Half the World Away

"Half the World Away"
Song by Oasis
from the album The Masterplan
Released18 December 1994
RecordedOctober 1994
StudioThe Congress House, Austin, Texas
Genre
Length4:21
LabelCreation
Songwriter(s)Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)Owen Morris, Noel Gallagher
Lyric video
"Oasis - Half The World Away (Official Lyric Video)" on YouTube

"Half the World Away" is a song by British rock band Oasis. It is well known as the theme tune to the popular BBC sitcom The Royle Family.

The song was written by Oasis' lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, who also provides lead vocals. The song is an acoustic tune with and the lyrics – much like "Rock 'n' Roll Star" – express a desire to leave a stagnant life in a boring city. The song is primarily in C major.[1]

Recorded at The Congress House Studio, Austin, Texas, in October 1994, "Half the World Away" was first released as a B-side to "Whatever" on 18 December 1994, reaching number 3 in the UK charts.[2]

In 1998 the song was included in The Masterplan, a collection of Oasis' best B-sides. The collection was a success, peaking at number 2 in the UK charts. The track is also included on Oasis' compilation album Stop the Clocks, which also reached number 2. The song reached number 56 in the UK charts in 2015 following the release of Aurora's cover version, marking their first top 100 song since the release of "Falling Down" in 2009.

During a Q & A session at Salford Lads' Club in October 2019, Gallagher revealed that the song was the favourite of the B-sides he had made.[3]

  1. ^ "Half the World Away". Musicnotes.com. 22 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Song profile on Oasisinet". Archived from the original on 22 September 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2006.
  3. ^ Keeling, Neal (29 October 2019). "Noel Gallagher at Salford Lads Club – the best bits". men.