An unlikely singer managed to get an Oasis song into the charts after the Gallagher brothers failed to make it take off in the United States.
Many UK bands in the 1990s tried and failed to make it big overseas, although many believed it was a given for Oasis.
The Gallagher brothers, who are reuniting for a series of concerts this year, did not crack the States on their first run, but a legendary performer managed to get one of their songs in the charts.
Said performer, who will feature on the main stage of Glastonbury Festival this year, has delighted fans with his unconventional cover of the Gallagher classic.
Fans on Reddit were also stunned to see the Oasis original received little to no airplay upon release, and it was not until 1998, four years after the song released, that it appeared in the charts.
Rod Stewart, who will perform in the Legends slot of this year’s Worthy Farm-based festival, managed to get Cigarettes and Alcohol to No. 13 in the US charts.
A screenshot of the “mainstream rock airplay” list showed it was on the charts from May to July, peaking at 13 and sticking around for 16 weeks.
A fan wrote: “Rod Stewart’s cover of Cigarettes and Alcohol was bigger in America than the Oasis original (which received no airplay and did not chart).”
While Sir Rod managed to get the Gallagher brothers’ song onto the charts, the cover is not a beloved one. Fans have shared their dismay at seeing Cigarettes and Alcohol chart thanks to Rod.
One wrote: “It is admittedly a terrible cover, though.” Another fumed: “Rod Stewart is one of those boomer legacy artists who could just record themselves farting into a microphone for four minutes and be able to sell it as a single. Which exactly what Rod did with this cover.”
Others believed the cover charting higher than the original Oasis version ever did is an “embarrassing” moment in charts history. One user wrote: “Awful cover, embarrassing for America.”
Another fan has found it peculiar the “biggest” song from Oasis’ album, Definitely Maybe, was not released properly in the United States.
They wrote: “Crazy that the highest charting UK hit from DM was considered unfit for release in the US by Sony (they just pushed Supersonic and Live Forever to radio/MTV instead). And then Rod Stewart, of all people, scored radio hit off of it 4 years later.”
Rod will perform in the “Legends” slot of Glastonbury Festival later this week, with the ‘Young Turks’ songwriter cancelling performances in the lead-up to his show as he deals with a flu.
The music icon released a statement on the cancelled US gigs, saying: “So sorry my friends. I’m devastated and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to my fans. I’ll be back on stage and will see you soon.”