Half the World Away was originally approached about using an Oasis song for a series about a working-class family in Manchester, he suggested "Married with Children" and was confused when "Half the World Away" was chosen. On tour in America when "The Royle Family" was first screened, he claims the penny did not drop until he returned to the United Kingdom to find the series a huge success and viewed it, feeling the song was perfect for the series. He now claims not to think of "Half the World Away" as an Oasis song, but rather as the theme tune to "The Royle Family".
Half the World Away the World Away" was first released as a B-side to "Whatever" on 18 December 1994, reaching #3 in the UK charts. In 1998 the song was included in "The Masterplan", a collection of Oasis' best B-sides. The collection was a success, peaking at #2 in the UK charts. The track is also included on Oasis' compilation album "Stop the Clocks", which also reached #2. The song reached #56 in the UK charts in 2015 following the release of Aurora's cover version, marking their first top 100 song since the release of "Falling Down" in 2009. Oasis' sound engineer Mark Coyle