The Masterplan (song)

"The Masterplan" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher.

The song was first released as a B-side to the CD version of their hit single "Wonderwall" in October 1995. "The Masterplan" was also released with the Stop the Clocks EP in November 2006. It also shares its name with the 1998 B-side compilation album, The Masterplan, on which it is featured as the last track.

Noel Gallagher has regularly declared "The Masterplan" one of the best songs he has ever written. However, he regrets the fact that it was first released as a B-side, admitting he was "young and stupid" when he made that decision. He also claims that Creation Records boss Alan McGee, upon hearing the song, told Noel it was "too good" to be a B-side. Noel reportedly replied, "Well, I don't write shit songs!"[1] In 2020, he told Music Week, "The singles had to have three B-sides and I was always coming up two songs short. I remember writing The Masterplan at home in Camden and then going to Maison Rouge [Studios] in Fulham the next day and playing it on an acoustic guitar to silence. I'd write The Masterplan, Talk Tonight or Half The World Away and nobody would say, ‘Do you want to hold that back?’ It’s only as the years have gone along that I’ve realised that was mental. But we were all mad in the ’90s – Alan McGee was off his tits and he was running the label."[2]

"The Masterplan" is sung by Noel, and features all band members except lead vocalist Liam Gallagher and Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (Noel Gallagher plays the bass himself on this track), in addition to an orchestra. The song also features a backwards guitar solo after the first chorus. Approximately 30 seconds from the end of the song, Noel can be heard (distortedly) singing the chorus from "Octopus's Garden" by The Beatles.

The song is included in Oasis' compilation album, Stop the Clocks. A special L. S. Lowry-inspired animated promotional video, complete with a swaggering Liam, was created to promote the album.