"We went directly from the last night of the Definitely Maybe tour to record Morning Glory, and then spent the following 29 years - and counting - trying to live up to both albums”: Noel Gallagher reflects on his early career peaks

Say what you like about Noel Gallagher, but the ex-Oasis man has never been less than candid about things.

In an interview with the Sunday Times Culture magazine, Noel has said that he’s spent almost thirty years trying “to live up to” the success of his first two albums. And even the most fervent Oasis fan would probably concur with that assessment.

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When asked if it was tough to follow the success of the band’s debut album Definitely Maybe with the second, Noel said: “We never thought about things like that. We went directly from the last night of the 'Definitely Maybe' tour to record '(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?', and then spent the following 29 years - and counting - trying to live up to both albums." 

He also stated that he’d be happy if Definitely Maybe had been a one-off. “I guess it’s the definitive Oasis album. It has the spirit, the arrogance of youth. Teenage anthems. It’s live - no bullshit. If we’d made only that album, then I’d still be as happy as I am now.”

He suggested that it was only the passing of time that had made Definitely Maybe the classic it is today.

“Well, we knew the songs were great because we played them every night and all the shows were outrageous. But at that time it was just a good album - nothing more, nothing less. It’s only through time that it has become what it is now.

“In hindsight, we didn’t really know what we were doing. We were trying to ‘make a record’, but none of us had ever done one before. So, we just set the gear up and got into character and pressed record. The rest, as they say, is mystery.”

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Definitely Maybe turns 30 in a couple of weeks time, with the occasion being marked by the release of a Deluxe edition of the album. It will include tracks from the original discarded version of the album that was recorded at Monnow Valley in 1993, as well as outtakes from the sessions at Sawmills studio in Cornwall, which have been mixed by Noel Gallagher and Callum Marinho.

For all the plaudits the album has been showered with since, Definitely Maybe had a notoriously troubled birth. Sessions at Monnow Valley in Monmouthshire in 1993 were binned and the band had to record the album a second time at Sawmills. Even then it had to be remixed by Owen Morris before it was deemed ready to release.