johncomic

Definitely Maybe, the debut album by Oasis, which was released on this date twenty years ago.

The release of Suede’s first album signalled that Britpop was shaping up to be a phenomenon. Definitely Maybe cemented its status as a monster phenomenon.

You may recall that The Beatles set a record for the fastest-selling debut album of all time, a record which stood for roughly twenty years. Then Frankie Goes To Hollywood broke it, and their record stood for roughly ten years until Suede broke it. Well, Oasis broke it again with this album, in a little over one year. Evidence that Britpop was gaining momentum, going beyond frenzy into mania. It represented a commercial and cultural force the likes of which the UK hadn’t seen in ages. This was where Oasis became superstars and would go on to become the biggest band of the decade... and remain so beyond the end of Britpop itself.

Definitely Maybe also went platinum in the USA, the first Britpop to do so. This album is the turning point where Britpop began to reach out beyond, to the world at large. This is where things got big and shit got real. Since that time, this album has remained perennially lauded and highly-rated, one of the four definitive Britpop albums, an undeniable classic.

[Hear them revive the sound of the British Invasion 1965!]