Manchester boasts so many of the best musicians ever to walk the earth, from the Stone Roses and the Charlatans to Rick Astley and Lisa Stansfield. Now, the one and only Oasis have come out with something super exciting to celebrate a very special anniversary, an early live recording of their debut single Supersonic.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the classic debut single Supersonic this week (originally released on 11 April 1994), Oasis have today (12 April) unveiled an essential early live recording of the song.
The kinetic live version of Supersonic was recorded at the Limelight, Belfast on 4 September 1994, perfectly capturing the moment when Oasis were one of the most exciting new bands and poised on the brink of era-defining crossover success.
Earlier that week, their seminal debut album Definitely Maybe had been released (on 29 August 1994) and, shortly before taking to the stage in Belfast, the band discovered the album had reached Number 1 in the UK Official Album Chart. The fans who had travelled from all over Northern Ireland witnessed an unforgettable gig that would go down in local folklore.
David Neely was general manager and booker at the venue in 1994 and recalls the night of Oasis’ gig: “They took the stage in the Limelight, Belfast on Sunday 4 September. It was a sell-out 500 people at the gig and tickets only £6.75!
“The Sunday of the week the debut album was released – the Limelight show was the right venue, for the right band at the right time. I remember around 6.30pm (in the dark days before mobile phones) that a call came into the office from Radio One, saying the band had just went to Number 1 in the album charts. It was a show that is now claimed by thousands that they were there – simply a show that is legendary in these parts.”
Delivering a set full of attitude, earsplitting feedback and stone cold classics-in-waiting, the Manchester five piece transcended their early potential and fans’ feverish expectations. Oasis were about to become one of the defining cultural forces of British music.
Limited edition physical single formats have also been released to commemorate this landmark date − a replica of the original 1994 CD Single (including the white label demo version of ‘Columbia’) and an individually numbered pearl coloured 7″ vinyl − out now on Big Brother Recordings. The single is also available in Spatial Audio on Apple Music here.
News of activity to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Definitely Maybe is set to follow in the coming weeks, so keep your ears and eyes peeled. If you’re desperate to catch some Definitely Maybe action, though, Liam Gallagher is currently touring the Oasis album for its 30th anniversary, during which he’ll undoubtedly be playing Supersonic − find tickets here.
The exclusive 30th anniversary Supersonic CD single tracklist is as follows:
- Supersonic
- Take Me Away
- I Will Believe (Live)
- Columbia (White Label Demo)
The exclusive 30th anniversary Supersonic 7″ single tracklist contains Supersonic on the A-side, and Take Me Away as the B-side.
🎧 You can listen to the 30th anniversary live recording of Supersonic from 1994 here.