Liam Gallagher and John Squire, two iconic figures in the Manchester music scene, released their collaborative single “Just Another Rainbow” on 5 January 2024. The song combines the vocal qualities of Gallagher (former frontman of Oasis) and the guitar skills of Squire (best known as the former guitarist of The Stone Roses). In this article, we’ll dive into how the collaboration established.
History
The first connection between Liam Gallagher and John Squire occurred in 1989. The then 16-year-old Gallagher attended a Stone Roses show and described the experience as ‘life-changing’. Later, Oasis toured with Squire’s band the Sheahorses, and Squire and Gallagher co-wrote the song “Love Me and Leave Me”.
Collaboration
The rumors of Liam Gallagher and John Squire collaborating started in 2022. During Gallagher’s Knebworth shows, Squire made a surprise guest appearance on the song “Champagne Supernova” (just as he had done in 1996). A subsequent tweet from Gallagher hinting at an ‘incoming super group’ fueled anticipation among fans.
At the end of 2023, Gallagher and Squire announced they’re releasing an album together, with “Just Another Rainbow” being released as the album’s first single on January 5, 2024. In a tweet before the announcement, Gallagher boldly pronounced the album would be the ‘best since The Beatles’ Revolver’.
While one may doubt Gallagher’s statement, The Beatles’ influence on “Just Another Rainbow” is evidently heard. The rhythmic undertones of the song are reminiscent of The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” and Gallagher’s trademark vocals are Lennon-esque.
John Squire
“Just Another Rainbow” was musically and lyrically written by John Squire. “I remember John just going, ‘Look, I’m back to writing songs and that again,’ which made me happy regardless of me singing on [it] or anything,” Gallagher told Apple Music. “But these songs came my way and I was double pleased to sing them. I love them.”
“I think John’s a top songwriter,” Gallager stated. “Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist, but he’s a top songwriter too. There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs, and f—ing good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given.”
The Meaning of Just Another Rainbow
“The most obvious take on ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is that it’s about disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want,” John Squire stated about the lyrical content of the song.
“But I don’t like to explain songs, I think that’s the privilege of the listener, it’s whatever you want it to be. To me, it’s also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together, which is weird.”
The lyrics of the song are somewhat nonsensical – one could argue outright bad – and express the feeling of being stuck in a cycle of disappointment.
It isn’t clear when Liam Gallagher and John Squire will release the full album, but it’s assumed the album will be released in 2024. A press release after the release of the song stated: “There will be much more new music to come – and there could well be shows, too.”
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