Champagne Supernova
Encyclopedia
"Champagne Supernova" is a song by English rock
band Oasis
, written by guitarist Noel Gallagher
. The seven-minute anthem is the closing track on the record-breaking album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
. Though only released as a single in Australia
, France
and New Zealand
in 1996, a music video directed by Nigel Dick was released to music channels and, as a result, the song received much television and radio airplay. The song was released in the U.S. as a radio single and enjoyed great success there, becoming the band's second No. 1 single on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, becoming the band's third top 40 single on that chart. The song is considered a fan-favourite and has received widespread critical acclaim.
Noel Gallagher then had this to say about the song's lyrical content on the band's official website:
In a 2009 interview, Noel told the following anecdote:
, and was issued on the b-side on a promo-only 12" of Oasis's cover of "Cum On Feel the Noize". Known as the "Lynchmob Beats Mix", this track has been reissued on promotional material for Oasis's "best of" album Stop the Clocks
.
Live versions of the track were released on ...There and Then
, and Familiar to Millions
.
A 'clean' version, editing out the 'waves' effects at the start of the track was released on 'Assorted' - a free CD issued with the January 1996 edition (No. 113) of Q magazine
.
1996 CD Maxi (Australia: SME 663344 1)
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{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart
!Year
!align="center"|Peak position
|-
|align="left"|U.S. Billboard
Hot 100
|align="center"|1996
|align="center"|20
|-
|align="left"|ARIA
Singles Chart
|align="center"|1996
|align="center"|26
|}
album Stop the Clocks
and on the US release of Time Flies... 1994-2009
Greg Kot
and Jim DeRogatis
of the Chicago Public Radio
show Sound Opinions
claimed "Champagne Supernova" the number one song to hum to yourself when another song is stuck in your head
. The other song will be unstuck, but the drawback is that you will then have "Champagne Supernova" stuck in your head due to its infectious and memorable melody.
The song is played at the majority of Oasis concerts. Noel Gallagher has stated that "I think it's the only song, that since it was written, that we've played every night." During the Morning Glory Tour in 1995/96 and the Be Here Now Tour in 1997/98 the song's ending was usually stretched out by often 5 or so minutes, with Noel Gallagher playing a long improvised guitar solo. An example of one of these performances can be seen on the DVD ...There and Then
.
After Noel's abrupt departure from the band in August 2009, "Champagne Supernova" became the last original song Oasis performed live together. As usual, the band ended their last set with a cover of The Beatles
' "I Am the Walrus
".
An actual supernova
, first observed in 2003 and designated SN 2003fg has been nicknamed "Champagne Supernova" after the song.
There is also an excerpt of the song "Champagne Supernova" at the very end of the oasis single The Shock of the Lightning
which is audible if the track is played in reverse.
as well as in the documentary film Mayor of the Sunset Strip
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, written by guitarist Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
. The seven-minute anthem is the closing track on the record-breaking album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 October 1995 through Creation Records. The album was Oasis' most enduring commercial success, charting at number one in the UK and number four in the U.S...
. Though only released as a single in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1996, a music video directed by Nigel Dick was released to music channels and, as a result, the song received much television and radio airplay. The song was released in the U.S. as a radio single and enjoyed great success there, becoming the band's second No. 1 single on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, becoming the band's third top 40 single on that chart. The song is considered a fan-favourite and has received widespread critical acclaim.
History
Noel Gallagher claimed, in a 2005 interview, that he has still not made up his mind as to what the song actually is about, though he thinks it might be about reincarnation.Noel Gallagher then had this to say about the song's lyrical content on the band's official website:
Some of the lyrics were written when I was out of it. There's the words: 'Someday you will find me/ Caught beneath a landslide/ ln a Champagne Supernova in the sky'. That's probably as psychedelic as I'll ever get. It means different things when I'm in different moods. When I'm in a bad mood being caught beneath a landslide is like being suffocated. The song is a bit of an epic. It's about when you're young and you see people in groups and you think about what they did for you and they did nothing. As a kid, you always believed the Sex Pistols were going to conquer the world and kill everybody in the process. Bands like The Clash just petered out. Punk rock was supposed to be the revolution but what did it do? Fuck all. The Manchester thing was going to be the greatest movement on earth but it was fuck all. When we started we decided we weren't going to do anything for anybody, we just thought we'd leave a bunch of great songs. But some of the words are about nothing. One is about Bracket The Butler who used to be on Camberwick Green, or Chipley or Trumpton or something. He used to take about 20 minutes to go down the hall. And then I couldn't think of anything that rhymed with 'hall' apart from 'cannonball'. so I wrote 'Slowly walking down the hall/ Faster than a cannonball' and people were like, 'Wow, fuck , man'. There's also the line 'Where were you while we were getting high?' because that's what we always say to each other. But the number of people who've started clubs called Champagne Supernova is fucking unbelievable. And the album isn't even released yet.
In a 2009 interview, Noel told the following anecdote:
This writer, he was going on about the lyrics to "Champagne Supernova", and he actually said to me: ‘You know, the one thing that’s stopping it being a classic is the ridiculous lyrics.’ And I went: ‘What do you mean by that?’ And he said: ‘Well, Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball — what’s that mean?’ And I went: ‘I don’t fucking know. But are you telling me, when you’ve got 60,000 people singing it, they don’t know what it means? It means something different to every one of them.’
Alternative versions
An official remix of the song was produced by Brendan LynchBrendan Lynch
Brendan Lynch is a British music producer, who has produced for Paul Weller, Primal Scream, and The Rakes. He has also worked with the 22-20s, Carleen Anderson and Ocean Colour Scene...
, and was issued on the b-side on a promo-only 12" of Oasis's cover of "Cum On Feel the Noize". Known as the "Lynchmob Beats Mix", this track has been reissued on promotional material for Oasis's "best of" album Stop the Clocks
Stop the Clocks
Stop the Clocks is a compilation album by English rock band Oasis, released on 20 November 2006. The "retrospective collection" is an 18-track double album with the featured songs chosen by Noel Gallagher; however, it does not actually include their song "Stop the Clocks" after which the album is...
.
Live versions of the track were released on ...There and Then
...There and Then
...There and Then is a live video consisting of footage taken from three of Oasis' biggest shows from the 1995-96 " Morning Glory?" tour...
, and Familiar to Millions
Familiar to Millions
Familiar to Millions is a live album by the British rock band Oasis. It was recorded at Wembley Stadium on 21 July 2000. It debuted at #5 in the UK charts with 57,000 copies sold in the first week. To date Familiar to Millions has sold around 310,000 copies in Britain alone , about 70,000 copies in...
.
A 'clean' version, editing out the 'waves' effects at the start of the track was released on 'Assorted' - a free CD issued with the January 1996 edition (No. 113) of Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
.
Covers
- Sound Assassins (Scott Attrill & Jim Sullivan) remixed and covered the song in a way of eurodanceEurodanceEurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
, on the 2002 dance compilation Dancemania Speed 10Dancemania SpeedDancemania Speed is a sub-series of Toshiba EMI's Dancemania compilation series. This series features faster, further remixed versions of recordings from previously released Dancemania albums or faster remixed covers of various famous songs...
. - Angie AparoAngie AparoAngie Aparo is an American musician and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently recording an album and touring with his long-time drummer, Derek Murphy....
covered the song on the album The One with the Sun released 20032003 in music-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
. - Assembly of DustAssembly of DustAssembly of Dust is a rock band formed in 2002 by former Strangefolk frontman Reid Genauer. Genauer formed the band while enrolled in the MBA program at Cornell University...
released a live cover of the song on their Freedom of Assembly promotional EP in 2007 - Ben Folds FiveBen Folds FiveBen Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
released a live cover of this song as a B-side of their single "Battle of Who Could Care Less". The performance, which took place in London, was introduced as a countryCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song and performed in an exaggerated country-music style. - The song was covered by AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band Matt Pond PAMatt Pond PAMatt Pond PA is a New York based band formed in Philadelphia by singer-songwriter Matt Pond. They have released eight LPs and eight EPs since 1998....
specifically for use on the TV show The O.C.The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
. - Urban Cookie CollectiveUrban Cookie CollectiveThe Urban Cookie Collective are a British techno and house band, who are best known for their hit single "The Key The Secret", which was originally released in 1993.-Career:...
did a dance cover of this song but Noel Gallagher stopped them from releasing it as a single (link to news item on BBC Radio 1 @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4okIC9Dwf-E&feature=related). - The Early NovemberThe Early NovemberThe Early November is an American rock band from Hammonton, New Jersey. The group formed in 1999 and signed with Drive-Thru Records in 2002. , they have released two EPs , as well as two full-length albums...
covers this song as the end of "No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)" when played live. - Hootie & the BlowfishHootie & the BlowfishHootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band that enjoyed popularity in the second half of the 1990s. They were originally formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina by Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, and Mark Bryan. The band has recorded five studio albums to date, and has...
covered the song at their live shows during their 2007 and 2008 summer tours. - The Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
performs an orchestral cover of the song on the album "Symphonic Rock." - Snow PatrolSnow PatrolSnow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
covered "Champagne Supernova" at V Festival 2009 as a tribute to Oasis who pulled out due to Liam Gallagher's illness. - Clint is Gone covered the song at their EP's release party on December 17, 2009. The song is the first song played by the singer/songwriter Antoine Bertrand when he was 15.
- David CookDavid Cook (singer)David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...
covered "Champagne Supernova" during his "Declaration Tour" at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in a mash-up with his song "Heroes" on December 31, 2009, his last concert for his debut tour. - Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
covered the song in some shows during their 21st Century Breakdown Tour. - Scala & Kolacny BrothersScala & Kolacny BrothersScala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian women's choir, conducted by Stijn Kolacny and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano. Formed in 1996 and winning the Belgian 'Choir of the Year'-contest in 2000, they have made five studio albums, starting with On The Rocks in 2002.Most songs...
covered the song in their 2010 album Circle. - The Killers regularly performed the song during their early days in Las Vegas before they were signed.
Track listing
1996 single (US: Epic ESK 7719, SME 11-003393-17, France: Helter Skelter SAMP 3393)- Champagne Supernova (Radio Edit) - 5:08
- Champagne Supernova (Album Version) - 7:28
1996 CD Maxi (Australia: SME 663344 1)
- Champagne Supernova (Radio Edit) - 5:08
- Champagne Supernova (Album Version) - 7:31
- Slide AwaySlide Away (Oasis song)"Slide Away" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It is featured on their debut album Definitely Maybe, on the "Whatever" single, on the "Champagne Supernova" single and on their best-of album, Stop the Clocks....
- 6:29
Personnel
- Liam GallagherLiam GallagherWilliam John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
– lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Noel GallagherNoel GallagherNoel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Paul WellerPaul WellerPaul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
– lead guitar, backing vocals - Paul "Bonehead" ArthursPaul ArthursPaul "Bonehead" Arthurs is an English musician and one of the founding members of the English rock band Oasis, best known as their rhythm guitar player from 1991-1999.-Early life:...
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music... - Paul McGuiganPaul McGuigan (musician)Paul McGuigan , better known by his nickname, Guigsy , is an English musician and one of the four founding members of the English rock band Oasis...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Alan WhiteAlan White (Oasis drummer)Alan White is an English drummer, best known as being the drummer of the English rock group Oasis between 1995 and 2004, performing on four studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album. He joined the band in May 1995 after the band's original drummer Tony McCarroll was removed from...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Chart positions
{| width="0%"|- valign="top"
| width="50%" |
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart
!Year
!align="center"|Peak position
|-
|align="left"|U.S. Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|align="center"|1996
|align="center"|20
|-
|align="left"|ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
Singles Chart
|align="center"|1996
|align="center"|26
|}
Trivia
The song is included on Oasis' compilationGreatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album Stop the Clocks
Stop the Clocks
Stop the Clocks is a compilation album by English rock band Oasis, released on 20 November 2006. The "retrospective collection" is an 18-track double album with the featured songs chosen by Noel Gallagher; however, it does not actually include their song "Stop the Clocks" after which the album is...
and on the US release of Time Flies... 1994-2009
Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
and Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
of the Chicago Public Radio
Chicago Public Radio
WBEZ is a noncommercial, public radio station broadcasting from Chicago, Illinois. Financed primarily by listener contributions, the station is affiliated with both National Public Radio and Public Radio International; they also broadcast content from American Public Media...
show Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions is a radio talk show focusing on rock music. It airs Friday night at 8 PM CST and Saturday morning at 11 AM CST on Chicago Public Radio. The show is hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot and features interviews with musicians and industry figures as well as featuring current music...
claimed "Champagne Supernova" the number one song to hum to yourself when another song is stuck in your head
Earworm
Earworm, a loan translation of the German Ohrwurm, is a portion of a song or other music that repeats compulsively within one's mind, put colloquially as "music being stuck in one's head."...
. The other song will be unstuck, but the drawback is that you will then have "Champagne Supernova" stuck in your head due to its infectious and memorable melody.
The song is played at the majority of Oasis concerts. Noel Gallagher has stated that "I think it's the only song, that since it was written, that we've played every night." During the Morning Glory Tour in 1995/96 and the Be Here Now Tour in 1997/98 the song's ending was usually stretched out by often 5 or so minutes, with Noel Gallagher playing a long improvised guitar solo. An example of one of these performances can be seen on the DVD ...There and Then
...There and Then
...There and Then is a live video consisting of footage taken from three of Oasis' biggest shows from the 1995-96 " Morning Glory?" tour...
.
After Noel's abrupt departure from the band in August 2009, "Champagne Supernova" became the last original song Oasis performed live together. As usual, the band ended their last set with a cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "I Am the Walrus
I Am the Walrus
"I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...
".
An actual supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
, first observed in 2003 and designated SN 2003fg has been nicknamed "Champagne Supernova" after the song.
There is also an excerpt of the song "Champagne Supernova" at the very end of the oasis single The Shock of the Lightning
The Shock of the Lightning
"The Shock of the Lightning" is a song by English rock band Oasis and is the fourth track from the band's seventh studio album, Dig Out Your Soul. The song was released as the first single from the album on 29 September 2008...
which is audible if the track is played in reverse.
Use in media
The song has been used in the season 2, episode 14 of the TV series The O.C and in SinchronicitySinchronicity
Sinchronicity is a six-part drama series broadcast on BBC Three in the United Kingdom. The first episode aired on 16 July 2006, and the series concluded on 20 August 2006. Set in Manchester the programme is narrated by Nathan and focuses on the love triangle between him and the two other...
as well as in the documentary film Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Mayor of the Sunset Strip is a 2004 documentary film on the life of Rodney Bingenheimer directed by George Hickenlooper, and produced by Chris Carter.-Interviews:...
.