Oasis‘ ‘ Live Forever’ has been voted the best British song ever in a new poll, with Noel Gallagher reacting to the news.
The Britpop band’s third single from their 1994 debut ‘Definitely Maybe’ topped a new Radio X poll, which featured five Oasis songs in its top 10.
‘Live Forever’ pipped ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to top spot. The Queen hit had previously topped the station’s annual Best Of British poll in 2017.
Other Oasis songs in the list included ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ (number 3), ‘Wonderwall’ (6), ‘Slide Away’ (7) and ‘Champagne Supernova’ (9).
Noel said of the news: “I have always tried to aim higher than I think is possible. Some people try to be bigger or better than their contemporaries or their predecessors… Me? I’m just trying to be better than myself, which as we now know is virtually impossible.”
Matt Deverson, managing editor of Radio X, added: “This year, we see Oasis take the number one spot in a Top 100 that features truly great British tunes from across the decades. The release of ‘Live Forever’ in 1994 heralded the arrival of an era-defining debut album from one of the country’s greatest bands – it was a hugely exciting moment for British music. It’s a very special song and within the past year we have seen it resonate with even more poignancy as a much-loved Manchester anthem.”
The top 10 was completed by The Stone Roses’ ‘I Am the Resurrection’ (4), The Verve’s ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ (5), The Smiths’ ‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out’ (8) and Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’. See the top 20 below.
1. Oasis – ‘Live Forever’
2. Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
3. Oasis – ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’
4. The Stone Roses – ‘I Am the Resurrection’
5. The Verve – ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’
6. Oasis – ‘Wonderwall’
7. Oasis – ‘Slide Away’
8. The Smiths – ‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out’
9. Oasis – ‘Champagne Supernova’
10. Arctic Monkeys – ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’
11. The Stone Roses – ‘I Wanna Be Adored’
12. David Bowie – ‘Heroes’
13. Arctic Monkeys – ‘A Certain Romance’
14. David Bowie – ‘Life On Mars?’
15. Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway To Heaven’
16. Pulp – ‘Common People’
17. Pink Floyd – ‘Wish You Were Here’
18. The Rolling Stones – ‘Gimme Shelter’
19. The Stone Roses – ‘She Bangs The Drums’
20. The Courteeners – ‘Not Nineteen Forever’
Source: NME