Stand by Me (Oasis song)

"Stand by Me"
Single by Oasis
from the album Be Here Now
B-side	"(I Got) The Fever" "My Sister Lover" "Going Nowhere"
Released	22 September 1997
Format	CD single, 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, cassette
Recorded	March 1997
Genre	Britpop
Length	5:56 (album version) 4:51 (French radio edit)
Label	Creation
Writer(s)	Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)	Owen Morris, Noel Gallagher
Oasis singles chronology
"D'You Know What I Mean?" (1997) "Stand by Me" (1997) "All Around the World" (1998)
Be Here Now track listing 12 tracks "D'You Know What I Mean?" "My Big Mouth" "Magic Pie" "Stand by Me" "I Hope, I Think, I Know" "The Girl in the Dirty Shirt" "Fade In-Out" "Don't Go Away" "Be Here Now" "All Around the World" "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)" "All Around the World (Reprise)"

"Stand by Me" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by lead guitarist, Noel Gallagher. It was the second single to be released from the band's third album, Be Here Now.

The song peaked at number two in the UK charts in September 1997, being kept from the top spot by the record-breaking Elton John single "Candle in the Wind 1997", which was re-recorded and released in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died three weeks before the release of "Stand by Me". Despite this, "Stand by Me" still went gold in the UK. It ended up at #44 in the end of year charts in the UK for 1997.

History

Noel Gallagher claims to have written the song whilst suffering from food poisoning when he first moved to London. His mother Peggy would phone him to check on him and repeatedly told him to ensure he was eating properly. This spurred Gallagher to cook himself a proper English Sunday dinner, which resulted in a bout of food poisoning. In a 1997 interview promoting Be Here Now, Noel Gallagher had the following to say: "It starts, 'Made a meal and threw it up on Sunday'. When I first moved to London me mam kept on ringing up and asking was I eating properly. Yes, Mam. So I tried to cook a Sunday roast and puked up for two days with food poisoning. It was back to Pot Noodles after that."^[1]

The title for the song likely comes from the song "Stand by Me", which was covered by the Gallaghers' idol John Lennon. In a characteristic example of Noel Gallagher lifting elements from songs of which he is fond, the rousing sequence of chord changes between the repeated chorus lyrics 'Stand by me/Nobody knows the way it's gonna be' bears a remarkable similarity to a similar chord sequence in David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes", acknowledged by Gallagher: "It's a bit like "Live Forever", I suppose, with a touch of "All the Young Dudes" in the background—though I made sure I changed the chords."^[1]

Live performances

Due to Noel Gallagher's general dislike of Be Here Now, "Stand by Me" was rarely played live by the band at their concerts, as it was Noel who usually decided the song listings for Oasis' tours. A live version of the song from this tour can be found on the double-CD version of Familiar to Millions.

A well-known acoustic version of "Stand by Me" was shown on television the night before the release of Be Here Now as part of a BBC One documentary, featuring Noel, Liam Gallagher and drummer Alan White sitting by the side of a swimming pool, with Liam on vocals, Noel on acoustic guitar and White playing tambourine. This version remains unavailable for retail purchase in any high quality format.

Video

The video for the song was shot on 20 September 1997. It was a reworking of a famous series of adverts for The Guardian newspaper. Entitled 'The Whole Picture', the adverts showed people appearing to be engaging in criminal and/or anti-social acts—only for it to be revealed that they are actually helping someone else. For example, a scruffily-dressed skinhead rushes at a businessman; it appears he is making an effort to mug him. A man also appears to be breaking into a car. Only the "whole picture" reveals that the bald man is in fact trying to warn him that someone is forcing his car lock while the "thief" is actually helping the businessman open his stuck car door. Similarly in the video for "Stand by Me", a shop appears to be being burgled—its window is smashed and people are taking away electrical goods—only for it to be revealed that in fact the victim of a motorcycle crash has gone through the window and is buried under the televisions.^[2] The video was filmed in Feltham, West London.

Track listing

• CD (Promo) SAMPCS 4621

1. "Stand by Me" (Radio Edit) – 4:51

• CD (Promo) CCD 278X

1. "Stand by Me"
2. "(I Got) The Fever"

• CD CRESCD 278

1. "Stand by Me" – 5:55
2. "(I Got) The Fever" – 5:14
3. "My Sister Lover" – 5:58
4. "Going Nowhere" – 4:41

• 7" CRE 278

1. "Stand by Me" – 5:55
2. "(I Got) The Fever" – 5:14

• 12" CRE 278T

1. "Stand by Me" – 5:55
2. "(I Got) The Fever" – 5:14
3. "My Sister Lover" – 5:58

• Cassette CRECS 278

1. "Stand by Me" – 5:55
2. "(I Got) The Fever" – 5:14

• "My Sister Lover" - Some fans believe the title to be a reference to the band Sister Lovers, a group that invited Oasis to a May 1993 gig at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, Scotland, where they were spotted by Creation Records chief Alan McGee, who reportedly offered Oasis a recording contract on the spot after the gig.

• "Going Nowhere" - apparently Noel's attempt at a Burt Bacharach style song - can be found on The Masterplan, a collection of Oasis B-sides. It is one of only two B-sides from the Be Here Now era to be included on the album. Although it was not released until 1997, the song was written in 1990, before Noel even joined Oasis.

Personnel

• Liam Gallagher – vocals
• Noel Gallagher – lead guitars, backing vocals
• Paul Arthurs – rhythm guitar
• Paul McGuigan – bass guitar
• Alan White – drums
• Uncredited - orchestra

References