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TL;DR:

  • Oasis’ Noel Gallagher said he wasn’t a fan of some of John Lennon’s songs.
  • He felt one of the “Imagine” singer’s songs wasn’t relatable.
  • The tune in question by was covered two major pop stars: Barbra Streisand and Christina Aguilera.

Oasis’ Noel Gallagher said nobody could relate to one of John Lennon‘s songs. Gallagher gave fans insight into his feelings on music in general. Despite this, John’s song still charted in the United States.

Oasis’ Noel Gallagher felt a John Lennon song about parental issues was too personal

Gallagher’s band, Oasis, takes a lot of inspiration from The Beatles. In a 2009 interview in the book The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters, a journalist noted Gallagher’s songs were rarely personal. “All the songs that I like, they’re not written by songwriters pulling the scabs off themselves,” he said. “All John Lennon’s s*** about his mother; I’m not interested in it, doesn’t mean anything to me. All these songs about personal torment, how can it?

“How can ‘Mother’ mean anything to anybody apart from John Lennon?” he added. “It can’t, because he’s singing it about his mother, not mine. That’s just my perception of it.” For context, “Mother” is an abrasive ballad where John sings about missing his dead mother, Julia Lennon, and his absent father, Freddie Lennon. The “(Just Like) Starting Over” singer also reflected on his relationship with his mother in The Beatles’ “Julia” from The White Album and his solo song “My Mummy’s Dead.”

Noel Gallagher contrasted John Lennon’s song with The Kinks’ ‘Waterloo Sunset’

Gallagher discussed the parental abuse he suffered. “It’s never come out in my music ’cause (a) it’s nobody’s f******* business; and (b) it doesn’t make for great music,” he said. 

“For instance, [The Kinks’] ‘Waterloo Sunset;’ the sun setting at Waterloo Station belongs to everybody,” he continued. “The abusive father I had belongs to me. I really wouldn’t want to share that or put it into a song. Why waste that three minutes when you could be writing about the sun coming up in the morning?” Notably, Gallagher cited The Kinks as a major influence on his work.

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How the song performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Mother” became a minor hit in the United States, if it counted as a hit at all. The tune reached No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for six weeks. John included the tune on his debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. That record climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 34 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Mother” did not chart in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band reached No. 8 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks. “Mother” went on to inspire covers by two major pop stars: Barbra Streisand and Christina Aguilera.

Gallagher said nobody would ever connect to “Mother” but the tune still charted in the U.S.

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