Don't Look Back in Anger is the hit song from the biggest Britpop band of all time – Oasis. The song was written and also sung by the older Gallagher brother Noel in 1995, and was the fourth single from their most popular album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Background/Writing Process
When Noel wrote the song on April 1995, he decided to play it in it's unfinished state at a concert in Sheffield Arena, when his brother and singer Liam was resting his voice, by smoking and drinking in the backstage (according to Noel). Because the song was unknown to everybody except Noel, he only got a polite applause from the crowd after playing the song. Gallagher recalls the moment when he was writing the song:
"I remember writing it in Paris on a rainy night. We had just played a strip club: our set finished, the strippers came on. We were nothing, an insignificant little band. And I remember going back to my hotel room and writing it, and thinking, 'That'll be pretty good when we record it.' If I'd have known that night what I know now about people playing it at fucking funerals and weddings, I'd never have finished the song. Too much pressure."
The name Sally, which appears in the chorus of the song, is a made up character by Noel. Noel said that the name was purely random, and that he doesn't know anybody named Sally. Some lines from the song are also inspired by John Lennon, whom Noel admires greatly. The line »So I start a revolution from my bed« came from a memoir cassette of Lennon in which he said he was 'trying to start a revolution from me bed, because they said the brains I had went to my head.', which was a reference to Lennon's famous bed-in protest in 1969. The intro piano is also very similar to Lennon's song Imagine. Noel explains:
»In the case of "Don't Look Back in Anger"—I mean, the opening piano riff's "Imagine". Fifty per cent of it's put in there to wind people up, and the other 50% is saying, "Look, this is how songs like 'Don't Look Back in Anger' come about—because they're inspired by songs like 'Imagine'." And no matter what people might think, there will be some 13-year-old kid out there who'll read an interview and think, "'Imagine'? I've never heard that song." And he might go and buy the album, you know what I mean?«
Release
The single was released on 19 February 1996, with the B-sides "Step Out", "Underneath the Sky" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". The artwork for the single is photo by Brian Cannon, which is a reference to an incident when Beatles drummer Ringo Starr left the Beatles temporarily in 1968. When he returned, his fellow bandmate George Harrison decorated his drum kit with flowers to show that the band loves and respects him. The song was highly praised upon release and became an instant hit. The song appeared on several list of the most important singles from publications such as Q magazine and NME.
Music Video
The video was directed by Nigel Dick, whom collaborated with artists such as Britney Spears, Cher, Elton John, Green Day and many more. It was filmed in California on 4 December 1995, and features the band in a black cab on their way to a mansion, where they perform the song. The video has over 200 million views on Youtube.