Champagne Supernova

For the astronomical event observed in 2003, named after the song, see SN 2003fg.

"Champagne Supernova"
Single by Oasis
from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
B-side	"Slide Away"
Released	13 May 1996 (1996-05-13)
Recorded	May 1995
Genre	Britpop psychedelic rock
Length	7:27 (album version) 5:08 (radio edit)
Label	Helter Skelter
Songwriter(s)	Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)	Owen Morris Noel Gallagher
Oasis singles chronology
"Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996) "Champagne Supernova" (1996) "D'You Know What I Mean?" (1997)
Music video
"Champagne Supernova" on YouTube
Audio sample
file help

"Champagne Supernova" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It is the closing track on the band's second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), and was released as the sixth and final single from the album in Australia and New Zealand on 13 May 1996 by Helter Skelter. Paul Weller appears as a guest guitarist and backing vocalist on the track. A music video for the song, directed by Nigel Dick, was released in 1996. The single was not released in the United Kingdom.

Described by Gallagher himself as “probably as psychedelic as I'll ever get,” it features a dreamy, anthemic sound characterized by its expansive instrumentation and atmospheric production. The song begins with a gentle, arpeggiated guitar riff that sets a reflective mood, gradually building in intensity. As it progresses, layered guitars and lush strings create a rich soundscape, complemented by a steady drum beat that drives the song forward, accompanied with the vocals of Liam Gallagher, conveying a sense of longing and nostalgia, with lyrics that are both evocative and somewhat abstract.

Although much debate surrounds the meaning of the song, Noel Gallagher originally described how "Champagne Supernova" resonates with him depending on his mood. However, in later interviews, he has stated that he doesn't really know what the song means and how "it means something different" to everyone.

"Champagne Supernova" is considered by fans and music journalists alike as one of the most critically-acclaimed songs of Oasis and a defining piece of the Britpop era; Alexis Petridis, the chief critic of The Guardian, called it the band's greatest song, saying it was the "perfect epitaph for swaggering mid-90s hedonism". Upon its release, the song became a radio single in the United States, 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 included on the band's greatest hits album Stop the Clocks and on the US release of Time Flies... 1994–2009. "Champagne Supernova" has also topped several ranked lists of the band's best songs, including from Consequence of Sound, The Guardian, Medium, Uproxx, and Variety Magazine. Supernova SN 2003fg was nicknamed "Champagne Supernova" after the song. The song has also been covered by several bands and artists, including OneRepublic and Machine Gun Kelly.

Background

The name of the song reportedly comes from the Pixies album Bossanova, while Noel misheard the name of the title during a documentary about champagne. Noel Gallagher said in 2005 that he had still not made up his mind as to what the song actually is about, having previously told an NME interviewer in 1995:

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 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, 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, Gallagher told the following anecdote for The Sunday Times:

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 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."

Gallagher recalled his thoughts on the song in a 2020 interview for Sirius XM:

I was on my last tour and I was playing 'Champagne Supernova'. That song is so long, and I often find myself drifting off enjoying the song and thinking, “What fucking does it mean?” You know, “Walking down the hall faster than a cannonball,” what the fuck is all that about? And I should know, ’cause I wrote it, and I haven’t got a clue. And it was somewhere in the north of England that I happened to glance up at the crowd. It was just a sea of teenagers, all young lads, all with their tops off on each other’s shoulders, singing the words of a nonsensical song by a band that were broke up when — they were two years old when the band fucking broke up. So I think to myself sometimes, you know, “That’s what it means." Because we recorded it and it was written while we were still relatively young. It still appeals to young people, and it’s gone through three or four generations now."

Critical reception

"Champaign Supernova" has received critical acclaim since its release. Steve Baltin from Cash Box declared the song as "another guaranteed smash at all of the same outlets that took 'Wonderwall' to the top of the charts. A melodic power ballad, 'Champagne Supernova' overflows with the songwriting talents of Noel Gallagher. Oasis is proving time and time again that there isn't another rock act out there that can touch the group as a singles band." David Stubbs from Melody Maker wrote, "'Champagne Supernova' has been touted as Oasis' 'Day in the Life' with chords trailing through the water like a gondola to Avalon and the reproachful refrain, Where were you when we were getting high?." John Robinson from NME named it "a slightly peculiar epic", adding, "'Champagne Supernova' is basically 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' with a lifestyle of faster cars, better mini-bars, accompanied by the less-than-sober sense of disorientation that has seeped into this album." The song has also been positively received in retrospective reviews. In addition to topping multiple ranked lists of the best Oasis songs, it was named the 3rd-greatest by Far Out, the 4th-greatest by NME, and the 7th-greatest by Rolling Stone. In an interview with Radio X in 2024, Oasis co-founder Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs described how he "fell apart" upon hearing the song the first time, "Noel was saying, 'I'll play you a couple of songs that I've written – I think he played us the whole of the next album. The first one he did was 'Champagne Supernova', from start to finish, in the back lounge of the tour bus, at about 8 o'clock in the evening. And I just fell apart. That's the Cancerian in me. It hit me, I was a blubbering wreck on the floor. I heard it really stripped down, it was just Noel's voice and an acoustic guitar, which is not a million miles away from how it came out, but you knew it was a hit. I was that Oasis fan, hearing it for the first time. It was too much."

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by British music video and film director Nigel Dick and was filmed at Ealing Studios between 15 and 16 February 1996.

Live performances

The song was played at the majority of Oasis concerts. Noel Gallagher has stated, "I think it's the only song, since it was written, that we've played every night". During the band's (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Tour in 1995 and 1996, and the Be Here Now Tour in 1997 and 1998, the song's ending was usually stretched out by five or so minutes, with Noel playing a long improvised guitar solo. An example of one of these performances can be seen on the DVD ...There and Then. Oasis performed the song at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. At Oasis' Knebworth performance, Stone Roses guitarist John Squire made a guest appearance.

After Noel's abrupt departure from Oasis in August 2009 and the band's subsequent dissolution, "Champagne Supernova" became the last original song they performed live together; the last song was a cover of "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles, as was the case with most of their concerts. During Oasis' split, the song was performed by Noel's follow-up band Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Liam's follow-up band Beady Eye, and Liam during his solo career.

Alternative versions

Brendan Lynch was hired to produce an alternate mix and a remix. The alternate mix was eventually released on the Deluxe Edition of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? while the remix was issued on the B-side on a promo-only 12" of Oasis' cover of Slade's "Cum On Feel the Noize". Known as the "Lynchmob Beats Mix", this remix has been reissued on promotional material for the band's greatest hits 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 sound effects at the start of the track, was released on Assorted, a free CD issued with the January 1996 edition of Q magazine. It is also available on the Time Flies... 1994–2009 retrospective collection.

In 2024, Noel Gallagher created a six-hour, "ambient mixed" version of the song for the Zoë Law: Legends exhibition at the London's National Portrait Gallery, which includes a portrait of Gallagher himself.

A slowed-down version of the song was used for the official teaser of the 2025 science-fiction film The Electric State.

Track listing

• Australian CD and cassette single

1. "Champagne Supernova" (radio edit) – 5:08
2. "Champagne Supernova" (album version) – 7:31
3. "Slide Away" – 6:29

Personnel

Personnel are taken from Oasis Recording Information.

Oasis

• Liam Gallagher – lead vocals, tambourine
• Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, e-bow, backing vocals
• Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs – rhythm guitar, harmonium, piano
• Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan – bass guitar
• Alan "Whitey" White – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Paul Weller – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Owen Morris – whistle

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	26
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	11
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)	46
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	16
US Radio Songs (Billboard)	20
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)	13
US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)	33
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)	1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)	8
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)	10

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	83
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)	18
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)	47
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)	19

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)	Gold	25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)	2× Platinum	1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notable cover versions

• British Eurodance band Urban Cookie Collective did a dance cover of this song but Noel Gallagher prevented them from releasing it as a single.
• American pop rock band OneRepublic released a cover as a stand-alone single in 2017.
• American alternative trio Ben Folds Five released a live cover of this song as a B-side to their single "Battle Of Who Could Care Less".
• Scala & Kolacny Brothers covered the song in their 2010 album Circle.
• American rapper Machine Gun Kelly and English singer Yungblud released a cover of the song on YouTube in 2020.
• Filipino rock bands Mayonnaise and Suddenly Monday released on 10 October 2019 a collaborated cover of the song which garnered more than 2 million views as of 7 March 2022.

External links

• Oasis – Champagne Supernova on YouTube