Noel Gallagher shares unreleased Oasis demo, Don't Stop

The only previously-known recording of the song came from a soundcheck on Oasis's final tour in 2009

Noel Gallagher has released a previously-unheard Oasis song, after discovering it on an old CD.

The track is a demo of a song called Don't Stop, which was never worked up into a full studio recording.

Gallagher said the only previous recording was made at a soundcheck in Hong Kong "about 15 years ago".

A laid-back, acoustic ballad, it shares its DNA with classic Oasis songs like Stop Crying Your Heart Out and Don't Look Back In Anger.

"Lazy days and sunny rays will guide me / Back home where I belong," sings Gallagher. "If God gives me grace, then He will find me a space / And I hope I'll be singing this song."

The singer explained how he'd re-discovered the song while sorting through boxes of old CDs during the coronavirus lockdown.

"Like the rest of the world I've had infinite time to kill lately so I thought I'd finally look and find out what was actually on the HUNDREDS of faceless unmarked CDs I've got lying around in boxes at home," he wrote on social media on Wednesday.

"As fate would have it I have stumbled across an old demo which I thought had been lost forever."

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He added: "As far as I'm aware there is only one version of this tune 'out there' from an Oasis soundcheck in Hong Kong about 15 years ago?

"I'm not sure whether the sound-check version pre-dates the demo as there's no date on the CD. I know some of you love this tune so we thought we'd put it 'out there' for you to enjoy/argue over.

"Hope everyone is staying safe and trying to ride out the lockdown with the minimum of fuss," he concluded. "You're welcome by the way."

The lo-fi soundcheck recording of the song, which has circulated on bootlegs for years, was actually recorded in 2009, on Oasis's final tour before they split up.

Both versions feature Noel on lead vocals, rather than his brother Liam, and the singer reacted to the demo's release with characteristic snark.

"Well there's something missing in this god almighty stew and it's your brother," wrote Liam on Twitter. "Don't forget your brother."

Earlier this year, Liam actively lobbied for an Oasis reunion "with or without Noel Gallagher" as part of a charity concert for NHS workers.

He has since announced a solo gig at London's O2 Arena on 29 October, which will be free to careworkers and members of the health service.

"They do an incredible job, we are very lucky to have them," he said.