Noel Gallagher says ‘Definitely Maybe’ is “last great punk album”
Former Oasis leader Noel Gallagher has described the band’s 1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe, as “the last great punk album, in many respects”.
The Mancunian reflected on the album and what made it so successful whilst comparing it to the 1977 debut by British punk pioneers Sex Pistols, Never Mind The Bollocks. He also maintained that the 1994 Oasis album is about “the glory of being a teenager.”
“Definitely Maybe was the last great punk album in many respects,” Gallagher told Mojo. “We were a punk band with Beatles melodies. We had no effects, barely any equipment, just loads of attitude, 12 cans of Red Stripe and ambition. If you listen to that and Never Mind The Bollocks, they’re quite similar. That album was about the angst of being a teenager in 1977. Fast forward to 1994 and Definitely Maybe is about the glory of being a teenager.
He continued: “It’s being down the park with a ghetto blaster distilled. It’s no coincidence that it’s lasted this long. Maybe there have been technically better or bigger records since, but that album is the real fucking deal. There’s no bullshit on it. It’s an honest snapshot of working-class lads trying to make it. It’s about shagging birds, taking drugs, drinking and the glory of all of that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Gallagher explained that Oasis were in no doubt that they would be a success before the release of Definitely Maybe. “We’d been talking the talk amongst ourselves for a couple of years and when it came down to it, we were ready,” Gallagher recalled. “Every minute I spent awake, I just knew it was going to happen.”
Definitely Maybe was released in 1994 and went to number one on the UK Album Chart. It has since been certified eight times platinum, selling over two and a half million albums.
Listen to Definitely Maybe below.
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