"Don't Look Back in Anger" is a Britpop song by the rock band Oasis, written by the band's guitarist, Noel Gallagher. Released as the fourth and final single from their hit second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the song became the band's second single to reach #1 in the United Kingdom charts, and the first to feature Noel on lead vocals instead of his brother, Liam Gallagher. The title is perhaps a play on the song "Look Back in Anger", from David Bowie's Lodger album or on the play, Look Back in Anger by John Osborne, from which Bowie's song took inspiration.
The song's lyrics express the author's trouble in maintaining a long distance relationship while he is away on a tour, coupled with images from an unhappy childhood. For example, the line "Stand up beside the fireplace / Take that look from off your face" is taken from Peggy Gallagher's instructions to Noel when he would have his photograph taken next to the fireplace when he was a child. An unhappy child, Noel would have to be told by Peggy to take the miserable look from his face, so as to produce a suitable picture.
Noel said of the song, "[It] reminds me of a cross between 'All the Young Dudes' and summat the Beatles might've done." Of the character "Sally" referred to in the song he commented, "I don't actually know anybody called Sally. It's just a word that fitted, y'know, might as well throw a girl's name in there. It's gotta guarantee somebody a shag off a bird called Sally hasn't it?". Noel claims that the character "Lyla", from Oasis' 2005 single is the sister of Sally. In the interview on the DVD released with the special edition of Stop the Clocks, Noel also revealed that a girl approached him and asked him if Sally was the same girl as in The Stone Roses' track "Sally Cinnamon". Noel replied that he'd never thought of that, but thought it was good anyway.
Noel admits that certain lines from the song are lifted from John Lennon: "I got this tape in the United States that had apparently been burgled from the Dakota Hotel and someone had found these cassettes. Lennon was starting to record his memoirs on tape. He's going on about 'trying to start a revolution from me bed, because they said the brains I had went to my head.' I thought 'Thank you, I'll take that'!" "Revolution from me bed" most likely refers to Lennon's infamous bed-ins in 1969, both in the quote and in the song. The piano during the intro of the song highly resembles Lennon's "Imagine". Like many other popular songs, the chord progression for both the verse and the chorus are based on the classical piece Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. The songs only differ slightly at the end of each phrase. Gallagher also admits that he was under the influence of substances when he wrote the song, and to this day he claims he does not know what it means.
The song has become a favourite at Oasis' live performances. Noel encourages the crowd to sing along and often keeps quiet during the chorus, allowing the fans instead to sing along while he focuses on his guitar playing. The volume of crowd noise that usually descends on the chorus at concerts is easily audible on the rendition of "Don't Look Back in Anger" on Familiar to Millions.
In a 2006 radio interview, Liam Gallagher said that it was he who came up with the line "so Sally can wait" as Noel was struggling with that particular line at the time. (Bootlegs of demos of the song feature Noel singing 'Crowley' — as in Aleister Crowley — rather than 'Sally' so there may be some truth in Liam's claim.) Noel confirms this on the bonus DVD, entitled Lock the Box, released with the Stop the Clocks retrospective album. In the interview with Colin Murray, Noel admits, "I was doing it in the sound check and the so Sally bit, I wasn't singing that...and he [Liam] says, 'Are you singing so Sally can wait?' and I said, 'No.' and he said, 'Well you should do.'"
Noel also used the "so Crowley can wait" lyric while performing the song during an acoustic set on Gary Crowley's 'Greater London Radio' show on 2 November 1995. One can assume that the lyrical change was made in honor of the programme's host.
The song has been used in a multiple television programmes since its original release — perhaps most notably, it played over the end credits of the final episode of the BBC Two drama serial Our Friends in the North in March 1996, the very week it was at the top of the UK charts.
The single cover is an homage to the incident where Ringo Starr briefly left The Beatles during the recording of The White Album; after the other three Beatles members successfully persuaded him to return, George Harrison decorated Ringo's drum kit in red, white, and blue flowers to show their appreciation.
The B-side "Step Out" was originally intended for the (What's the Story) Morning Glory? album but was taken off after Stevie Wonder requested 10% of the royalties as the chorus bore a similarity to his hit "Uptight (Everything's Alright)".
Oasis became the first act since The Jam to perform two songs on the same showing of Top of the Pops, performing "Don't Look Back in Anger", followed by their cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize", also on the single.
In a 2006 readers' poll conducted by Q magazine, "Don't Look Back in Anger" was voted the 20th best song of all time.
In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Don't Look Back in Anger" at number 14 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever".
The song was included as the closing track on Oasis' compilation album, Stop the Clocks.
The video for the song features Patrick Macnee, the actor who played John Steed in the 1960s television series The Avengers, apparently a favourite of the band. While filming the video, drummer Alan White met future wife Liz Atkins. They were married 13 August 1997 at Studley Priory Hotel, Oxfordshire, but later divorced.
All songs were written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.
CD CRESCD 221 (re-issued as RKISCD 018)
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - 4:48
"Step Out" (Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy) - 3:40
"Underneath the Sky" - 3:20
"Cum on Feel the Noize" (Holder/Lea) - 5:09
7" CRE 221
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - 4:48
"Step Out" (Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy) - 3:40
12" CRE 221T
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - 4:48
"Step Out" (Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy) - 3:40
"Underneath the Sky" - 3:20
Cassette CRECS 221
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - 4:48
"Step Out" (Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy) - 3:40
CD re-issue (US) 34K78356
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - 4:48
"Cum on Feel the Noize" (Holder/Lea) - 5:09
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Look_Back_in_Anger
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