OASIS WROTE “SUPERSONIC” DURING A TAKEAWAY BREAK — AND RELEASED THE QUICK MONITOR MIX

Before Oasis released Definitely Maybe, the song that became their debut single emerged from a studio session running out of energy — and spare tape. 🎛️

At Liverpool’s Pink Museum in December 1993, memories differ slightly over which attempted recording caused the trouble. Noel Gallagher later focused on “Bring It On Down”; engineer Dave Scott remembered repeated takes of “I Will Believe” going nowhere.

Either way, the session had stalled.

Scott had no unused tape left, so trying something new meant erasing at least one earlier take. The band began playing a riff-based jam they had used at soundcheck, with Noel calling the chords to Bonehead. Roughly 15 minutes later, they had the backing track. 💾🎸

Then the food arrived.

While six others ate a Chinese takeaway, Noel went into a back room and finished “Supersonic.” By his own account, it took about as long as the meal. 🍜

The room immediately began leaking into the lyrics. Scott recalled suggesting gin and tonic when Noel wanted a drink; his Rottweiler, Elsa, also supplied one of the song’s most memorable names. 🍸🐕

Liam listened to Noel’s guide melody, read the new words and recorded the lead vocal in one take, apart from a drop-in correction. Tony Griffiths of The Real People then stacked several layers of backing vocals. 🎤

Scott mixed the track without automation, using unreliable monitors before transferring it to domestic-quality DAT through cheap cables. He believed he was making only a quick monitor mix.

The entire job took 11 hours.

That mix was never replaced. It became Oasis’s first commercial single on April 11, 1994, then appeared on Definitely Maybe. ⚡

Sometimes a band’s opening statement arrives before anyone has time to second-guess it.

#musicOnOff #Oasis #DefinitelyMaybe #Supersonic #Britpop #RecordingStories #MusicHistory