Click here to read an interview with Noel Gallagher who talks about his new album, Adele, Sir George Martin and more.
Showing posts with label George Martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Martin. Show all posts
Adele
George Martin
Noel Gallagher
Click here to read an interview with Noel Gallagher who talks about his new album, Adele, Sir George Martin and more.
Noel Gallagher On His New Album, Adele, Sir George Martin And More
Click here to read an interview with Noel Gallagher who talks about his new album, Adele, Sir George Martin and more.
George Martin
Liam Gallagher
Oasis
Sacha Boron Cohen
The Beatles
A spokesperson for Liam Gallagher has denied that the former Oasis frontman has retired from music, following recent tabloid reports.
The Sun reported on Monday (March 7) that Gallagher had revealed the news to a fan in London, quoting the star as saying: "I am retired now. I can write 25 songs but all of them will be shit".
Gallagher recently made similar comments while live-tweeting the Brits. He wrote: "Music in the UK has been abducted by massive cunts... Thank fuck I got out when I got out".
However, Gallagher's press representative has now dismissed the retirement rumours, telling NME: "In true tabloid style it's not true".
Gallagher recently ruled out the possibility of him releasing a solo album. "Solo record, are you fucking tripping dickhead?" Gallagher wrote on Twitter, saying he would not release solo material as he is "not a cunt".
He also made headlines last week after actor Sacha Baron Cohen claimed that he once threatened to "stab him in the eye".
In a response issued to NME, Gallagher's press representative said that the star wanted to "clarify that it wasn't just the one eye, it was both".
Earlier today, Liam Gallagher paid tribute to the late Beatles producer George Martin, who has died at the age of 90.
Source: www.nme.com
Liam Gallagher Denies Retirement Rumours
A spokesperson for Liam Gallagher has denied that the former Oasis frontman has retired from music, following recent tabloid reports.
The Sun reported on Monday (March 7) that Gallagher had revealed the news to a fan in London, quoting the star as saying: "I am retired now. I can write 25 songs but all of them will be shit".
Gallagher recently made similar comments while live-tweeting the Brits. He wrote: "Music in the UK has been abducted by massive cunts... Thank fuck I got out when I got out".
However, Gallagher's press representative has now dismissed the retirement rumours, telling NME: "In true tabloid style it's not true".
Gallagher recently ruled out the possibility of him releasing a solo album. "Solo record, are you fucking tripping dickhead?" Gallagher wrote on Twitter, saying he would not release solo material as he is "not a cunt".
He also made headlines last week after actor Sacha Baron Cohen claimed that he once threatened to "stab him in the eye".
In a response issued to NME, Gallagher's press representative said that the star wanted to "clarify that it wasn't just the one eye, it was both".
Earlier today, Liam Gallagher paid tribute to the late Beatles producer George Martin, who has died at the age of 90.
Source: www.nme.com
George Martin
Jill Furmanovsky
Noel Gallagher
The Print Bank hosting a charity auction of iconic rock photographs at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday.
The auction is being held by The Print Bank Charitable Trust and sponsored by Rockarchive.com. All profits raised will be split between Shelter, Shooting Star Chase, PETA & Teenage Cancer Trust.
One of the auction lots is a signed image of Noel talking to George Martin in 1997. It was shot by Jill Furmanovsky. It is available to view at www.theprintbank.com.
Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.
Signed Photograph Of Noel Gallagher To Be Sold In A Special Auction This Weekend
The Print Bank hosting a charity auction of iconic rock photographs at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday.
The auction is being held by The Print Bank Charitable Trust and sponsored by Rockarchive.com. All profits raised will be split between Shelter, Shooting Star Chase, PETA & Teenage Cancer Trust.
One of the auction lots is a signed image of Noel talking to George Martin in 1997. It was shot by Jill Furmanovsky. It is available to view at www.theprintbank.com.
Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.
Bjork
Elvis Presley
George Martin
Liam Gallagher
Mick Jagger
Noel Gallagher
Oasis
Paul McCartney
Paul Weller
Pete Townshend
Ray Davies
Roger Daltrey
The Beatles
After walking away from Oasis in 2009, Noel Gallagher, the band's chief songwriter, took a few years off before resurfacing in Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. The band's self-titled debut was a hit in the UK, going platinum and becoming one of the best-selling records of 2011. Though the record hasn't fared quite as well stateside, the band is currently on a co-headlining tour with fellow Brits Snow Patrol, which plays the WaMu Theater on Oct. 24th. For the latest edition of Tell Me About That Album, we caught up with Gallagher, who phoned us from Nottingham, England, "a place where Robin Hood is alleged to be from," he said. "And Shakespeare." We spoke about his solo debut, the perils of running your own label and why Bjork's music doesn't interest him.
The band's name is taken from a Jefferson Airplane song? Is there something about that particular song that speaks to you or was a just a cool-sounding name? It's not originally a song by Jefferson Airplane, it's a song by a lady called Judy Henske, and I believe she might be an American. It was recorded in 1964 and it's called "High Flying Birds." But there is a version of it on Jefferson Airplane's first album, which I was flipping through one night and I just thought it was a really cool name. When I got my management people to do a search on it I was flabbergasted that it had never been used in the history of all rock. And I patted myself on the back for being a genius and here we are.
So that was your first choice? I could have gone out under my name. One day I was loading the dishwasher and listening to the radio and it was either "Man of the World" or "Things Are Not So Bad" by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and I remember thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool if I was called Noel Gallagher's something?" Then a few months later, the Jefferson Airplane thing, and I, like a genius, put them together. I looked it at and thought, "Fucking hell, that might be the coolest name in the history of rock."
Speaking of geniuses, you won this year's Godlike Genius award from NME. For us Yanks, what does that mean? You don't win it, you've got to have been going for about 20 years. It's like a lifetime achievement award in the eyes of the NME. For instance, other Godlike Genii happen to be Paul McCartney, U2, Paul Weller.
Do they do a tear-inducing montage or something when they present it to you? They do a film, which is quite nerve-racking, because you don't get to see it before they do it. And they do it in a theater full of people. Luckily for me, I was really blown away. The people talking about me were Ray Davies, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, they had quotes from Sir George Martin. I was like, "Fuck, that's like my life in music right there!"
I thought they reserved those honors for musicians in their twilight years. Me too. I might be the youngest person ever to receive it.
The songs on your debut feel well edited, in that they're short, catchy and nothing carries on for too long. What's the secret to that? Is being a good editor a skill you've always had or something you've had to learn? I don't think it's anything that I've learned. The more drugs I took, the longer the songs got. They reached their crescendo on Be Here Now, where every song is seven and a half minutes long. I'd lost the knack of editing. I'm always one for trying to make songs shorter anyway. I'll be the first to say, "We don't need to say that bit twice." Most of the best songs are under three and half minutes long. If you can get a song in under three and a half minutes, you're doing pretty well. It really depends on the song itself. Some songs benefit from a bit of length. Like the first track, "Everybody's on the Run" benefits from a bit in the middle where it all goes quiet. But a song like "What a Life" for instance, there's no fat on that song. I guess it's a skill and craft as well.
You've said that you felt musically stunted by Oasis at points. Are there things on the High Flying Birds album that you'd never have been able to get away with? For the record, I never felt stunted musically. We were always allowed to do whatever we wanted to but you fall into a trap of stadium rock.
The thing I'm referring to is a quote from you about a time that you suggested to your brother that you add and horn part to a song or something, which caused him to throw a tantrum. I was surmising a hypothetical situation about a brass section that he would have gone fucking ballistic. I remember him saying to me once about a song we were finishing up in the studio, "It's a bit quirky, isn't it?" And I went, "What's wrong with that?" And he went, "I fucking hate quirky."
Some bands seem to decide that they want to challenge their audience and push themselves forward each time out. Was there ever the thought of having your first solo record be drastically different-sounding from Oasis? I think maybe other bands are self-indulgent and scared of not having success. It's almost like the guy who can never pull a woman because he thinks they're too beautiful so he insults them and gets it out of the way straight up. I think people that make challenging music are given too much credibility. Write a fucking song that means something to someone, never mind leaving yourself chewing a carrot at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Is that to say that there aren't any bands that you enjoy that challenge themselves by pushing their sound forward? Do you know what the enemy of music is? Interesting. Elvis wasn't interesting. The Sex Pistols weren't interesting. The Beatles weren't interesting. They had something that was fucking real and dealt with emotion. Do you know who's interesting? Bjork. Interesting is fucking ridiculous. It annoys me.
I know it was a bit of an adjustment moving from guitar player to frontman but are you feeling more comfortable with it at this point? I'd rehearsed enough that when I did the first gig I knew I could be cool with it. I knew I could carry it, not in a Mick Jagger sense, but I knew I could sing all those songs in a row and it not freak me out. The only last question was what is the audience going to think of it?
Was it just your performance that made you nervous, not all the banter or having to keep the show moving? Yeah, yeah, of course, because they'd only ever seen me at these huge stadium gigs singing two songs here or three songs there. It was more like, what are they going to think when I'm up there for nearly two hours? "Oh right, well fucking hell, actually he's better off being a side man." It wasn't a chosen path for me. I left the band I was in and thought I didn't want to be in another band. I'd already been in a band, what do I want to be in another fucking band for? Lucky for me, people fucking love me.
I read that the album cover photo was snapped with a Polaroid at a Beverly Hills gas station and you liked it because you thought it looked like you were standing beneath some kind of high-flying bird. Was that just a happy accident? Were there other ideas for the cover? I toyed with not being on the cover and everyone was like, "Yeah, you might want to be on the cover." And I was like, "Really, why do I have to be on the cover? My name's on the fucking cover?" And they were like, "That's what you do when you're not a band, you be on the fucking cover." I'm kind of resigned to doing photo shoots like that now. I love the cover, I think it's fucking great.
Have you earned the ability to have the final say in what the product looks and sounds like? I don't have a record company. I front all this myself. I'm an independent artist so I license my records to the music industry now. When I left Oasis I was out of a record deal - and a publishing deal as a matter of fact - so I don't do any of that shit anymore. I'm just me. It was a bit of a gamble trying to fund it all because it cost me a few million to get it off the ground, but I'd been on a major label for 20 years and I thought, "Fuck it, I don't want people taking me to dinner in restaurants telling me what I should be fucking doing." Fuck that. What you see from this day forward, I'm in charge of everything. Every single thing is paid for by me and it stands and falls by all my decisions.
I was talking to a band recently who said they'd stopped putting out their own records because they were spending too much time deciding on the cardstock for the CD inserts, for example. Have you found a way to not get mired in the minutiae of it all? I don't think it works for bands because bands end up having band meetings that last for seven hours talking about the weight of cardboard. This is me so I know what I want. I'm very fucking decisive. I know how long I want to spend in the studio, I know who I want to do it with, I know who I want to play with. I'm not an idiot. I go in there and I don't fuck around. I don't worry about how round the CD is going to be.
Do you remember the first time you played Seattle? Yes, it was our very first U.S. gig I believe. I've always liked Seattle. They've got good guitar shops. It's where Jimi Hendrix is from, what's not to like? We went there when the grunge thing was quite big. You know, scruffy people with holes in their clothes.
What is the setlist like on this tour? Will you play solo stuff and the Oasis hits too? I play all of the new record but one track and I play like four of five B-sides and I play some Oasis songs.
You turn down a lot of opportunities, from the Olympics to X Factor judging, which has to be admired given most artists' penchant for publicity above all else. Do you simply go with your gut when making those kinds of decisions? It literally just depends on what I feel like at the time but it's a gut reaction. It's just one of those things. The Olympics was a great thing for our country. It was a truly special two weeks and it was fantastic but in the end, they wanted me to mime and I didn't want to mime. I thought, "Fuck that, I'm not miming." And then X Factor, I don't want to be a television personality. I don't want that. I don't need that in my life. I'd rather have Saturday nights off to be honest.
Source: www.seattleweekly.com
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds release International Magic Live At The O2 DVD through Sour Mash Records on October 15.
They will embark on a number European dates before they tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg.
For details on the above and more click here.
Noel Gallagher On Becoming A Frontman: 'People F**king Love Me'
After walking away from Oasis in 2009, Noel Gallagher, the band's chief songwriter, took a few years off before resurfacing in Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. The band's self-titled debut was a hit in the UK, going platinum and becoming one of the best-selling records of 2011. Though the record hasn't fared quite as well stateside, the band is currently on a co-headlining tour with fellow Brits Snow Patrol, which plays the WaMu Theater on Oct. 24th. For the latest edition of Tell Me About That Album, we caught up with Gallagher, who phoned us from Nottingham, England, "a place where Robin Hood is alleged to be from," he said. "And Shakespeare." We spoke about his solo debut, the perils of running your own label and why Bjork's music doesn't interest him.
The band's name is taken from a Jefferson Airplane song? Is there something about that particular song that speaks to you or was a just a cool-sounding name? It's not originally a song by Jefferson Airplane, it's a song by a lady called Judy Henske, and I believe she might be an American. It was recorded in 1964 and it's called "High Flying Birds." But there is a version of it on Jefferson Airplane's first album, which I was flipping through one night and I just thought it was a really cool name. When I got my management people to do a search on it I was flabbergasted that it had never been used in the history of all rock. And I patted myself on the back for being a genius and here we are.
So that was your first choice? I could have gone out under my name. One day I was loading the dishwasher and listening to the radio and it was either "Man of the World" or "Things Are Not So Bad" by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and I remember thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool if I was called Noel Gallagher's something?" Then a few months later, the Jefferson Airplane thing, and I, like a genius, put them together. I looked it at and thought, "Fucking hell, that might be the coolest name in the history of rock."
Speaking of geniuses, you won this year's Godlike Genius award from NME. For us Yanks, what does that mean? You don't win it, you've got to have been going for about 20 years. It's like a lifetime achievement award in the eyes of the NME. For instance, other Godlike Genii happen to be Paul McCartney, U2, Paul Weller.
Do they do a tear-inducing montage or something when they present it to you? They do a film, which is quite nerve-racking, because you don't get to see it before they do it. And they do it in a theater full of people. Luckily for me, I was really blown away. The people talking about me were Ray Davies, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, they had quotes from Sir George Martin. I was like, "Fuck, that's like my life in music right there!"
I thought they reserved those honors for musicians in their twilight years. Me too. I might be the youngest person ever to receive it.
The songs on your debut feel well edited, in that they're short, catchy and nothing carries on for too long. What's the secret to that? Is being a good editor a skill you've always had or something you've had to learn? I don't think it's anything that I've learned. The more drugs I took, the longer the songs got. They reached their crescendo on Be Here Now, where every song is seven and a half minutes long. I'd lost the knack of editing. I'm always one for trying to make songs shorter anyway. I'll be the first to say, "We don't need to say that bit twice." Most of the best songs are under three and half minutes long. If you can get a song in under three and a half minutes, you're doing pretty well. It really depends on the song itself. Some songs benefit from a bit of length. Like the first track, "Everybody's on the Run" benefits from a bit in the middle where it all goes quiet. But a song like "What a Life" for instance, there's no fat on that song. I guess it's a skill and craft as well.
You've said that you felt musically stunted by Oasis at points. Are there things on the High Flying Birds album that you'd never have been able to get away with? For the record, I never felt stunted musically. We were always allowed to do whatever we wanted to but you fall into a trap of stadium rock.
The thing I'm referring to is a quote from you about a time that you suggested to your brother that you add and horn part to a song or something, which caused him to throw a tantrum. I was surmising a hypothetical situation about a brass section that he would have gone fucking ballistic. I remember him saying to me once about a song we were finishing up in the studio, "It's a bit quirky, isn't it?" And I went, "What's wrong with that?" And he went, "I fucking hate quirky."
Some bands seem to decide that they want to challenge their audience and push themselves forward each time out. Was there ever the thought of having your first solo record be drastically different-sounding from Oasis? I think maybe other bands are self-indulgent and scared of not having success. It's almost like the guy who can never pull a woman because he thinks they're too beautiful so he insults them and gets it out of the way straight up. I think people that make challenging music are given too much credibility. Write a fucking song that means something to someone, never mind leaving yourself chewing a carrot at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Is that to say that there aren't any bands that you enjoy that challenge themselves by pushing their sound forward? Do you know what the enemy of music is? Interesting. Elvis wasn't interesting. The Sex Pistols weren't interesting. The Beatles weren't interesting. They had something that was fucking real and dealt with emotion. Do you know who's interesting? Bjork. Interesting is fucking ridiculous. It annoys me.
I know it was a bit of an adjustment moving from guitar player to frontman but are you feeling more comfortable with it at this point? I'd rehearsed enough that when I did the first gig I knew I could be cool with it. I knew I could carry it, not in a Mick Jagger sense, but I knew I could sing all those songs in a row and it not freak me out. The only last question was what is the audience going to think of it?
Was it just your performance that made you nervous, not all the banter or having to keep the show moving? Yeah, yeah, of course, because they'd only ever seen me at these huge stadium gigs singing two songs here or three songs there. It was more like, what are they going to think when I'm up there for nearly two hours? "Oh right, well fucking hell, actually he's better off being a side man." It wasn't a chosen path for me. I left the band I was in and thought I didn't want to be in another band. I'd already been in a band, what do I want to be in another fucking band for? Lucky for me, people fucking love me.
I read that the album cover photo was snapped with a Polaroid at a Beverly Hills gas station and you liked it because you thought it looked like you were standing beneath some kind of high-flying bird. Was that just a happy accident? Were there other ideas for the cover? I toyed with not being on the cover and everyone was like, "Yeah, you might want to be on the cover." And I was like, "Really, why do I have to be on the cover? My name's on the fucking cover?" And they were like, "That's what you do when you're not a band, you be on the fucking cover." I'm kind of resigned to doing photo shoots like that now. I love the cover, I think it's fucking great.
Have you earned the ability to have the final say in what the product looks and sounds like? I don't have a record company. I front all this myself. I'm an independent artist so I license my records to the music industry now. When I left Oasis I was out of a record deal - and a publishing deal as a matter of fact - so I don't do any of that shit anymore. I'm just me. It was a bit of a gamble trying to fund it all because it cost me a few million to get it off the ground, but I'd been on a major label for 20 years and I thought, "Fuck it, I don't want people taking me to dinner in restaurants telling me what I should be fucking doing." Fuck that. What you see from this day forward, I'm in charge of everything. Every single thing is paid for by me and it stands and falls by all my decisions.
I was talking to a band recently who said they'd stopped putting out their own records because they were spending too much time deciding on the cardstock for the CD inserts, for example. Have you found a way to not get mired in the minutiae of it all? I don't think it works for bands because bands end up having band meetings that last for seven hours talking about the weight of cardboard. This is me so I know what I want. I'm very fucking decisive. I know how long I want to spend in the studio, I know who I want to do it with, I know who I want to play with. I'm not an idiot. I go in there and I don't fuck around. I don't worry about how round the CD is going to be.
Do you remember the first time you played Seattle? Yes, it was our very first U.S. gig I believe. I've always liked Seattle. They've got good guitar shops. It's where Jimi Hendrix is from, what's not to like? We went there when the grunge thing was quite big. You know, scruffy people with holes in their clothes.
What is the setlist like on this tour? Will you play solo stuff and the Oasis hits too? I play all of the new record but one track and I play like four of five B-sides and I play some Oasis songs.
You turn down a lot of opportunities, from the Olympics to X Factor judging, which has to be admired given most artists' penchant for publicity above all else. Do you simply go with your gut when making those kinds of decisions? It literally just depends on what I feel like at the time but it's a gut reaction. It's just one of those things. The Olympics was a great thing for our country. It was a truly special two weeks and it was fantastic but in the end, they wanted me to mime and I didn't want to mime. I thought, "Fuck that, I'm not miming." And then X Factor, I don't want to be a television personality. I don't want that. I don't need that in my life. I'd rather have Saturday nights off to be honest.
Source: www.seattleweekly.com
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds release International Magic Live At The O2 DVD through Sour Mash Records on October 15.
They will embark on a number European dates before they tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg.
For details on the above and more click here.
George Martin
Liam Gallagher
Paul McCartney
Paul Weller
The Beatles
Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller and Paul McCartney last night attended the premiere of a restored version of Magical Mystery Tour at The BFI in London.
Gallagher was accompanied by his son, Gene and his Beady Eye and former Oasis bandmate Gem Archer.
Also in attendance was Beatles producer George Martin's son Giles, who tweeted: "First screening of magical mystery tour, I sat next to Paul. It sounded fantastic- well I didn't get prodded so I think we got away with it!"
A project spearheaded by Paul McCartney, Magical Mystery Tour was a TV movie that largely baffled audiences on its first screening in December 1967. The newly restored film, alongside a new documentary, titled Arena: The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour Revisited, featuring previously unseen footage of the band, will show on BBC2 this weekend (October 6).
As a teaser to the documentary, The Space, a digital arts service from the Arts Council in conjunction with the BBC, have put some extra footage of the 1967 film shoot online. In one piece, The Beatles visit a fish and chip shop in Taunton
Source: www.nme.com
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds release International Magic Live At The O2 DVD through Sour Mash Records on October 15.
They will embark on a number European dates before they tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg.
For details on the above and more click here.
Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller And Paul McCartney Attend Magical Mystery Tour Premiere
Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller and Paul McCartney last night attended the premiere of a restored version of Magical Mystery Tour at The BFI in London.
Gallagher was accompanied by his son, Gene and his Beady Eye and former Oasis bandmate Gem Archer.
Also in attendance was Beatles producer George Martin's son Giles, who tweeted: "First screening of magical mystery tour, I sat next to Paul. It sounded fantastic- well I didn't get prodded so I think we got away with it!"
A project spearheaded by Paul McCartney, Magical Mystery Tour was a TV movie that largely baffled audiences on its first screening in December 1967. The newly restored film, alongside a new documentary, titled Arena: The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour Revisited, featuring previously unseen footage of the band, will show on BBC2 this weekend (October 6).
As a teaser to the documentary, The Space, a digital arts service from the Arts Council in conjunction with the BBC, have put some extra footage of the 1967 film shoot online. In one piece, The Beatles visit a fish and chip shop in Taunton
Source: www.nme.com
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds release International Magic Live At The O2 DVD through Sour Mash Records on October 15.
They will embark on a number European dates before they tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg.
For details on the above and more click here.
Beady Eye
George Martin
Liam Gallagher
Mario Balotelli
Noel Gallagher
Oasis
Paul Weller
So there we were, sitting in a meeting room at the lovely Four Seasons hotel, talking to Noel Gallagher, the man who gave us anthems such as Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Live Forever, The Importance Of Being Idle, Lyla, The Hindu Times, Go Let It Out, Stand By Me, Shock Of The Lightning and many others.
He’s in town for this year’s Grand Prix, and even though he wasn’t feeling well, still consented to give us time for an interview. And here’s what he had to say, in all it’s uncut* glory.
(*Well, a little bit was cut. For fear of offending people who get offended by expletives, we’ve replaced the expletives with the word “bunny”.) ‘Nuff said. Let’s hop to it…
On whether being solo is freeing…
I’ve not really had the chance to analyse it yet, but when I was making the album I didn’t feel like I was entering a new phase. I feel like that now, because I’ve been on the road and it’s gone well after a year. I don’t sit down and think about such things, if I did that I’d never get anything done. If I thought I was into a Neil Young phase, I’d listen to all his records and then say, “Well I can’t be as good as that, so I’ll bunny retire”.
On knowing success…
But you don’t know that. Nobody can predict that, what’s going to happen. I think that the songs there are up there with the best collection of songs that I’ve written, but it doesn’t matter what I think. People might not have thought that. I was thinking, “I know I can do this, but are people going to be interested enough to watch me sing for one-and-a-half hours”? I don’t do much else.
On Oasis not being a “jump around” band…
That’s what I used to say, but other people in the group thought it was something else. As a songwriter, I have to believe it’s the power of the songs really. And everything else is just a bonus. I think every songwriter will tell you that.
On whether Be Here Now was a good album…
I don’t give a bunny what anybody says. You opinion is… I know that I just made it up as I went along. They’re not the greatest set of lyrics I’ve ever written. I don’t like it. It’s like how people go mad for Wonderwall. Stand by me; I’m not so sure about. But Don’t Go Away, yeah. But as an album I don’t like the sound of it, I don’t like the words – which are bunny – but I just think at the time, I could have done a lot better. I don’t really… I feel like I’ve given all my best songs to the B-sides for all the singles, from Definitely Maybe onwards. I feel like I’ve wasted two albums worth of songs. They came out as The Masterplan, but really, that should have been the third album.
On being nervous about going solo…
I wasn’t nervous about playing. I don’t get stage fright at all. You can’t expect people who’ve pay however much to come and see you and watch a guy who’s scared of being there. That’s bunny all. I was a bit curious and anxious as to what people would think of my thing. I’m rooted to the spot. I can’t balance a tambourine on my head, I don’t wear ludicrous parkas and I don’t have a funny haircut. And there’s a healthy section of my audience that dug that kind of thing. I’ve been vindicated in a way, because my whole thing was “Bunny it”. All I’ve got to give people are the songs, and if people want the razzmatazz and the wacky lights and all that, then they’re going to be disappointed. But I was pleasantly surprised that all the gigs – apart from the first one, which is always the weird one – have been pretty euphoric.
On judging success because Beady Eye put their album out earlier…
After Beady Eye put their record out. At that point we were managed by the same people and I thought, Well, there’s at least that. Because all the people who’ve bought the Beady Eye album are not going to not buy mine. But you can’t predict. For instance, I was listening to their record and I thought I would have put millions on it if I can have a big track off the album, as it turned out it’s been What A Life. So you don’t really know. I’m not going to be arrogant and say this is the bollocks. But you know, the Beady Eye record, they’re lads and they’ve got a great vibe and all that. But sadly, the one thing they don’t got is the songs, you know? And I’ve spent a decade or more trying to convince people that it is – bunny the vibe, if you want the vibe, go to a disco. Ultimately, I think I’ve been proved right.
On George Martin calling Noel the greatest songwriter of his era…
Honestly, it’s great when you see it in print and all that. I sat in a room with him and he asked me to show him how I wrote Wonderwall and he said, it’s great, you know, in his old upper class manner. But I don’t dwell on things like that. It’s great. And if anyone would know about great songwriters, it’d be him, having worked with the two best of all time. But I don’t think that. Otherwise I’d have retired after that. What else would you go after that? I’d have packed my things and gone bunny it. George Martin thinks I really should have been the fifth Beatles, so bunny everybody else. It’s all right if you think that. But if you think that, then you’re not the person to be producing my next album, because you’ve got to go into that with a clean slate. When I was at that NME Awards for that genius award and they showed that clip of George Martin saying that and I’d forgotten about it, but it is a kind of wow moment. You can’t just sit there and think, that’s bunny. Well, I do, sometimes.
On there being no more rock star bands like Oasis…
Oasis was the last of that kind of group. There’s no way, that a band like that – a street band – will go and sell 60 or 70 million albums. It will never happen again. Because the times have changed. People may sell more records, but it won’t just explode from the gutter from nothing. The music business in 1993, when we started, was great. Now it’s just a business and the consumer is king. And for most part, the consumer is an idiot. It won’t happen again. Bands won’t have that attitude any more.
On still performing as a band when he’s old…
I don’t see the nobility or dignity of being in a band and trying to sell that Last Gang In Town thing, when you’re at 103 or however old Mick Jagger is. That doesn’t appeal to me. When I left Oasis and people asked what I was going to do, there was only one real option. I can’t form another band, wear leather jackets and pretend like, “Yeah, we’re a band, man”. It’s just a bunch of grumpy old men, you know?
Me neither. I get asked about it and it annoys the life out of me. My attitude is: Why? Why would we do it? For money? Nobody in the group needs the money. To remind people of how good we were? We split up two years ago. If you didn’t see us, tough bunny. We were going for 20 years and if you didn’t see us, if you were too young, then… come and see me. I’m equally as good! I’ll be dictated to by what I writing. If I carry on writing the way I am, I’ll be compelled to put out album. What else can I do? I don’t see me doing long gruelling world tours like this. That’s a young man’s game. But McCartney’s still going. Neil Young is still going. We’ll see how far McCartney and Neil and Bob Dylan take it, and that’ll be the benchmark. And I go and see McCartney and I think, bunny hell, he’s amazing. But as long as I keep writing the stuff that I like, then I’ll be compelled to go into the studio. But the great thing about this is, if I don’t want to make an album for 10 years. I won’t do it. I’m just going to sit at home and – I don’t know what I’ll do – bunny get on my wife’s nerves. Which I quite enjoy. It depends on what enthusiasm I have for writing. That shows no signs of letting up. I start a million songs a week. Finish one a year! But I still like to write. It’s what I do.
On writing political songs…
I’m never going to write Blowin’ In The Wind. Let’s just say that. But there are lines in songs that sum up life. I know that. But it’ll be hidden in a song. I’ve got a song that I just finished, Dying In The Light – you can probably look it up on the Internet if somebody’s bootlegged it at soundcheck. But I finished it and I thought, yeah, I still can do it. Cigarettes And Alcohol is social commentary. It’s just that if a protest singer wrote it, he’d come and beat you around the head with it. You have to let people discover these things. I’m not one for saying my songs are one thing or another, but they’re just true to me, I guess.
On inspiring other people to do something about their lives…
That makes me incredibly proud. I know that and I’m aware of it. But I don’t sit on a throne and think I’m Caesar. Others might – let’s call them wankers. Paul Weller had the same effect on me. And I know Paul. He’s my neighbour – he lives right across the street from me. And a more down-to-earth, level headed guy, you’ll never meet in your live. The Jam was the Oasis of their day. They defined a generation both in the way they looked and what they thought about and their music still stands up today. He’s a great inspiration. I’m aware that things changed after Definitely Maybe and I know some people were inspired, to write books, form a band or whatever. I know that and it’s great. It means my funeral will be extremely well-attended. But I never sit there and think I’m the bunny bunny.
On his legacy…
My legacy? The music, thank god, will be there forever. It has a timeless quality to it. My legacy as an artiste – for want of a better word – is that I was somebody who inspired other working class people. But I don’t know if that’s true. I only go by what other people say. And the sad thing is I won’t be around to see what my legacy is. That’ll be a shame. I don’t know. Just a bunny good songwriter.
On the way the next Paul Weller or Noel won’t be the same…
I think the gap between Paul leaving the biggest band in England and going on to have an equally successful career as a solo artiste, the gap between him and me is 18 or 20 years from him going solo and me going solo. The gap between me and the next guy, don’t even think about it, it’ll be 50 years. People have side projects now. Nobody actually says, bunny it, I’m done, I’m going for it. They have side projects. People asked me if I had Alex Turner’s solo album and I didn’t even bunny know he had one out. It’s called Submarine or something. But why is he not shouting it from the rooftops? They’ve got a different mentality. It’s a shame, but bunny ‘em, I say.
On not performing at the Olympics…
I thought I was going to be in it. Of course, they asked me to sing Wonderwall. I went quite a far way down the road with it. And leading up to the beginning of the dress rehearsals. They kind of said, “You know, nobody’s playing live”. And I said, “Why?” and they said, “It’s kind of a big gig”. They sang live, they didn’t play live. They wanted me to do acoustic, so I would have to sing live but mime (the playing). And then someone said, “We’d like to do a new string arrangement for it” and I’m like, “Yeah, okay, alright – you know what, I’m going to pass on this” because I don’t like miming and singing live. And I thought, this is going to be too much bunny trouble, so I passed. And then they called up and said, “We’re going to ask Liam” and I said “great – just don’t bunny ask Keane or anybody like that”. I would have been up for doing it, had they bunny let me do it live. But there you go. It’s no big deal. I thought the whole thing was pretty good. Beady Eye? Yeah, they did it justice. They recorded it bunny note for note. I thought it was a difficult thing to sing live while the band is miming. It’s difficult. But I thought it went down pretty well. What can I say?
On whether there’ll be another High Flying Birds album…
I don’t know if that name will exist any more after this. Not for any other reason than I’ve made no plans after this. I’ve got a lot of songs. I’ve still got the other album that I scrapped, the songs off that. And I’ve got other songs leftover and I’m writing some. But I’m not thinking too far ahead. I finish this tour on Nov 12, and then I’ve got a TV thing to do on Nov 22. And after that … I don’t make plans. It’s like when I left Oasis, I didn’t have any plans. People asked and I said I’m not going to do anything. I’m not retired but I have made any plans. I went to bed one night, not thinking of music, I was thinking of what I was going to have for breakfast. And the next morning I woke up and I thought, I have to go back into the studio. I don’t know why that is. At the end of this tour, I’ll sit back and think, well that was great or that was bunny, and just wait for the call.
On the need to continue writing songs…
Financially, there’s no need to travel the world and do this. But you need to do it for yourself. When you’re a writer, there’s a need to get it out there because you gotta make space for more stuff. I’m a slave to it. I have this fear that – I’ve got loads of demos – and I have this fear that I’ll bizarrely die and I’d have left them all to my kids in the will and they’ll get all the glory. The older the get – I mean I’m not in any rush to do anything. I still feel time is one my side. And I don’t want to overplay it. I don’t think people want another album from me next year or the year after. Because that means I’ll have to go on tour and I think people have seen enough of me. So I’d want to go back into my other life. Just blend into the background and sample normal life. I don’t live to work. I work so I can live. I’ve got three young kids. No, they’re not on tour with me, they’ve got school.
On whether Noel’s kids will get into music…
Will they get into music? I don’t know. They love listening to music. Nobody forced me to do music. I think the key is just to have instruments in the house and if they’re inquisitive children they’ll eventually pick it up. I could sit my children in a row and say, “Right today we’re going to play bunny Let’s Dance by David Bowie” but then I’ll be like Michael Jackson’s dad. But that’s not fun is it? I think if you push you kids into any one direction, they start rebelling. So I wouldn’t even lead them. I wouldn’t force a guitar on them… anyway, there’s only room for one rock star in the house. Mum would go mad.
On wishing Liam happy birthday…
No, no, no. No, I didn’t call.
On Noel interviewing Mario Balotelli…
He’s a character. A real force of nature. Doesn’t give a bunny about anything. I went to see City train that the morning, from 9 to 11, and he was phenomenal in training. And he came in to do the interview and the story only broke that afternoon – the one where he was photographed outside a strip club and smoking at 5am – and he’s fascinated by why people are fascinated by him. He didn’t get it. I saw him a couple of weeks ago at the changing room before a game, and I was in the foyer and he was like, “Come down” and I’m like, “I don’t think so, the game’s kicking off in a bit”. And he was “Bunny it, come down”. He was acting like he was in his own room.
On Manchester City winning the Premier League…
We’ve not started like how we ended last season. Don’t be fooled by Man United. I think it’s going to be very close again. I think Chelsea will fall away. Arsenal look like they may be the dark horse, but I think they’ll finish third. I think it’ll go to the last week again. I think – over 38 games – we’ve got a better squad than they have. I don’t think Van Persie will see it through. And they’ve got dodgy goalkeepers. And we’ve got bunny midfield. We’re shipping goals and it’s unlike us. Vincent Kompany has had a terrible start. I think there’s been a hangover from last season. I think there’s still a lot of backslapping. I think the fans are really, we drove them onto the title last season. I think there’s a sense of “We’ve done it now”. But I think when we get into it, I can see us coming from behind to win it. I thought instantly, we start, and we’d be 11 points clear by Christmas and that would be bunny it. If you’ve seen against Real Madrid, when they snap out of it, and they’ve got their bunny together. I think once they get serious, if we fall 8 points behind and “Bunny it, Come on, what’s going on” we’ll be alright. I still think we’ll win it.
On the best and worst thing about being Noel Gallagher…
It’s hard to say. What’s the best thing that’s happened to me recently? I’ve got to meet lots of cool people. I can’t think of any that I’ve met recently but…! The worst thing? I don’t know. I don’t know about questions like that. Because I am me. Oh, in Bangkok? Oh yeah, listening to Adele’s album while being beaten by Real Madrid. That’s bunny bunny. Fan of Adele? Not in the slightest. She can sing? Can’t we all? We can all sing. Everybody can sing. I was singing songs since the first Oasis single, so I’ve been singing for a long time, but that was out of necessity because Liam either wouldn’t or couldn’t sing the song, so I’d sing it. But when I wrote the Importance Of Being Idle, I thought wow. That’s when I started to fancy it as a singer. Not as a front man. But I was confident of singing live. I enjoy that side of it now. I think it’s a great gift to be able to sing. Or rather, I should say, the confidence to sing. Everybody can sing.
On his hair looking better now than when he was in Oasis…
I was more interested in drugs than hair product back then. I don’t dye it. I’ll think I’ll grow gracefully grey. I think I’ll eventually become a silver fox. There’s nothing worse than – I’ve been in bands with men who were with the tea towel and you’d be going out to dinner and “Are you coming?” “No, I’ve got to send some emails” and the next day, their hair’s a different colour. Well, it’s the same colour, but it looks very brown now. “Sure, it wasn’t that colour?” I’m blessed with it. Comes from my mum’s side. They’ve all got great hair. My dad was bald as bunny.
On watching Manchester’s City’s next gig during F1 weekend…
I’m going straight off stage to watch it, and then watch this Grand Prix thing.
Noel Gallagher will perform 23 Sept. Visit www.singaporegp.sg for more details.
Source: todayonline.com
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds embark on a UK tour in September and will tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg later this year.
More details on the above dates and more can be found by clicking here.
Noel Gallagher On Oasis, Beady Eye, The Future And More
So there we were, sitting in a meeting room at the lovely Four Seasons hotel, talking to Noel Gallagher, the man who gave us anthems such as Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Live Forever, The Importance Of Being Idle, Lyla, The Hindu Times, Go Let It Out, Stand By Me, Shock Of The Lightning and many others.
He’s in town for this year’s Grand Prix, and even though he wasn’t feeling well, still consented to give us time for an interview. And here’s what he had to say, in all it’s uncut* glory.
(*Well, a little bit was cut. For fear of offending people who get offended by expletives, we’ve replaced the expletives with the word “bunny”.) ‘Nuff said. Let’s hop to it…
On whether being solo is freeing…
I’ve not really had the chance to analyse it yet, but when I was making the album I didn’t feel like I was entering a new phase. I feel like that now, because I’ve been on the road and it’s gone well after a year. I don’t sit down and think about such things, if I did that I’d never get anything done. If I thought I was into a Neil Young phase, I’d listen to all his records and then say, “Well I can’t be as good as that, so I’ll bunny retire”.
On knowing success…
But you don’t know that. Nobody can predict that, what’s going to happen. I think that the songs there are up there with the best collection of songs that I’ve written, but it doesn’t matter what I think. People might not have thought that. I was thinking, “I know I can do this, but are people going to be interested enough to watch me sing for one-and-a-half hours”? I don’t do much else.
On Oasis not being a “jump around” band…
That’s what I used to say, but other people in the group thought it was something else. As a songwriter, I have to believe it’s the power of the songs really. And everything else is just a bonus. I think every songwriter will tell you that.
On whether Be Here Now was a good album…
I don’t give a bunny what anybody says. You opinion is… I know that I just made it up as I went along. They’re not the greatest set of lyrics I’ve ever written. I don’t like it. It’s like how people go mad for Wonderwall. Stand by me; I’m not so sure about. But Don’t Go Away, yeah. But as an album I don’t like the sound of it, I don’t like the words – which are bunny – but I just think at the time, I could have done a lot better. I don’t really… I feel like I’ve given all my best songs to the B-sides for all the singles, from Definitely Maybe onwards. I feel like I’ve wasted two albums worth of songs. They came out as The Masterplan, but really, that should have been the third album.
On being nervous about going solo…
I wasn’t nervous about playing. I don’t get stage fright at all. You can’t expect people who’ve pay however much to come and see you and watch a guy who’s scared of being there. That’s bunny all. I was a bit curious and anxious as to what people would think of my thing. I’m rooted to the spot. I can’t balance a tambourine on my head, I don’t wear ludicrous parkas and I don’t have a funny haircut. And there’s a healthy section of my audience that dug that kind of thing. I’ve been vindicated in a way, because my whole thing was “Bunny it”. All I’ve got to give people are the songs, and if people want the razzmatazz and the wacky lights and all that, then they’re going to be disappointed. But I was pleasantly surprised that all the gigs – apart from the first one, which is always the weird one – have been pretty euphoric.
On judging success because Beady Eye put their album out earlier…
After Beady Eye put their record out. At that point we were managed by the same people and I thought, Well, there’s at least that. Because all the people who’ve bought the Beady Eye album are not going to not buy mine. But you can’t predict. For instance, I was listening to their record and I thought I would have put millions on it if I can have a big track off the album, as it turned out it’s been What A Life. So you don’t really know. I’m not going to be arrogant and say this is the bollocks. But you know, the Beady Eye record, they’re lads and they’ve got a great vibe and all that. But sadly, the one thing they don’t got is the songs, you know? And I’ve spent a decade or more trying to convince people that it is – bunny the vibe, if you want the vibe, go to a disco. Ultimately, I think I’ve been proved right.
On George Martin calling Noel the greatest songwriter of his era…
Honestly, it’s great when you see it in print and all that. I sat in a room with him and he asked me to show him how I wrote Wonderwall and he said, it’s great, you know, in his old upper class manner. But I don’t dwell on things like that. It’s great. And if anyone would know about great songwriters, it’d be him, having worked with the two best of all time. But I don’t think that. Otherwise I’d have retired after that. What else would you go after that? I’d have packed my things and gone bunny it. George Martin thinks I really should have been the fifth Beatles, so bunny everybody else. It’s all right if you think that. But if you think that, then you’re not the person to be producing my next album, because you’ve got to go into that with a clean slate. When I was at that NME Awards for that genius award and they showed that clip of George Martin saying that and I’d forgotten about it, but it is a kind of wow moment. You can’t just sit there and think, that’s bunny. Well, I do, sometimes.
On there being no more rock star bands like Oasis…
Oasis was the last of that kind of group. There’s no way, that a band like that – a street band – will go and sell 60 or 70 million albums. It will never happen again. Because the times have changed. People may sell more records, but it won’t just explode from the gutter from nothing. The music business in 1993, when we started, was great. Now it’s just a business and the consumer is king. And for most part, the consumer is an idiot. It won’t happen again. Bands won’t have that attitude any more.
On still performing as a band when he’s old…
I don’t see the nobility or dignity of being in a band and trying to sell that Last Gang In Town thing, when you’re at 103 or however old Mick Jagger is. That doesn’t appeal to me. When I left Oasis and people asked what I was going to do, there was only one real option. I can’t form another band, wear leather jackets and pretend like, “Yeah, we’re a band, man”. It’s just a bunch of grumpy old men, you know?
Me neither. I get asked about it and it annoys the life out of me. My attitude is: Why? Why would we do it? For money? Nobody in the group needs the money. To remind people of how good we were? We split up two years ago. If you didn’t see us, tough bunny. We were going for 20 years and if you didn’t see us, if you were too young, then… come and see me. I’m equally as good! I’ll be dictated to by what I writing. If I carry on writing the way I am, I’ll be compelled to put out album. What else can I do? I don’t see me doing long gruelling world tours like this. That’s a young man’s game. But McCartney’s still going. Neil Young is still going. We’ll see how far McCartney and Neil and Bob Dylan take it, and that’ll be the benchmark. And I go and see McCartney and I think, bunny hell, he’s amazing. But as long as I keep writing the stuff that I like, then I’ll be compelled to go into the studio. But the great thing about this is, if I don’t want to make an album for 10 years. I won’t do it. I’m just going to sit at home and – I don’t know what I’ll do – bunny get on my wife’s nerves. Which I quite enjoy. It depends on what enthusiasm I have for writing. That shows no signs of letting up. I start a million songs a week. Finish one a year! But I still like to write. It’s what I do.
On writing political songs…
I’m never going to write Blowin’ In The Wind. Let’s just say that. But there are lines in songs that sum up life. I know that. But it’ll be hidden in a song. I’ve got a song that I just finished, Dying In The Light – you can probably look it up on the Internet if somebody’s bootlegged it at soundcheck. But I finished it and I thought, yeah, I still can do it. Cigarettes And Alcohol is social commentary. It’s just that if a protest singer wrote it, he’d come and beat you around the head with it. You have to let people discover these things. I’m not one for saying my songs are one thing or another, but they’re just true to me, I guess.
On inspiring other people to do something about their lives…
That makes me incredibly proud. I know that and I’m aware of it. But I don’t sit on a throne and think I’m Caesar. Others might – let’s call them wankers. Paul Weller had the same effect on me. And I know Paul. He’s my neighbour – he lives right across the street from me. And a more down-to-earth, level headed guy, you’ll never meet in your live. The Jam was the Oasis of their day. They defined a generation both in the way they looked and what they thought about and their music still stands up today. He’s a great inspiration. I’m aware that things changed after Definitely Maybe and I know some people were inspired, to write books, form a band or whatever. I know that and it’s great. It means my funeral will be extremely well-attended. But I never sit there and think I’m the bunny bunny.
On his legacy…
My legacy? The music, thank god, will be there forever. It has a timeless quality to it. My legacy as an artiste – for want of a better word – is that I was somebody who inspired other working class people. But I don’t know if that’s true. I only go by what other people say. And the sad thing is I won’t be around to see what my legacy is. That’ll be a shame. I don’t know. Just a bunny good songwriter.
On the way the next Paul Weller or Noel won’t be the same…
I think the gap between Paul leaving the biggest band in England and going on to have an equally successful career as a solo artiste, the gap between him and me is 18 or 20 years from him going solo and me going solo. The gap between me and the next guy, don’t even think about it, it’ll be 50 years. People have side projects now. Nobody actually says, bunny it, I’m done, I’m going for it. They have side projects. People asked me if I had Alex Turner’s solo album and I didn’t even bunny know he had one out. It’s called Submarine or something. But why is he not shouting it from the rooftops? They’ve got a different mentality. It’s a shame, but bunny ‘em, I say.
On not performing at the Olympics…
I thought I was going to be in it. Of course, they asked me to sing Wonderwall. I went quite a far way down the road with it. And leading up to the beginning of the dress rehearsals. They kind of said, “You know, nobody’s playing live”. And I said, “Why?” and they said, “It’s kind of a big gig”. They sang live, they didn’t play live. They wanted me to do acoustic, so I would have to sing live but mime (the playing). And then someone said, “We’d like to do a new string arrangement for it” and I’m like, “Yeah, okay, alright – you know what, I’m going to pass on this” because I don’t like miming and singing live. And I thought, this is going to be too much bunny trouble, so I passed. And then they called up and said, “We’re going to ask Liam” and I said “great – just don’t bunny ask Keane or anybody like that”. I would have been up for doing it, had they bunny let me do it live. But there you go. It’s no big deal. I thought the whole thing was pretty good. Beady Eye? Yeah, they did it justice. They recorded it bunny note for note. I thought it was a difficult thing to sing live while the band is miming. It’s difficult. But I thought it went down pretty well. What can I say?
On whether there’ll be another High Flying Birds album…
I don’t know if that name will exist any more after this. Not for any other reason than I’ve made no plans after this. I’ve got a lot of songs. I’ve still got the other album that I scrapped, the songs off that. And I’ve got other songs leftover and I’m writing some. But I’m not thinking too far ahead. I finish this tour on Nov 12, and then I’ve got a TV thing to do on Nov 22. And after that … I don’t make plans. It’s like when I left Oasis, I didn’t have any plans. People asked and I said I’m not going to do anything. I’m not retired but I have made any plans. I went to bed one night, not thinking of music, I was thinking of what I was going to have for breakfast. And the next morning I woke up and I thought, I have to go back into the studio. I don’t know why that is. At the end of this tour, I’ll sit back and think, well that was great or that was bunny, and just wait for the call.
On the need to continue writing songs…
Financially, there’s no need to travel the world and do this. But you need to do it for yourself. When you’re a writer, there’s a need to get it out there because you gotta make space for more stuff. I’m a slave to it. I have this fear that – I’ve got loads of demos – and I have this fear that I’ll bizarrely die and I’d have left them all to my kids in the will and they’ll get all the glory. The older the get – I mean I’m not in any rush to do anything. I still feel time is one my side. And I don’t want to overplay it. I don’t think people want another album from me next year or the year after. Because that means I’ll have to go on tour and I think people have seen enough of me. So I’d want to go back into my other life. Just blend into the background and sample normal life. I don’t live to work. I work so I can live. I’ve got three young kids. No, they’re not on tour with me, they’ve got school.
On whether Noel’s kids will get into music…
Will they get into music? I don’t know. They love listening to music. Nobody forced me to do music. I think the key is just to have instruments in the house and if they’re inquisitive children they’ll eventually pick it up. I could sit my children in a row and say, “Right today we’re going to play bunny Let’s Dance by David Bowie” but then I’ll be like Michael Jackson’s dad. But that’s not fun is it? I think if you push you kids into any one direction, they start rebelling. So I wouldn’t even lead them. I wouldn’t force a guitar on them… anyway, there’s only room for one rock star in the house. Mum would go mad.
On wishing Liam happy birthday…
No, no, no. No, I didn’t call.
On Noel interviewing Mario Balotelli…
He’s a character. A real force of nature. Doesn’t give a bunny about anything. I went to see City train that the morning, from 9 to 11, and he was phenomenal in training. And he came in to do the interview and the story only broke that afternoon – the one where he was photographed outside a strip club and smoking at 5am – and he’s fascinated by why people are fascinated by him. He didn’t get it. I saw him a couple of weeks ago at the changing room before a game, and I was in the foyer and he was like, “Come down” and I’m like, “I don’t think so, the game’s kicking off in a bit”. And he was “Bunny it, come down”. He was acting like he was in his own room.
On Manchester City winning the Premier League…
We’ve not started like how we ended last season. Don’t be fooled by Man United. I think it’s going to be very close again. I think Chelsea will fall away. Arsenal look like they may be the dark horse, but I think they’ll finish third. I think it’ll go to the last week again. I think – over 38 games – we’ve got a better squad than they have. I don’t think Van Persie will see it through. And they’ve got dodgy goalkeepers. And we’ve got bunny midfield. We’re shipping goals and it’s unlike us. Vincent Kompany has had a terrible start. I think there’s been a hangover from last season. I think there’s still a lot of backslapping. I think the fans are really, we drove them onto the title last season. I think there’s a sense of “We’ve done it now”. But I think when we get into it, I can see us coming from behind to win it. I thought instantly, we start, and we’d be 11 points clear by Christmas and that would be bunny it. If you’ve seen against Real Madrid, when they snap out of it, and they’ve got their bunny together. I think once they get serious, if we fall 8 points behind and “Bunny it, Come on, what’s going on” we’ll be alright. I still think we’ll win it.
On the best and worst thing about being Noel Gallagher…
It’s hard to say. What’s the best thing that’s happened to me recently? I’ve got to meet lots of cool people. I can’t think of any that I’ve met recently but…! The worst thing? I don’t know. I don’t know about questions like that. Because I am me. Oh, in Bangkok? Oh yeah, listening to Adele’s album while being beaten by Real Madrid. That’s bunny bunny. Fan of Adele? Not in the slightest. She can sing? Can’t we all? We can all sing. Everybody can sing. I was singing songs since the first Oasis single, so I’ve been singing for a long time, but that was out of necessity because Liam either wouldn’t or couldn’t sing the song, so I’d sing it. But when I wrote the Importance Of Being Idle, I thought wow. That’s when I started to fancy it as a singer. Not as a front man. But I was confident of singing live. I enjoy that side of it now. I think it’s a great gift to be able to sing. Or rather, I should say, the confidence to sing. Everybody can sing.
On his hair looking better now than when he was in Oasis…
I was more interested in drugs than hair product back then. I don’t dye it. I’ll think I’ll grow gracefully grey. I think I’ll eventually become a silver fox. There’s nothing worse than – I’ve been in bands with men who were with the tea towel and you’d be going out to dinner and “Are you coming?” “No, I’ve got to send some emails” and the next day, their hair’s a different colour. Well, it’s the same colour, but it looks very brown now. “Sure, it wasn’t that colour?” I’m blessed with it. Comes from my mum’s side. They’ve all got great hair. My dad was bald as bunny.
On watching Manchester’s City’s next gig during F1 weekend…
I’m going straight off stage to watch it, and then watch this Grand Prix thing.
Noel Gallagher will perform 23 Sept. Visit www.singaporegp.sg for more details.
Source: todayonline.com
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds embark on a UK tour in September and will tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg later this year.
More details on the above dates and more can be found by clicking here.
Carl Perkins
George Harrison
George Martin
Noel Gallagher
The Beatles
Noel Gallagher has been speaking about the time he got to meet former Beatle George Harrison at a bonfire party.
Speaking to the Rolling Stone he said "I was invited to a bonfire party, and it happened to be on the property that backed up into George's house. So I'm sitting on a log and this guy with a beard and a denim jacket comes up to me and says, "Hey, you want a Heineken?” I was like, “F*cking hell!” We talked about Carl Perkins, and I told him he was my favorite guitar player".
During the same interview he was asked if he flattered when George Martin called him the finest songwriter of his generation.
He replied "I was fucking flattered - but you can’t take that too seriously, or what are you going to do next? I think he’s wrong, by the way".
Noel Gallagher On Meeting George Harrison And More
Noel Gallagher has been speaking about the time he got to meet former Beatle George Harrison at a bonfire party.
Speaking to the Rolling Stone he said "I was invited to a bonfire party, and it happened to be on the property that backed up into George's house. So I'm sitting on a log and this guy with a beard and a denim jacket comes up to me and says, "Hey, you want a Heineken?” I was like, “F*cking hell!” We talked about Carl Perkins, and I told him he was my favorite guitar player".
During the same interview he was asked if he flattered when George Martin called him the finest songwriter of his generation.
He replied "I was fucking flattered - but you can’t take that too seriously, or what are you going to do next? I think he’s wrong, by the way".
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