"Shakermaker" is a song by the English rock band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. It was written by lead guitarist

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

. The song was first released as a second single on 20 June 1994 and later released on Oasis' debut album ''

Definitely Maybe ''Definitely Maybe'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchel ...

'' (1994). The single peaked at number eleven in the UK. It was certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

in 2013, having previously been their only single of the 1990s not to be certified in the UK. As of 2021, it remains the only single from the band's first two albums not to reach at least platinum status in the UK, and their only single of the 1990s not to be certified gold.

Background

Noel Gallagher states that the lyrics are taken from the world around him. For example, a

Shaker Maker Shaker Maker is a toy for making figures. Water and a powder must be mixed in a shaker and after turning the shaker the mixture flows into moulds inside the shaker. Because of fast polymerisation the consistency of the mixture becomes like pudding ...

was a popular toy in the 1970s, the character of "Mr Soft" was taken from a Trebor Soft Mints commercial, which featured

Cockney Rebel Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel are a British glam rock band from the early 1970s from London. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years they have had five albums in the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles in ...

's song "

Mr. Soft "Mr. Soft" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley, which was released in 1974 as the second single from their second studio album ''The Psychomodo''. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Al ...

", "Mr. Clean" is a song by

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

, one of Gallagher's favourite bands, ''

Mr Benn Mr Benn is a character created by David McKee who originally appeared in several children's books. The first, ''Mr Benn Red Knight'', was published in 1967, followed by three more; these became the basis for an animated television series of the ...

'' is a British children's cartoon and the entire last verse – "Mr Sifter sold me songs / When I was just 16 / Now he stops at traffic lights / But only when they're green" – was written in a taxi on the way to the recording studio to record the song. Apparently,

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

was pestering Noel to finish the song. At this point, the taxi stopped at the traffic lights outside "Sifters" (a record shop on Fog Lane,

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

, Manchester), named after people 'sifting' through records and run by Peter Howard since 1977. Noel penned the lyric and it became part of the song. Noel used to frequent the store to buy old records before Oasis started releasing albums. The song illustrates Noel Gallagher's habit of borrowing from the past: the chords are a simple

twelve-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

progression (albeit with the V (F) raised to a flat-VII (A)). The melody for the verse was originally taken from "

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song that originated as the jingle "True Love and Apple Pie", by British hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and sung by Susan Shirley. The lyrics were rewritten ...

" by Roger Cook,

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

, Bill Backer and Billy Davis. An Oasis tribute band called

No Way Sis No Way Sis were the official Oasis tribute band originating from Glasgow, Scotland. The band had a Top 40 hit single in the UK in 1996 with their EP, ''I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing'', the title track being a cover of the New Seekers ...

released a cover version of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" in the style of "Shakermaker", emphasising the similarity between the two songs. This cover reached No. 27 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in December 1996. Oasis were sued over this similarity and were forced to change their composition.

B-sides

The song was released with three B-sides: "D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?" (first appearing on the Live Recordings demo tape), sung by Noel Gallagher, which is instrumentally similar to "Married with Children" from ''Definitely Maybe'' and features nostalgic lyrics and two-part backing vocals by Liam; "Alive", a rough demo of an early rocker, and a live version of "Bring It on Down".

Music video

The music video was shot in Burton Road, Manchester nearby the Gallaghers' childhood home. The field they are playing football in is Didsbury

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers' rest and recreation centre ...

Sports Ground in Ford Lane, Didsbury in South Manchester. The album Liam shows to the camera is

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's 1973 album ''

Red Rose Speedway ''Red Rose Speedway'' is the second studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". The album was released by Beatles-owned label Apple Records in April 1973, preceded by its lead single, t ...

''. The music video garnered 3.6 million views on YouTube.

Personnel

: lead vocals, tambourine *

: lead guitars, backing vocals *

Paul Arthurs Paul Benjamin Arthurs (born 23 June 1965), known professionally as Bonehead, is an English musician. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the rock band Oasis. Early life Paul Benjamin Arthurs was ...

: rhythm guitar * Paul McGuigan: bass *

Tony McCarroll Anthony McCarroll (born 4 June 1971) is an English drummer and one of the founding members of the English rock band Oasis, as their drummer from 1991 until his dismissal in April 1995. He played the drums on their debut album, ''Definitely May ...

: drums

Track listings

*CD CRESCD 182 #"Shakermaker" – 5:08 #"D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?" – 2:41 #"Alive" ( 8-track demo) – 3:56 #"Bring It on Down" (live) – 4:17 *7" CRE 182 #"Shakermaker" – 5:08 #"D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?" – 2:41 *12" CRE 182T #"Shakermaker" – 5:08 #"D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?" – 2:41 #"Alive" ( 8-track demo) – 3:56 *Cassette CRECS 182 #"Shakermaker" – 5:08 #"D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?" – 2:41 *CD Maxi-Single Shakermaker HES 661377 2 #"Shakermaker" – 5:11 #"D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman?" – 2:41 #"Alive" (8 Track Demo) – 3:57 #"Bring It On Down" (Live) – 4:18 #"I Will Believe" (Live) – 3:48 #"Cloudburst" – 5:19

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Oasisinet – The Official Oasis Website
{{Authority control Oasis (band) songs 1994 singles Creation Records singles Neo-psychedelia songs Songs written by Noel Gallagher Song recordings produced by Noel Gallagher Song recordings produced by Liam Gallagher Songs involved in plagiarism controversies 1994 songs