B-sides that became more famous than the A-sides

10 June 2024, 19:00

By Radio X

@RadioX

What happens when the "flip side" of your single almost overshadows the track it's meant to be supporting? We look at ten great examples of the B-side.

1. Queen - We Will Rock You

   Originally the B-side to the equally flag-waving anthem We Are The Champions, both songs were included on the 1977 album News Of The World.

   

   Queen - We Will Rock You (Official Video)

2. The Stone Roses - Fool's Gold

   Bending the rules a little here, as Fool's Gold was technically a double A-side, but it was What The World Is Waiting For that was originally listed on the cover on its initial release in 1989.

   

   The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (Video)

3. The Beatles - Revolution

   The flip to Hey Jude, the Fab Four's first release on their own Apple label. Lennon wanted Revolution as a controversial single, but Macca wasn't so keen.

   

   The Beatles - Revolution

4. Oasis - Half The World Away

   Oasis were very good at a B-side. Originally the flip to Whatever in December 1994, this song gained immortality as the theme tune to the TV sitcom The Royle Family.

   

   Oasis - Half The World Away (Official Lyric Video)

5. The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want

   This Stones classic was memorable as the finale to their Let It Bleed album in December 1969, but it had first appeared five months earlier as the flip to Honky Tonk Women.

   

   The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want (Live) - OFFICIAL

6. Kraftwerk - The Model

   Originally the A-side was Computer Love, taken from the electronic pioneers' then-current album Computer World in 1981. However, the New Romantic clubs liked the B-side better, a track taken from the old album, The Man-Machine, which was released three years earlier. The result - a Number 1 hit!

   

   Kraftwerk - The Model (official video)

7. The Smiths - How Soon Is Now

   Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis thought How Soon Is Now was "unrepresentative" of The Smiths' sound, so this classic tune was relegated to the B-side of William It Was Really Nothing in August 1984. It finally got its chance to shine as an A-side in January 1985.

   

   How Soon Is Now? (2008 Remaster)

8. Green Day - Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)

   This Green Day classic was originally written in 1994 and initially appeared as the flip side to a German edition of a single nobody remembers, Brain Stew. It was re-recorded for 1997's Nimrod album and became one of the band's best loved-singles in October that same year.

   

   Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) [Official Music Video]

9. Underworld - Born Slippy

   The original Born Slippy was released as a single in 1995… with the more familiar version (officially titled Born Slippy.NUXX) on the B-side. When Trainspotting included the .NUXX vocal version on its soundtrack the following year, the B-side became an A-side.

   

   Underworld - Born Slippy (Nuxx)

10. The Cure - 10.15 Satuday Night

    The official flip side of Robert Smith and co's debut single Killing An Arab, this piece of suburban angst became more acclaimed than its A-side once the lead song fell out of favour.

    

    The Cure - 10.15 Saturday Night