"Supersonic" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was released as their debut single in Ireland on 5 April 1994 and in the United Kingdom on 11 April. It later appeared on their debut studio album, Definitely Maybe (1994). The song was produced by the band and Mark Coyle, their live sound engineer. The single was accompanied by two music videos, one directed by Mark Szaszy and the other by Nick Egan.
"Supersonic" was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher and recorded in a single day at the Pink Museum Studio (now the Motor Museum) in Liverpool in mid-December 1993. Despite being technically a demo, it was never re-recorded, and it features Beatles-influenced backing vocals from Tony Griffiths of the band the Real People. According to tour DJ Phil Smith, the song only cost £100 to produce.
"Supersonic" reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the UK Independent Singles Chart, as well as becoming Oasis' first single to chart in the US. It also charted in the top 30 in Ireland and New Zealand, as well as the top 40 in Scotland and France. In 2024, the song was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Writing
"Supersonic" was written and recorded in a single day at the Pink Museum Studio in Liverpool, on 19 December 1993. It was produced by Oasis with their live sound engineer, Mark Coyle. Guitarist Noel Gallagher claimed he wrote the song in half an hour, while his studio colleagues were taking a break from recording to eat a Chinese takeaway. Rather than joining them, Noel remained in the studio backroom working on his guitar riff and finished writing before they returned. Tony Griffiths and Noel said three days, Mark Coyle also confirmed that the sessions took two days. The jam session began with McCarroll playing a "lazy" drumbeat, which was quickly followed by Bonehead playing rhythm guitar and Liam rattling his tambourine over the beat. Noel soon joined them and played a guitar melody over the rhythm. Meanwhile, Scott asked the Griffiths brothers, who were present at the sessions, to give Oasis musical and technical advice.
After Tony's suggestion, Noel went to the corner and quickly wrote down the lyrics, and then Oasis began recording "Supersonic". To record the song, Scott had to remove a take of "I Will Believe" because he did not have a spare tape. For Noel's lead guitar, Scott added additional overdubs by placing the amp in the studio's stone room with close-and-distance microphones and slightly speeding up the tape to thicken the guitar tone over the track. to record the tambourine track. Although it was originally based as a demo, it was never re-recorded, and this refers to producer Owen Morris, who later reworked on some other tracks on Definitely Maybe prior to its release.
Composition
Music
"Supersonic" has been classified as a rock, Britpop, hard rock, with elements of neo-psychedelia and American grunge music. It contains Blur-like vocals, "brief but smashing" guitar riffs and "catchy melodic" chorus. The song's cascading guitars are influenced by the Sex Pistols' 1977 song "Pretty Vacant", and also draw influences from bands such as the Who, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Stone Roses.
The song is played in the key of F♯ minor in a time signature with a tempo of 104 beats per minute (BPM), while Liam's vocals span a range of E<sup>3</sup> to F<sup>4</sup>. The chord progression follows a sequence of Fm<sup>11</sup>–A<sup>sus2</sup>–B<sup>7</sup>. As with "Bring It on Down", the power chord sequence of "Supersonic" is heavily influenced by Nirvana's Nevermind; according to author Alex Niven, Noel adapted Kurt Cobain's guitar technique (specifically in the Nevermind hits "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come as You Are") by adding phaser effects for his overdubbed lead guitar to produce a "swirling, underwater" guitar sound.
"Supersonic" begins with a simple drumbeat played by McCarroll, followed by an arpeggiated guitar riff played by Noel. During the intro, Noel produces a pick scrape guitar effect; Scott suggested this technique after he "wasn't too happy" with the drum solo intro. However, Noel has denied deliberately copying it. "He lives under a waterfall / Nobody can ever hear him call", "I know a girl called Elsa / She's into Alka-Seltzer", "She done it with a doctor, on a helicopter" and "She's sniffing in a tissue, selling the Big Issue". Arun Starkey of Far Out described "Supersonic" as "a triumphant call to arms for those wanting self-determination." Like the Definitely Maybe song "Cigarettes & Alcohol", "Supersonic" has an alcoholism-themed lyric: "Give me gin and tonic"; this line was written after Scott passed Noel a gin and tonic drink for stimulation instead of whiskey or beer, which were giving Noel a headache. trains and helicopters.
Most of the lyrics were inspired by the few days Noel experienced while Oasis were in Liverpool. It was included as the sixth track on Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe, released on 29 August 1994. Upon its release, the single received extensive airplay on several independent radio stations in England, as well as late-night shows on BBC Radio 1. It peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart on the week of 23 April 1994, and stayed there for 60 weeks, half of which came following the commercial success of the band's second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. However, "Supersonic" remained the band's lowest-peaking single until 2015, when "Half the World Away" debuted at number 56.
"Supersonic" debuted on the UK Independent Singles Chart at number three on 30 April 1994, behind "Always" by Erasure and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" by Prince, respectively. The song was included on the compilation Indie Top 20: Vol. 20, released in the UK on 28 October 1994 on the label Beechwood Music and sponsored by Melody Maker. A year later, on 1 July 1995, it re-entered and peaked the chart at number two, behind "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins. The CD release of "Supersonic" was included on Oasis' box sets Definitely Maybe Singles and Complete Single Collection '94–'05.
"Supersonic" was Oasis' first single to chart in the US; and peaked at number 11 on 10 December, staying on the chart for a total of 16 weeks until 14 January 1995, at number 32. By the end of October 1994, "Supersonic" was played 215 times in total on 38 different American radio stations, and it would become the most-played track on the WENZ Cleveland radio station two months later. It also reached number 38 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart on the issue dated 24 December 1994.
"Supersonic" reached number 92 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart on 30 April 1994. It also charted in other countries including Ireland (24), In Japan, a CD extended play (EP), Supersonic, was released by Epic Records Japan on 14 July 1994, reaching number 81 on the Oricon Albums Chart. By February 1995, it had sold 25,000 copies following airplay on J-Wave's Pioneer Tokio Hot 100.
A live performance of the song at the Gleneagles Hotel was recorded and released as a B-side on the UK single release of Live Forever. Liam introduces the song with "Thank you. This is the last one. And it's gonna be the single, so go and buy it."
"Supersonic" was reissued in the UK in 2000 through Big Brother Recordings. The song was included on Oasis' greatest hits albums, Stop the Clocks and Time Flies... 1994–2009. On 19 April 2014, "Supersonic" was reissued as a remastered 12-inch single by Big Brother, as part of the 2014 Record Store Day. As of October 2016, "Supersonic" had sold over 240,000 copies, making it the band's 14th biggest-selling single in the UK, even outselling their 2002 number one single "The Hindu Times", and their 2005 number one hits "Lyla" and "The Importance of Being Idle". In 2024, Paste and Rolling Stone ranked "Supersonic" number five and number three, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Oasis songs.
At the 2009 Rock en Seine festival, Bloc Party – a band who had feuded with Oasis – announced to the crowd that Oasis had withdrawn from the event, ultimately disbanding. Guitarist Russell Lissack played the opening riff to "Supersonic" to mark the occasion.
During his UFC ring walks, Tom Aspinall walks out using a snippet of "Supersonic".
Music videos
Two music videos were shot for the song. The first was directed by Mark Szaszy and intended for a British audience that features the song in its entirety. The other video was directed by Nick Egan and uses the American radio edit.
The Szaszy video was shot in January 1994 and features the band performing on top of a hotel opposite King's Cross Station, mostly in black and white and interspersed with shots of planes flying through the sky. It was the first music video the band shot. Noel Gallagher later recalled being surprised by the lack of glamour and preparation for the shoot. This began a pattern in which the band refused to take the video making process seriously and in some cases actively sabotaged the making of future videos.
The Egan video was shot in Cabazon, California during the band's first North American Tour and features the Cabazon Dinosaurs. The video features the Gallagher brothers being driven in a car through the surrounding desert landscape. Some of the footage of the band performing was repurposed for the "Some Might Say" music video when Liam refused to participate in that video's shoot.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Direct from the U.K., this five-man rock outfit is swimming in flattering press. Drown out the abundant hype and tune in the music, which offers humorous lyrics, euro-grunge guitarwork, and Blur-like vocals. Massive? Maybe. Distinctive? Definitely." Pan-European magazine Music & Media said it has the riff out of Neil Young's "Rocking in the Free World".
Track listings
All tracks were written by Noel Gallagher, except "Shakermaker" co-written by Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Bill Backer and Billy Davis.
- UK single and European maxi-single (CD)
- Australian single (CD, cassette)
- "Supersonic" – 4:46
- "Take Me Away" – 4:34
- "I Will Believe"