Mojo - The Music Magazine

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In this month's issue of MOJO, Noel Gallagher talks us through the music, movies, gigs and books that have shaped his life. Here, for your delectation, are his choices. From Elvis to Morricone, Bacharach to the Haçienda, Donovan to the Pistols and beyond...

Elvis Presley
Blue Moon
(1957)

In the hands of The King, this Rodgers and Hart standard becomes a thing of crepuscular, country beauty. ________________________________________________________________________

Buddy Holly
Well... All Right

Heartbeat was the last single to be released by Holly before his death. This was the B-side. ________________________________________________________________________

The Beatles
Ticket To Ride

A mid-period Beatles evergreen and the first Fabs single to break the three-minute mark, Ticket To Ride couples chiming verses with deft pop choruses. Here they are on TOTP in 1965. ________________________________________________________________________

Ennio Morricone
The Ecstasy Of Gold

Soundtracking one of the most famous scenes from Sergio Leone's western epic The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, this is a slice of Ennio Morricone at his most awe-inspiring. ________________________________________________________________________

Angelo & Eighteen
Flight 2

This mantric Mickie Most-produced oddity used to soundtrack Noel's post-Haçienda comedowns. ________________________________________________________________________

Herb Alpert
This Guy's In Love With You

Written by Bacharach and David, made a hit by Herb Alpert and covered by one Noel Gallagher live at the Royal Festival Hall in 1996. ________________________________________________________________________

The Smiths
Hand In Glove

The Smith's dark, swooning debut single heralded the arrival of the band that would blow the mind of our guest editor when he heard them on the radio at the age of 17. ________________________________________________________________________

The Stone Roses
Fools Gold

The band that cemented Noel's vision for Oasis released this acid house meets Krautrock epic in late 1989. "Fools Gold was a peak, one of the greatest things we did," said the Roses' Ian Brown. "It doesn't sound like anybody else. It's just a killer groove." ________________________________________________________________________

The Damned
Don't Cry Wolf

The Damned's last single for Stiff Records was produced by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason. Noel saw the band on their 1980 Black Album tour. The future Oasis chief's introduction to live music started here. ________________________________________________________________________

Rhythim Is Rhythim
Strings Of Life

An acid house perennial and inspiration for one of Noel's new tracks What A Life!, this 12-inch was released by Detroit techno wizard Derrick May in the summer of 1987. Noel heads to the Haçienda. Leaves three years later.

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The Gun
Sunshine

This 1968 B-side mini-anthem from the shortlived British power trio could easily be the distant cousin of Champagne Supernova. "Sun shines brightly everyday/Let it shine, let it shine". Pure Oasis arena fodder.

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The Left Banke
Desiree

Another Baroque-pop gem from the New York group that scored a hit with 1966's Walk Away Renee. ________________________________________________________________________

Sex Pistols
God Save The Queen

Described by Noel as "an incredible recording of an incredible song", the Pistols' Jubilee blitzkrieg still sounds like it might bring the walls crashing down.

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Neil Young
Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)

Young's brutally honest statement about life in the rock'n'roll hurricane appears in both acoustic and electric format on 1979's Rust Never Sleeps. Oasis covered it during their two-night stint at Wembley Stadium in 2000.

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Donovan
Get Thy Bearings

The second Mickie Most-produced track on Noel's list made its first appearance on Donovan's 1968 Hurdy Gurdy Man album. Its jazzy arrangements prompted King Crimson to cover the song live in the early '70s. ________________________________________________________________________

Wings
Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five

We fittingly end with a Beatle on top post-Beatles form. Macca's Band On The Run closer is a piano-led pop tour de force. Noel: "He's Paul, isn't he? He's a Beatle. What can you say?" ________________________________________________________________________

To view Noel's full list of tracks, movies, books and gigs and to read MOJO's epic interview with the man himself, check out the current issue of the magazine - on sale now.