Noel Gallagher is not only one of the greatest songwriters of a generation, but perhaps one of Britain’s best-ever; he’s certainly in the top five of all time from Greater Manchester, but did you know how the story behind how one of his best (you heard) songs, ‘Dead In The Water’ came to be?
Or rather, do you know how one little radio performance produced one of his best vocal performances to date? Keep reading…
In case you’ve never heard the haunting ‘Dead In The Water’, taken from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds LP three, Who Built The Moon?, it is very much just that: an almost ghostly and preciously quiet, acoustic song that became a cult favourite on the LP and even more beloved live track.
But this tune was never even supposed to be on the album; the deep cut, which was only ever played live a few times during concerts prior to its being released to the world, was taken from a radio show on Irish station RTÉ 2FM – and Noel didn’t even know it was being recorded.
Played during 2015, and it barely even needed ‘mastering’ before being released in 2017.
As explained by RTÉ’s Damian Chennells, Noel was promoting the previous album, Chasing Yesterday (his sophomore HFB outing and just second solo album up to that point), and during the session in the studio, Damian decided to hit record on an otherwise behind-the-scenes moment.
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You can actually hear him going back and forth with the sound engineer at the start of the track – one he’d only just finished writing the night before – before he actually starts playing and the rest, as they say, is history.
We love the notion that the piano player didn’t even know what he was doing until Noel started playing.
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Taped and ultimately tracked thanks to a spur-of-the-moment decision made in 2FM Studio 8 at the national free-to-air network’s radio centre in Dublin, Oasis and High Flying Birds fans, as well as lovers of Noel and music in general, got one of the most beautiful stripped-back listening experiences imaginable.
Returning to Ireland some time later, and just four years prior to getting Oasis back together for the Live ’25 world tour show that is now well underway, he performed it once again for The Late Late Show, which goes out on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Some might argue he sounds even better this time around, but just as he says in the interview above, there is something truly special and unfiltered about that first raw and ridiculously good live recording.
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From 2015 to 2021, and even present day, the story behind the original ‘Dead in the Water’ recording is fascinating.
Many have even speculated that the chatter recorded at the start and played to crowds on just a handful of occasions may have even foreshadowed the eventual reunion, as it seems to feature discussion surrounding Liam
The radio tech himself said in the recent retrospective interview of his own, he felt in the moment that “this song is an Oasis B-side” and was the only one played on the day that could easily slip onto one of their records.
As for Who Built The Moon?, a.k.a. HFB3, the album never featured ever B-sides of its own; instead, it just had one extra bonus track right at the very end of the 48:46 run-time – ‘Dead in the Water (live at RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)’.
So there you have it: one of Noel’s most emotional, in-the-zone/lost-in-the-moment vocal performances in history, and one that so many still rate right up there with his very bits of music, may never have been if it wasn’t for ‘Damo’. So thanks, mate, I guess…
Are there any other tracks like ‘Dead in the Water’ where you love the back-story almost as much as the song itself? Bonus points if they’re by Greater Manchester artists.
The Strokes at Co-op Live, Manchester – actually very hard to explain
Daisy Jackson
Manchester has waited a long, long time for this – The Strokes back on stage in our city.
I’ve been a fan of the band for as long as I can remember, but have never managed to catch them live, partly because they’ve left it TWENTY YEARS between shows here.
But back they are, with an enormous gig at the Co-op Live on their Reality Awaits tour.
The Strokes are known as one of the most solid indie bands of the 2000s, going triple platinum with their debut album Is This It and releasing massive anthems like Last Nite, Reptilia, and Someday.
They’re also known as a bit of an unpredictable live act – some will say they’re one of the best on the circuit, others will say they’re disappointing, and it really can depend on the night.
What they’re not known for is their audience interaction, so when frontman Julian Casablancas tries to have a bit of a chat with the audience, we all sort of stare blankly back at him. He’s speaking to us? What do we do?
“Wow, tough crowd,” he says, which is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone describe a Manchester audience as tough.
Then he turns back to drummer Fabrizio Moretti and says: “This is f*cking hideous, let’s play some songs.”
The setlist seems to get a shake-up every couple of shows, which is a nice surprise for us – and apparently also Julian, who regularly pops over to ask his bandmates what’s up next.
It doesn’t really matter that he’s not done his homework, because the second that drum kicks in, along with the impeccable guitar work of Schiltz, Fraiture and Hammond Jr., he snaps into action.
It’s impressive that their songs still have such singalong quality when Casablancas enunciates like a man with a dislocated jaw. For certain songs he’s so incoherent that if you weren’t a fan you’d walk in this room and wonder what the f*ck was going on.
But then, that’s sort of why us The Strokes fans love them so much. There’s a calamitous beauty to the work they put out and it’s so fun to belt out some words, even if they’re not the right ones.
I was hoping that seeing it live would sell that divisive new album, Reality Awaits, to me, but it didn’t. It’s too autotuney, too languid, and too often the victim of everyone’s toilet breaks.
Their earlier tracks still land best in a live setting, especially Reptilia, an absolute juggernaut in their back catalogue.
Rollercoaster set and tricky crowd interactions aside, we all had a great time – I’m just not sure I could say the same about Julian Casablancas.
Sam Fender describes his own ticket prices as ‘b*llocks’ and demands change for fans
Daisy Jackson
Sam Fender has kicked off about ticket prices for his own tour, ahead of his huge stadium summer next year.
The Geordie star announced his Proper Massive stadium tour last week, which will visit some of the UK’s biggest venues including The O2 in London, Etihad Stadium in Manchester, and St James’ Park in his home city of Newcastle.
But after ticket prices for the tour were announced, Sam Fender surprised us all by joining in with a moan about how expensive they were.
He described the ticketing strategy for his tour as ‘b*llocks’ and said he was ‘not happy’ with ticket prices.
And proving just how much sway an artist can have on ticket prices, Sam Fender then demanded that things be redone.
Sam first appeared in the comments on Gavin Davis’ Instagram account, which frequently shares tour leaks and ticket prices.
There, he wrote: “I’m not happy with these prices, they’re getting changed. It got inflated well more than I’d had in mind, it should only be inflated in relation to the cost of putting the show on.
“The standing will not be split as well, I had no idea about it. I have no idea how this was normalised in gigs.
“It’s bollocks and it won’t be happening on this tour.”
Then later, on his own Instagram stories, Sam Fender posted: “I’ve managed to get Front Standing tickets removed from the UK stadium tour. Whoever buys a standing ticket gets as much chance as anyone to be at the front.
“No more £120 standing tickets either.
“Costs are astronomical compared to two years ago, I can’t control the venue and ticketing fees, that’s a sad reality of today’s industry.
“This is gonna be the biggest and best show we’ve ever put on. Can’t wait to see everyone on the road next summer!”
The ticket prices for the Proper Massive tour are now confirmed by Sam Fender himself as being £85 for GA standing, and £55/£75/£95 for seats.
Danny Jones -
3rd September 2025 
