Former Oasis manager Alan McGee has dismissed the cover version of the band's single 'Half The World Away', used on a John Lewis advert, as "rubbish".
Little-known Norwegian singer Aurora was picked to cover the 1994 B-side for the annual Christmas advertising campaign.
However, McGee is not impressed and told Gigwise that he hopes the retailer paid Noel Gallagher a substantial fee for the rights to the song. “I think it’s rubbish," McGee said. "I don’t know what anybody else thinks of it, though. I’m pleased for Noel that he got his royalties, I hope they gave him a million quid but I thought actually it was rubbish."
McGee went on to say that he's still good friends with Noel Gallagher and is still a fan of his music: "You know as much as me. I don’t really talk to him much about what he’s doing with music. I buy the records and I go to the concerts and I’m friends with him. I met him in London in a club, he was on great form. We were talking about our children."
Interest in the John Lewis adverts has grown in recent years with contemporary artists covering older material in a stripped-back fashion. Last year, Tom Odell recorded 'Real Love' by John Lennon, while Lily Allen's cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' was a hit in 2013.
The John Lewis advert cover-version trend took off in 2010 when Ellie Goulding's cover of 'Your Song' by Elton John hit Number One. However, the first John Lewis advert song came the year before with a folk cover of Guns N' Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine'.
Source: www.nme.com
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