The Oasis song Noel Gallagher thought only got better live: “I never realised how good it was”
If, like countless others, you tried to secure tickets for Oasis‘ 25th-anniversary reunion shows slated for summer 2025, you’ll already know the Britpop icons have an arsenal of stadium-filling anthems. Across eight studio albums, the Gallagher brothers consistently delivered tracks that seemed purpose-built for live settings. Even 2005’s penultimate album, Don’t Believe the Truth, while not as cutting or dynamic as their earlier work, offered its own standout gem: the sleeper hit ‘Lyla’.
First conceptualised in the Heathen Chemistry era and entitled initially as ‘Sing’, ‘Lyla’ made it onto Oasis’ following album’s tracklist—just about. Forgotten until the later days of Don’t Believe The Truth’s creation, the song eventually became a focused prong of the album, released as its opening teaser single despite Noel telling NME: “It’s not even the fifth best track on the album.”
The elder Gallagher compared ‘Lyla’ to the character of Sally in ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, labelling the two song subjects as sisters. And its correlation to the 1996 classic doesn’t end there. Reminiscent of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory’s gently grandiose soundscapes but with an added 2000’s soft-rock zest, ‘Lyla’ felt like a return to the core of Oasis’ appeal, a sing-along symphony of instantly memorable melodies and crowd-pleasing dynamism.
You could argue then that it’s no wonder the track fully found its feet on the live stage. As Oasis began to test the song in front of arena-sized focus groups, the reception of ‘Lyla’ stood out among the setlist. “I never realised how good it was until we went out and played it live,” Noel said in an interview feature ‘Lock The Box’, recorded for the band’s compilation album in 2006, Stop The Clocks. “All the gigs, all around the world, people were going bananas for that song,” he continued. “[‘Lyla’] nearly never made it onto Don’t Believe The Truth, never mind [the compilation album].”
‘Lyla’ is, in fact, a rare occasion when the two brothers are in full agreement. “I love the guitars, I love the drums, I love the vocals. I love it all, man, it’s dead easy,” Liam offered on the track. “It’s not cryptic or anything. It’s just an out-and-out great fuckin’ roll ’n’ roll song. If you don’t like that kind of thing, then get the fuck out of here, you know what I mean? That’s the way I see it when I sing it.”
The track stayed as a near-ever presence in Oasis’ live setlists up until their disbandment in 2009, and it would be a surprise if ‘Lyla’ doesn’t play a prominent part in the band’s forthcoming reunion tour. The competition is rife, though, proven by the quantity and quality of Stop The Clocks’ 18-cut an hour and 26-minute long run time. A celebration of the band’s evolution from ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ and ‘Supersonic’ to ‘The Importance Of Being Idle’ and ‘Lyla’ itself, the compilation album is as good a way as any to prepare yourself for Oasis fever.
“He just fucking done it. It’s the first time I’ve fucking seen them,” Liam joked on the curation of the compilation in the ‘Lock The Box’ interview. Noel smirked, rubbing his head, “That’s not true.” Fans will be hoping to see more of the brothers’ sardonic banter when they hit the road next summer, with an array of global dates added onto Oasis’ busy 2025 schedule.
