"Whatever"
Single by Oasis
B-side
Released18 December 1994 (1994-12-18)
StudioRockfield, Monmouth, Wales
Genre
Length
LabelCreation
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Oasis singles chronology
"Cigarettes & Alcohol"
(1994) 		"Whatever"
(1994) 		"Rock 'n' Roll Star"
(1995)
Music video
"Whatever" on YouTube

"Whatever" is a song by English rock band Oasis. Written by the band's lead guitarist, Noel Gallagher, it was released on 18 December 1994 by Creation as the band's first non-album single. A subsequent lawsuit awarded a co-writing credit to Neil Innes.

History

At six minutes and twenty-one seconds, "Whatever" was the longest single the band had released up to that point (it was later surpassed by "Champagne Supernova"). The song follows an AB structure, which differs from Verse-Chorus, as the main hook occurs at the beginning of the song. The song suddenly changes key during the bridge, before returning to the main chord progression of the song, which repeats for a two-and-a-half-minute outro in which, one by one, each instrument cuts out until only the strings are playing. Finally, the song ends with an extended, recorded applause track.

The Christmas single[3] was released in 1994 as a stand-alone single, bridging the gap between Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, and their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. "Whatever" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 3. The single was later included on the compilation album Time Flies... 1994–2009. The strings were played by the London Session Orchestra which featured former Electric Light Orchestra violinist Wilfred Gibson. The orchestration was arranged by Nick Ingman and Noel Gallagher.

"Whatever" has sold 540,000 copies to date.[4] The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart on 20 June 2010 at number 64, due to the release of Time Flies, and was the first time that it had been available to purchase as a music download.[5]

The song has been used by Coca-Cola in its 2012 campaign celebrating its 125th anniversary[6] and also in Italian Vodafone commercials.[7] It was also used by Asahi Breweries for their Asahi Off beer commercials in Japan.[8][9]

Critical reception

Both Melody Maker and NME named "Whatever" Single of the Week. Melody Maker editor Everett True said the song "is absolutely f***ing stunning — from the strummed acoustic and Soup Dragon-esque sentiments (I'm free to be whatever I...whatever I choose), the f***-off strings and inch-perfect handclaps, right through to the final applause."[10] NME editor Tommy Udo wrote, "'Whatever' is only the best single of 1994, only the best Oasis single of 1994, because I feel reasonably confident that they'll do one better every time. Basically it pisses over everything else. A song to die for, with a descending scale and a f—ing string section: from 'Love Me Do' to 'All You Need Is Love' in under a year. The fact that it sounds like any number of other songs is a mark of the confidence that Oasis have in their songwriting: amateurs borrow, pros steal and look you straight in the eye, unashamed."[11]

Authorship dispute

English musician Neil Innes sued the band claiming the song borrowed portions of his song "How Sweet to Be an Idiot". Innes and Oasis settled a plagiarism lawsuit and Innes received songwriting credit.[12] The portion of the melodic line in question are the eight notes that accompany the lyrics "How Sweet to be an Idiot"/"I'm free to be whatever I" of the Oasis version, appearing 40 seconds after the start of the Innes version.

Live performances

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"Whatever" had been performed live by Oasis many times, sometimes with the string arrangement which accompanies the single version, sometimes without. They often ended live versions of the song with lyrics adapted from The Beatles song "Octopus's Garden". They had also been known to add the lines "All the young blues [sic]....carry the news...," in reference to the Mott the Hoople (originally written by David Bowie) song "All the Young Dudes", with the changing of "dudes" to "Blues" being in reference to the then nickname of Man City. At their famous performances at Knebworth in August 1996, the song was accompanied throughout by harmonica player Mark Feltham.

Noel Gallagher later revisited "Whatever," adding the song to his setlist during his first tour with his band High Flying Birds. Both he and Liam still perform the song semi-regularly on tour.

B-sides

One of the single's B-sides, "Slide Away", was already featured on their debut album, Definitely Maybe. The other two — "(It's Good) to Be Free" and "Half the World Away" — were later featured on the B-side compilation The Masterplan. "Slide Away" and "Half the World Away" would also be featured on Oasis' 2006 compilation album Stop the Clocks, but "Whatever" itself was not included. "Half the World Away" was chosen as the theme tune to The Royle Family. "(It's Good) to Be Free" has been mentioned by Liam under the name "Live by the Sea", before its official release.

Track listings

All tracks are written by Noel Gallagher.[a]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United Kingdom 18 December 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Creation [13][46]
Japan 22 December 1994 CD Epic [47]

Notes

  1. ^ Except "Whatever" written by Gallagher and Neil Innes,[13] and "I Am the Walrus" written by Lennon–McCartney.[14]
  2. ^ "Whatever" was included as an additional CD on the European special limited edition of Definitely Maybe.[18]

References

  1. ^ Rabid, Jack. "Oasis – Whatever". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  2. ^ "'Whatever' Oasis - A song to live 2013 by. Music review".
  3. ^ "Noel's Notes". NME. 3 November 1998. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  4. ^ Myers, Justin (6 September 2014). "Revealed: Official Top 20 Biggest Selling Oasis Songs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Yahoo! UK & Ireland omg!". Yahoo!. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Commercial Coca-Cola: "Razones Para Creer" 2011 (Fullscreen HD) Whatever / Oasis". 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2012 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Whatever by Oasis Used in Italian Vodafone Commercials". Stopcryingyourheartoutnews.blogspot.com. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  8. ^ "アサヒオフ：【新発売】.m4v" (in Japanese). 23 January 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2012 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "アサヒオフ：山口智子【】.m4v" (in Japanese). 23 January 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2012 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ True, Everett (17 December 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  11. ^ Udo, Tommy (17 December 1994). "Singles". NME. p. 37. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. ^ Michaels, Sean (6 October 2008). "Have Oasis plagiarised Cliff Richard?". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Why were Oasis were sued over the song Whatever?". Radio X. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  14. ^ The Little Black Songbook: Oasis. Wise Publications. 2012. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-85712-909-3.
  15. ^ Whatever (CD single liner notes). Oasis. UK: Creation. 1994. CRESCD 195.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Whatever (CD single liner notes). Oasis. Europe: Helter Skelter. 1994. HES 661079 2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Whatever (CD promo liner notes). Oasis. Europe: Helter Skelter. 1994. SAMP 2529.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Definitely Maybe (CD liner notes). Oasis. Europe: Helter Skelter. 1994. HES 477318 6.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Whatever (12-inch vinyl single liner notes). Oasis. UK: Creation. 1994. CRE 195T.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Whatever (MC single liner notes). Oasis. UK: Creation. 1994. CRECS 195.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Whatever (7-inch vinyl single liner notes). Oasis. UK: Creation. 1994. CRE 195.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Whatever (CD single liner notes). Oasis. France: Helter Skelter. 1995. HES 661079 1.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Whatever (7-inch vinyl single liner notes). Oasis. France: Helter Skelter. 1994. 661079 7.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Whatever (CD promo liner notes). Oasis. Australia: Creation. 1994. 661079 2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Whatever (MC single liner notes). Oasis. Australia: Creation. 1994. 661079 8.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ Whatever (CD extended play liner notes). Oasis. Japan: Epic. 22 December 1994. ESCA 6127.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ "Oasis – Whatever". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  28. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 5. 4 February 1995. p. 36. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  29. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  30. ^ "Oasis – Whatever" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  31. ^ "Oasis – Whatever" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  32. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (4.2 '95 – 10.2 '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 February 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  33. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Whatever (Re 1)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  34. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 6, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  35. ^ "Oasis – Whatever" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  37. ^ "Oasis – Whatever". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  38. ^ "Oasis – Whatever". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  39. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  40. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1994". Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 9.
  41. ^ "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1996. p. 25. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  42. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 1995" (in Swedish). Topplistan. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  43. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  44. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1996". Music Week. 18 January 1997. p. 9.
  45. ^ "British single certifications – Oasis – Whatever". British Phonographic Industry.
  46. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 17 December 1994. p. 43.
  47. ^ "Oasis | Artist Information". Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on 7 April 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
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