Skip to main content

Oasis’ songs have received a lot of praise for taking inspiration from The Beatles. However, there’s such a thing as a bad Beatlesque song. Oasis gave the world the worst example of Fab Four worship in the entire history of rock ‘n’ roll. That didn’t stop it from becoming a No. 1 hit.

Oasis ripped of The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ in the worst way possible

The Beatles gave us a few famous self-empowerment songs. The most well-known of these is “Hey Jude,” a repetitive slice of stadium rock that’ll melt your heart. Apparently, just covering “I Am the Walrus” was no longer enough for the Gallagher brothers. No, they had to write their own version of The Beatles’ most beloved power ballad.

“All Around the World” is an obvious attempt to regurgitate “Hey Jude,” complete with some “na na nas.” While “Hey Jude” was a little lengthy at seven minutes, “All Around the World” is over nine minutes long, and it’s followed by a two-minute reprise. On top of that, the melody is awful and Liam Gallagher sings it like he’d rather be doing anything else. Yeesh.

Becoming as big as The Beatles was a drawback for Noel Gallagher

During a 2009 interview with The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters, Noel Gallagher revealed that his mindset while writing Oasis’ first two albums was different from his mindset when he wrote Be Here Now. “Well yeah, I was writing those songs for me and I didn’t give a s*** who heard them,” he said. “If we’d do a gig we’d play to 10 people, and then you become a big band playing stadiums. Then you start to second-guess yourself: ‘These have got to be played in a stadium.’ You kind of think, ‘The room in which I write these songs dictates what song I’m writing.’

“For instance, I wouldn’t write a song on a sitar; playing that to 60,000 people, they’d walk out,” he added. “You’re in this big band and you’ve got a lot of equipment; you just try to utilize it all. That’s where most of the Be Here Now stuff came from. It’s like, ‘F*****’ hell, man, we can afford whatever we want: let’s get twelve f*****’ string sections in.'” Maybe that’s why “All Around the World” drowns in its own strings.

Oasis’ ‘All Around the World’ was a flop and a hit

“All Around the World” completely flopped in the United States. The tune didn’t reach the Billboard Hot 100 or even the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. Be Here Now was a hit, however. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 26 weeks. Be Here Now was a modest success, however, it was also a pyrrhic victory. The band was never as prominent in the U.S. again.

However, fans in the United Kingdom had to deal with “All Around the World” on the radio. The Official Charts Company reports that “All Around the World” reached No. 1 for a week and lasted on the chart for 11 weeks altogether. Be Here Now was No. 1 for five of its 50 weeks on the chart.

“All Around the World” is awful but at least it’s better than some of Paul McCartney’s 1970s and 1980s material.

Best in Entertainment