or the band itself) and you?

It varied, but Noel and I ALWAYS got together before a sleeve project, he’d give me his thoughts then I’d turn it into reality. Communication was always the key, borne out by the fact that we NEVER had to re shoot a sleeve.

Would you work with the Gallagher's on any of their new projects?

See above.




















What is your favourite album artwork of all time?

Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma & The Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks.

What is the hardest part in doing an album sleeve?

I don’t find any of it ‘hard’, I love doing it and I’m good at it. I suppose it only ever becomes a bit difficult if the band I’m working with has no ideas and the communication between us is lacking – something that never happened while working with Oasis or The Verve or most of the bands I have worked with.











How/when did you meet Noel and what were your first impressions of him?

I first met Noel in 1992/3, I had a tiny office in the same building as the Inspiral Carpets in Manchester for whom Noel worked as a roadie. Noel and I would see each other around the building but we were too cool to actually speak to each other. That was until one day when I got into the lift at work wearing a pair of trainers unavailable in England at the time, Adidas Indoor Super, which I had bought in Rome when I took my Mum for her 60th birthday. The first thing Noel Gallagher ever said to me was ‘Alright, I put me hands up, where the F***k did you get them trainers?!’ We got talking and he asked what I did, I told him I was into designing record sleeves – he asked me what I had done, I told him about the early Verve stuff, he was impressed as he liked The Verve and their artwork. As he was leaving the lift he said ‘I’m in a band, and when we get signed I want you to do the artwork’ That literally is it, talk about being in the right place at the right time!!!!!!

What made you commit to working with him?

I thought he was not only cool, but a really good laugh and very likeable. Oh .... and his band were brilliant!

What process did you and Noel use for creating the artwork? Did you see Noel becoming more confident in it as you worked with him, or was he always confident about it?

He’d tell me his ideas, I’d listen to the music, study the lyrics, dunno how it happened really – I just got it, you have to realise I didn’t just do the artwork for Oasis, I was a MASSIVE fan too. Noel was always confident about everything, everything related to Oasis at least.

Did Noel always have the final say in what artwork was used?

Of course, he was, as he was known within the inner circle – ‘The Chief’




















Which Oasis artwork are you most proud of?

I love Some Might Say, a great literal interpretation of the lyrics, and my Mum and Dad are on it too! Definitely Maybe has become a classic, I also think Roll With It is top, we had a great laugh doing that.

Are there any covers which, with hindsight, you would have designed differently?

No. They are what they are, no point looking back and thinking ‘Oh I wish....’

Noel said in November 2006 that his favourite Oasis covers were Shakermaker and Who Feels Love. Could you talk through the process for creating Shakermaker and what do you think about Who Feels Love?

The concept behind the Shakermaker artwork was kind of based on the lyric about Mr. Soft and this imaginary wibbly wobbly world. If you look at the back sleeve everything is normal and there is no music being played through the cassette player. On the front you can see my hand pressing play on an Oasis cassette, the music comes out and melts all the objects in the room! As you know we never used any photoshop effects and the most difficult thing was sourcing all objects that were plastic and thus meltable, the most difficult being the plastic picture frames that looked like wood. We did the back sleeve then took everything outside and I literally got an industrial blowtorch and melted everything. Funnily enough at this point of the process Bonehead and Liam turned up and saw me having the time of my life playing with fire and stated ‘Cannon, you’ve got the best job in the world!’. With regards Who Feels Love, I think it’s the best Oasis sleeve I didn’t do.




Which Oasis recordings do you appear on?

I do handclaps on All Around The World, I speak on the end of the Warchild version of Fade Away, I play keyboards on the title track of Morning Glory and my footsteps can be heard on the end of Be Here Now.

Did the other members of the band ever show any interest in, or have any input to the artwork at all?

They were all very interested, they didn’t have input as such, that was all down to Noel, but we always had a laugh doing them.

Which Oasis era was the most memorable for you and why?

94 -96, I worked with them till 98, but the first 2 years when I saw them go from nothing to being almost as big as The Beatles was amazing. It was just such an incredibly exciting time and we all knew it was something special. Also they were making great music which people absolutely loved – it was ace!

Noel often used to criticise previous albums (with the exception of Definitely Maybe) when there was a new release. He did the same with the artwork a few times, how did you feel about this criticism?

I look at is this way, he approved it all in the first place – no artwork would have ever made a sleeve if Noel hadn’t been happy about it at the time



















You were thanked in Paul Mathur's book "Take Me There". What did you think about the book?

I designed that book as well, I think it’s an honest account of the time, Paul was really the first journalist to get onto Oasis and be accepted by them. When we finished designing the book I treated all the Microdot team to a weekend in New York, Paul came with us and he STILL owes me £300 that I lent him!!

Did you like the artwork for Oasis' singles collection, Time Flies... What concept would you have used for it?

I think it’s good, probably because it looks like something we would have done at Microdot and it uses my logo.

Would you like to work with either Noel or Beady Eye on their new projects in the future, or would you prefer to keep the Oasis connection as the perfect memory that it is?

Oasis will always be the perfect memory, but I would love to work with Noel again.

Of all the artists you have worked with, with whom did you feel the greatest connection? Did this make for the best work?

The best work I ever did was for both The Verve and Oasis, we were great friends and I think it shows.

For more details of Brian's work visit www.microdotcreative.co.uk