UNCHAINED MALADY

Storming off stage or artists caving and penning a cash-grab single. Kevin EG Perry and Roisin O’Connor take a look at the songs that are hated by the very people who created them

-  Kevin EG Perry and Roisin O’Connor

Songwriters spend their whole lives trying to hone and craft their music in such a way that it will strike a chord with listeners, but sometimes they just end up getting on their own nerves.

Often it’s the song that becomes an artist’s most popular hit that can drive them to frustration, especially if they start to feel like their entire oeuvre has become reduced to a one-hit wonder punchline.

Whether it’s Nirvana hating the scent of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, or Radiohead getting the creeps from “Creep”, here are 19 songs that wound up winding up the musicians who wrote them.

Oasis – “Wonderwall” (1995)

Liam and Noel Gallagher are clearly thrilled to be getting the band back together for new shows (not to mention the associated payday), but the brothers may not be quite as excited as their fans about one particular singalong moment. Back in 2008, while promoting Dig Out Your Soul, Liam Gallagher remarked of their new record: “At least there’s no ‘Wonderwall’ on there. I can’t fucking stand that fucking song! Every time I have to sing it, I want to gag.”

He particularly lamented the song’s cultural predominance in the United States, adding: “Problem is, it was a big, big tune for us. You go to America, and they’re like: ‘Are you, Mr Wonderwall?’ You want to chin someone.” In a rare example of sibling agreement, Noel also isn’t the biggest fan of the song. He said in a 2017 interview: “‘Wonderwall’ has become a worldwide hit, and I will get stopped all over the world, in any city you care to name, and people will sing ‘Wonderwall’. I don’t particularly like that song – I think ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ is a far superior song.” Kevin E G Perry

Billy Joel – “We Didn’t Start The Fire” (1989)