‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’: The Oasis song that ripped off T. Rex
It’s hard to find a rock and roll song that is without some kind of foundational stone laid at its core. The Beatles leaned heavily on Chuck Berry, who, in turn, found his own inspiration in the work of Carl Hogan and the line of influence travels all the way back to the first moments prehistoric man brought a comical bone down across a tightened animal hide. However, there is still something unsettling about artists directly copying the work of another, as Oasis did on their seminal song ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol.’
The track is perhaps one of the band’s most cherished lager-throwing anthems. Not built out of subtlety, the tune is directly aimed at the groups’ working class background and the only dreams they carried while trapped in their dead-end professions — a never-ending weekend away from the doldrums of their life. As Noel Gallagher neatly described the track: “‘Let’s Have it’ was the main ethos.”
“All the songs were about leaving Manchester and ending up in the sunshine, taking drugs and drinking for the rest of your life,” continued Gallagher when speaking to Q. The song is a powerful and driving Britpop tune, pushing its audience into a mass of swaying, sweating lager louts, intent on drinking themselves into oblivion.
“‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,’ ‘Live Forever,’ Cigarettes and Alcohol. It’s all about escapism,” Gallagher continued, “a pint in one hand, your best mate in the other, and just having a good time.” It’s a joyful image that not only spoke to the group’s growing audience but helped to catapult them into worldwide fame, as the attitude of the group and their lead singer, Liam Gallagher, suddenly became the face of Britpop.
The group’s energy was so absurdly abrasive that it shocked another Mancunian legend, Johnny Marr, as producer Owen Morris remembered: “I mastered the album at Johnny Marr’s studio. (Marr) was appalled by how in-your-face the whole thing was. He thought I was an idiot for what he perceived were mistakes – like the noise at the start of ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol.'”
Surprisingly, what wasn’t noted is Marr’s reaction to the blatant copy of a classic British rock riff embedded within the song. The much-appreciated riff is a direct copy of T. Rex’s ‘Bang A Gong (Get It On)’, something Noel Gallagher has made no secret of, admitting that during his early moments with the group he was always “borrowing” riffs from the past. While jokes about Oasis’ over-zealous appreciation, and perhaps appropriation, of The Beatles have accrued since the Manchester group arrived into the collective consciousness, few make this obvious comparison.
Taken from the band’s album Electric Warrior, ‘Bang A Gong’ has become a mainstay tune for anyone looking to revisit the best of the 20th century and was inspired by Chuck Berry’s ‘Little Queenie’. Its inspiration clearly hit Gallagher, who pinched the riff for his rabble-rousing Britpop tune.
While it may irk the guitarists reading this, the Oasis axeman has been clear that he would always be happy for other bands to use his riffs for their own if they needed to. Listen below to ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ and T. Rex’s ‘Bang A Gong’ and see if you can hear the similarities.
