Oasis song ‘All Around the World’ was released on 12 January, 1998, and peaked at number one in the UK Singles Chart—a success which remains the longest number one single in UK history. The single went gold in the UK and was the last Oasis single to be released on Alan McGee’s Creation Records label.

However, Oasis had the song in their back pocket for years before they released it and, in fact, it was one of the first songs that Noel Gallagher had ever written. The reason why it did not appear on Oasis’ first two albums, Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, was because Noel urged the band to wait until they could afford to produce the song in the extravagant manner in which it was to eventually appear. In the past, he has claimed that this is one of the best songs he has ever written.

Noel described the song shortly before the release of Be Here Now, when he said: “I wrote this one ages ago, before ‘Whatever’. It was twelve minutes long then. It was a matter of being able to afford to record it. But now we can get away with the 36-piece orchestra. And the longer the better as far as I’m concerned. If it’s good. I can see what people are going to say, but fuck ’em, basically.”

He continued: “The lyrics are a teeny-poppy but there are three key changes towards the end. Imagine how much better ‘Hey Jude’ would have been with three key changes towards the end. I like the ambition of it, all that time ago. What was all that about when we didn’t even have our first single out? Gin and tonics, eh?”

This video below of the legendary band rehearsing the track at the Boardwalk club in Manchester in their early days in 1992 is the best thing you’ll see today.