What is a Wonderwall?
The Scene:
It’s 1995, the year in which we saw Richey James Edwards
heartbreakingly surreal disappearance from the Manic Street Preachers, Tupac
have a No. 1 album whilst in prison, The
Beetles and Queen release “new” material
and Bjork telling everyone about the
joys of being quiet.
But did you know that the Oasis song “Wonderwall” hit No.1
and No.2 in the British charts at the same time?
The original:
Wonderwall by Oasis was the anthem of my youth, and there is
no way in hell that overplay could scratch its raw honesty and ubiquity.
My mate Keith played and sang a great version of it, we sang
it on the way to parties, we sang it at parties, on the bus on the way home
from parties, at our school graduation, at weddings, we chanted along with it,
at the pub. It came on the radio like the unexpected visit of a good friend.
From it’s simple opening guitar chords to, the Beetle’s influenced orchestration of melancholic cello’s, to the cryptic lyrics of what appears
to be a love song, it’s one of the great hits of its time.
The version:
This song is an anomaly, something so quirky and so out of
left field that I want to see it made into a mini-series. In 1995, in London, there
was a brief renaissance in… live lounge music. You know: that soft swinging pop
music of the sixties. Think Austin Power’s saying “Groovy baby!” into the
camera (and in fact the cover group Mike Power Pops were later involved in the
sound track of that film).
The group was invited by the BBC to record lounge stylings of
pop songs of the time. Chris Evans the radio presenter of the very popular
breakfast show played it and claimed it was the original and Oasis had plagiarized
it. The publicity catapulted it up the charts to the No.2 spot.
I love how the switch of genre really turns the whole thing
upside down. The horn section, Hammond organ, samba percussion, light string
section and angelic backing vocals and Mike Powers “Finger point and wink at
you” charismatic performance, gives everything a terrific jolly bounce that
just makes me smile. It even has a vinyl scratch sound!
Conclusion:
In previous editions of Version 2.0, I spoke a little about
the reasons why versions happen. This is one I didn’t mention: Pure
coincidence. A butterfly’s fluttering wings moved this into the charts as the
planets aligned. It’s these little stories that make me write this blog, and I
know what you’re thinking: What is a Wonderwall anyway? Well, let me know what
you think it means in the comment’s below. My friend David requested these
songs for this entry, so if you want me to write about your favorite songs,
please drop me a comment below, like, subscribe and all that good stuff .
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