"Little by Little" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher and sung by him on lead vocals. It first appeared as the sixth track on the band's fifth studio album, Heathen Chemistry (2002). In September 2002, it was released with "She Is Love" as Oasis' first and only double A-side single. The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number nine on the Irish Singles Chart. The song was later included on the compilation album Time Flies... 1994âÂÂ2009 (2010).
According to Oasis' official release page, the single was recorded at Wheeler End Studios in Buckinghamshire and Olympic Studios in London. In a July 2002 interview with Q, Gallagher said that "Little by Little" and "Force of Nature" had originally been written for the 1998 British gangster film Love, Honour and Obey, but were held back from Standing on the Shoulder of Giants after the departures of Paul Arthurs and Paul McGuigan and the collapse of Creation Records. He added that the songs were "not autobiographical at all".
Gallagher also said that he had wanted "Little by Little" to be the album's first single. Liam Gallagher initially attempted the lead vocal, but Noel later recalled that Liam felt Noel's guide vocal could not be bettered, leaving Noel to sing the finished version himself.
The promotional video for "Little by Little" featured actor Robert Carlyle. In the main version, Carlyle appears as a miniature man lip-syncing to the song while the band perform around him. A live version filmed at Oasis' Finsbury Park shows in July 2002 was also included on the DVD single.
The cover art for the single has been described as an homage to Robert Indiana's Love artwork series.
The song was first performed live by Oasis on 23 May 2002 at Zepp Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. After Oasis split, Gallagher continued to perform it with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. In 2025, Oasis issued an official live recording of the song from Wembley Stadium during the Oasis Live '25 Tour. Reviewing the opening night in Cardiff, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described it as the only post-2000 song performed in the set.
Personnel adapted from the liner notes of Heathen Chemistry.
Oasis
Additional musicians