Noel: We're Up There With Sting

U2, Oasis, Robbie Williams, Coldplay and Kylie Minogue are among the acts expected to wow crowds at the world's biggest ever concert to help save the planet.

Former US vice president Al Gore invited some of the world's most influential media figures to a top secret London meeting last Friday (09FEB07) to plan the record-breaking gig.

An insider says, "It was the most stellar array of media figures you could ever see but to get all those people in the room on a Friday night shows how willing they are to help." The 'Live Earth' show will be held on 7 July (07) at venues in England, America, South Africa, Japan and Brazil in a bid to raise environmental awareness.

Gore says, "Television hypnotises billions but it is a one-way conversation filling minds with junk food. The only way to breathe meaning back into our words is through music. We need you." The full line-up of artists will be announced next week (15FEB07)

Source: www.contactmusic.com

Towers Of Babble - Big Brother Donny's Tribute Act

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But Donny is his own man. Sure he did like Oasis. Aged 15, Donny went to the barbers with a picture of Liam Gallagher and said: “I want it like that.”

He once played a song to Noel Gallagher. Ten years later and Big Brother presenter Russell Brand introduces Donny to Noel again. “Rewind ten years or so,” says Donny to Noel, “do you remember I was the kid on your doorstep?” And Noel remembers, at least that’s what he intimates to Donny. Says Donny: “I went home on a high.”

(Donny’s The Clash tribute II) – “You’re freakin’ out, oh yeah you’re freakin’ out for sure / They haven’t seen this since the English army won the war.”

Donny once stage dived, “thinking I was grabbing a pole, but it turned out to be laser”. Sounds nasty? “But that’s just rock n ‘n’ roll,” says Donny.

Donny once played a sheep in a stage school production of Joseph. Donny is baaad to the bone...

Source: www.anorak.co.uk

Noel Gallagher Of Oasis: Cat Power

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Oasis majordomo Noel Gallagher is turning back the clock. Not just because he’s staring at the specter of turning 40, but because he and his unruly brother have put together a greatest hits album, tellingly titled Stop the Clocks. Having made peace with Oasis’ legacy and his own demons, he talks to Harp about “being bigger than the Beatles,” and disposable band members.

HARP: Why do they leave? Are you hard on them?

NOEL GALLAGHER: Not knowing who is going to play on the next record keeps it interesting for me. None of it is planned out; it just happens that way. In case of who was the first casualty, [original drummer Tony McCarroll] got on my tits because he couldn’t play the drums properly. [Second drummer Alan White] started acting like a session musician. If I’m living it 24 hours a day, everybody else better be. I’ve had various people say, “I’ve got to get off at 5 p.m.—my cat has a cough and the vet is coming around.” Fuck the cat! You can always get another cat.

HARP: You left the band during a 2005 tour and disappeared for a couple of days. Did you feel like you did the right thing?

I always calm down after about 48 moments. In the heat of the moment you have to go with your heart and forget your fucking head. If you mosey through life and take everything on the chin, that’s no way to live.

HARP: With Oasis you set your goals really high.

We actually believed it. Being bigger than the Beatles. I genuinely believed that I was going to be part of one of the biggest bands in the world at some point. And I was proved right, you know.

HARP: Did you ever learn how to drive?

No, still can’t! At the end of the Be Here Now tour, the first thing I was going to do was learn how to drive and get a fucking rock star car. So I had a car built, probably about $200,000 to build this car. I still haven’t passed my test. I’ve kinda slipped into the likes of having a chauffeur. I can sit in the back seat of a car, pontificating about how great the Kings Of Leon [are] without having to worry about any road signals.

Source: www.harpmagazine.com

Charity Rage At Noel Touts

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Greedy touts are cashing in on a Noel Gallagher charity gig by auctioning off tickets at four times face value.

Tickets at £37.50 are fetching £150 on eBay as sellers profit from next month's Teenage Cancer Trust concert, also with The Who and Kasabian.

Charity boss Simon Davies said: "We're disappointed. It is morally and ethically wrong."

Source: www.people.co.uk

Countdown To The Brits - Part Three

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February 10, 2007 No comments

(1999–2003) Transitional Stage

In early 1999 the band began work on their fourth album. First details were announced in February with Mark "Spike" Stent revealed to be taking a co-producing role. The majority of the album had been written by a now "clean" Noel Gallagher, who had quit taking cocaine in the summer of 1998. This was to have a major influence on the lyrical content of the album. Recording sessions began in the south of France in April, with everything believed to be have been going to plan. Behind the scenes, however, things were not going well and the shock departure of founding member Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs was announced in August. This departure was reported at the time as amicable, with Noel stating that Arthurs wanted to spend more time with his family. Arthurs' statement clarified his leaving as "to concentrate on other things". However, Noel has since offered a contradicting version: that a series of violations of Noel's "no drink or drugs" policy (imposed by Noel so that Liam could sing properly) for the album's sessions resulted in a confrontation between the two. Oasis fans were given a further shock days later, as the departure of bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan was announced. McGuigan said later that the departure of his close friend triggered his own.

The now three-piece Oasis chose to continue recording the album, with Noel Gallagher re-recording most of Arthurs' guitar and McGuigan's bass parts. The hunt was also on for replacements for the two guitarists with such names as Bernard Butler, Johnny Marr, John Squire, David Potts, Gary "Mani" Mounfield and Steve Cradock all rumoured to be contenders to fill the positions. The first new member to be announced was new lead/rhythm guitarist Colin "Gem" Archer formerly of Heavy Stereo, who later claimed to have been approached by Noel Gallagher only a couple of days after Arthurs' departure was publicly announced. One of Archer's first roles was on November 5, 1999, where he took part in filming of the promo video for Oasis' new single, "Go Let It Out", which was the first single to be taken from their new album. David Potts, who was rehearsing at the time with the band, backed off because he thought he would be sacked soon and didn't want to play the bass. The band then drafted Andy Bell, former guitarist/songwriter of Ride and Hurricane#1 who was announced as their new bassist, a week later. Bell had never played bass before and he was obliged to learn to play it, along with a handful of Oasis' back catalogue of songs, in preparation for a scheduled tour of America in December 1999.

With the death of Creation Records, Oasis formed their own label, Big Brother, named after Noel, which released all of Oasis' records in the UK and Ireland.

Oasis' fourth album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, was released in February 2000 to good first-week sales. However, the album was met with lukewarm reviews and seen as a small but noticeable departure from their traditional sound, with more experimental, psychedelic influences. To coincide with the general atmosphere of change surrounding the band, the cover of the album — an animated photo of New York — featured a new "Oasis" logo designed by Gem Archer and was also the first Oasis release to include a song written by Liam Gallagher, entitled "Little James". As of now, Standing is among the band's lowest-selling albums worldwide, although it did spawn another UK #1 with "Go Let It Out" and contained "Fuckin' in the Bushes", which is often used as an opener for Oasis gigs.

The spring of 2000 saw the new line-up embark on a world tour, although the album had received largely substandard reviews. The tour proved to be initially successful, but again eventful. In May, they were forced to cancel a gig in Barcelona a few hours before the scheduled start because of tendonitis in one of Alan White's hands. As a result, the band spent the whole evening drinking instead, and a drunken fight broke out between the Gallagher brothers after, according to Noel, some derogatory comments from Liam, who questioned the legitimacy of Noel's young daughter, Anais. Feeling he could no longer be around Liam, Noel flew to his holiday home in Ibiza and a press release was issued on his behalf, announcing that he had quit overseas touring, and would therefore not be present at the rest of that year's European shows. Despite the absence of Noel, the rest of the band decided to continue with the remainder of the tour, with Gem Archer moving across to the other side of the stage to perform Noel's lead guitar parts and ex-Paul Weller and Mother Earth guitarist Matt Deighton being drafted in to take over rhythm guitar duties.

After two months of ongoing rumours about the band's long-term future after every such sibling brawl, Noel returned for the Irish and British legs of the tour, which included two major shows at Wembley Stadium. A live album of the first show, called Familiar to Millions, was released in late 2000 to positive reviews. The second Wembley show, which was being broadcast live in over a dozen countries across the world, including the UK's Sky One, was a chaotic affair. Liam was very clearly drunk, making several rambling statements, which included a derogatory announcement of his separation with his wife, Patsy Kensit and also at brother Noel. He also had trouble singing in tune and at times changed the words to certain lines and at other times did not bother to sing at all.

Along with Liam, Noel and Alan both ended their marriages during this period. Liam started a relationship with former All Saints member Nicole Appleton, who soon became pregnant with their son Gene. Noel started dating publicist Sara MacDonald and their relationship continues to this day, even though the pair broke up for a short time in 2002.

Throughout 2001, Oasis split time between sessions for their fifth studio album and live shows around the world. In January, the band played three festival dates in South America before returning to England for studio work. In May, the band travelled to North America for the month-long 'Tour of Brotherly Love' with The Black Crowes and Spacehog. Alan White missed the tour with a thumb injury, and was replaced by older brother Steve. Noel and Gem joined The Black Crowes on stage at the end of most shows, performing classic rock covers. The tour was followed by a June gig in Paris supporting Neil Young and July appearances at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and a festival show in Bangkok, Thailand. In October, following two months of recording, Oasis performed six shows to sold-out venues in London, Manchester and Glasgow. Dubbed 'Ten Years of Noise and Confusion,' the shows celebrated the band's first ten years as a live act.

Heathen Chemistry, their first album with new members Andy Bell and Gem Archer, was released in July 2002. The record retained an experimental flavour from the previous one, but also borrowed heavily from English rock music of the 1960s and 1970s with a Lennonesque influence by Liam, who was rapidly growing as a capable songwriter, creating the gentle acoustic ballad and subsequent top 3 single, "Songbird". Heathen Chemistry was also a much more balanced recording process for the band, with all of the members, apart from White, penning songs. This new working method, along with less fighting and drug and alcohol abuse in the studio, ultimately gave the record a more relaxed feel compared to past efforts. Johnny Marr provided additional guitar as well as backup vocals on a couple of songs, and while critics gave Heathen Chemistry lukewarm reviews, it was commercially successful. Around this time, Liam also provided vocals for the title track of the 2003 album Scorpio Rising by the duo Death in Vegas.

After the album's release, the band embarked on a world tour that was successful but once again flavoured with incidents. In late summer 2002, whilst the band was on tour in the US, Noel, Bell and touring keyboardist Jay Darlington were involved in a car accident in Indianapolis, IN. While none of the band members sustained any major injuries, some shows were cancelled as a result. Liam also suddenly bolted offstage for no apparent reason during a show in Fukuoka, Japan, leaving Noel to take over vocal duties. It was the second Fukuoka show in three years that Liam failed to complete.

The band ended the year by embarking on a short UK arena tour. 2003 began with the release of "Songbird", the fourth single taken from Heathen Chemistry. It was the first Oasis single that hadn't been written by Noel Gallagher, and reached number 3 in the official UK charts in February. The band then ended the Heathen Chemistry tour in March by performing two shows in Dublin, before returning to Germany to play four rescheduled dates.

Source: Wikipedia

Noel Gallagher Chuffed To Be On Rock Landmark List

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February 10, 2007 No comments

Noel Gallagher has said he is happy that his band have made it onto an official tourist list of British rock landmarks.

As previously reported, Berwick Street in London has been included on VisitBritain's "rock map" after it featured on the cover of Oasis' 1995 album '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?'.

Speaking to NME.COM the guitarist revealed he chuffed to be on the list, even if he isn't as pleased with the LP's sleeve.

"Do you think people do the thing down the street like they do at Abbey Road. That would be fucking great wouldn't it?" he joked. "I wouldn't mind but it's such a fucking shit cover. [But] I'd like to think Japanese people do walk down that street in rush-hour dodging black cabs. I hope they put up one of those blue plaques!"

For more on Oasis see next week's special souvenir issue of NME, which will be on UK newsstands nationwide from February 14.

Not only will it feature a brand new exclusive interview with Noel Gallagher, the issue boasts three classic covers handpicked by the guitarist and a comprehensive look at Oasis' career so far.

Source: www.nme.com

Russel Brand On Oasis At The Brits

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Another potential hazard to Brand, but not the show itself, is Outstanding Contribution To Music recipient Noel Gallagher, with whom Brand has been conducting an on-air war of words on Radio 2.

“Noel rings up my radio show every Saturday night. And we’ve talked about this. He said, ‘Don’t you dare try to upstage us, the evening is about Oasis, not about you. Don’t ruin this perfect night’.”

“And, I said, ‘Noel, you’re just a footnote. It’s all about me, so try not to tarnish it’. So there y’go. And I’m sure, as the time draws near, hostilities will increase.”

The funnyman has even suggested that Oasis’ end-of-show set, supposed to be a celebration of their greatest hits, should include a new, surprise composition. “I told Noel, he should play, perhaps, a special ballad, in homage to my hosting. I thought they might compose one specially. I’m pretty sure it’s an unfulfilled ambition for them, although I suspect the title might be something cruel and hurtful.”

When it comes to the crunch, though, Russell Brand reckons it will all be alright on the night. The ghosts of BRITs past won’t show up. Everything will run smoothly. And the guests will behave impeccably. Or at least, they should. “I think everything will go well. The bands performing are great. It’s a wonderful night for British music.” He smiles knowingly. “I’m sure even Liam and Noel will conduct themselves with decorum, like a couple of Jane Austen characters. They have such good manners,” he says. “When it comes to collecting their Outstanding Contribution To Music award, Noel will just curtsey.” And Liam? “He’ll salute.”

Source: Brits Magazine

Stars Speak Out About Oasis Contribution To Music

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John, The Coral
"Oasis changed everything! Before, it was scallys and skinheads and as soon as they'd come up all these Scallys started growing their hair!"

Billy Crogan
"I like Oasis. I just don't the rehearsing of the "bad rock attitude."

John Mayer
"Oasis are fantastic. The Gallagher brothers are like professional wrestling - they're not really hitting people over the head with a real trashcan, but it's fun to watch. it's great theatre. It's kind of like Alice Cooper with a microcassette recorder."

Alesha Dixon
"I love Oasis, I think they're great! My mates at school loved them but, erm, I liked Take That."

My Chemical Romance
"(What's The Story) Morning Glory? is one of the best albums of all time. The Whole Brit pop thing affected us on a deep level. But if we were in the same room I'd keep a safe distance. Although they seem like alright guys, you don't want to assume they're gonna like you!"

Corinne Bailey Rae
"The first album helped me to learn to play guitar. Before that, pop music was about The Inspiral Carpets or EMF or impenetratable stuff like Quincy Jones. Noel made song writing about melodies again."

Dan Gillespie-Sells, The Feeling
"I was so excited when Oasis's first record came out. Noel is such a great songwriter. Those songs will be around for many years."

Jon Fratelli
"Oasis and Blur were probably the last great bands to come out of Britain. I like the classics, because it's hard not to like them, but I like the B-sides album, too. My favourite Oasis song is on there, Rocking Chair."

Danny Jones, McFly
"I think Oasis are one of the most influential bands of all time. I've met Liam, talked to him for ages and had a beer with him. It's like meeting my idol. I can die happy now."

The Kooks
"We've seen Oasis about seven times! The first tune when Oasis play festivals is unbelieveable, because the guitars are so massive. And when they do cigarettes & alcohol... Brilliant!

Michael Stodart, The Magic Numbers
"Oasis got loads of people buying guitars and joining groups and wanting to write songs and being abit crazy. We met three of' em... even Paul! "

Orson
"The 1990's certainly belonged to Oasis. The first part of the millennium, too. Terrific band. "

Wayne Coyne, The Flaming Lips
"The moment I most loved about Oasis was at Glastonbury in 2003. They played an Oasis song over the PA for the crowd and it was the biggest singalong of the day. There's some kind of human momentum that comes along with a hundred and thirty thousand people all identifying with something so clearly. "

Simon Webbe
"I grew up listening to Oasis, they're good Manchester lads. And because of Wonderwall, I have Noel to thank for my daughter, Alannah! "

Russell Brand
"My favourite Oasis song is Songbird, because of how it was named. When Liam wrote it, he said, "I wrote a song for my bird. It's called Songbird."

Matt Willis
"In Noel and Liam you've got the basis of every great rock'n'roll story. Two brothers who love/hate each other, but you know each one could not exist without the other. I love you, Oasis! I love you! "

Source: Brit's Magazine

Gallagher Glad To Get Lifetime Honour While He Is Still Young

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Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher is relieved he is receiving the Outstanding Contribution award at this year's Brits (14FEB07) - he wanted it while he still young to enjoy it.

The Wonderwall mastermind would hate to have received the honour when he is older because it would have felt like a sympathy vote - and the 39-year-old guitarist want's the British band to go out on a high.

He says, "I want to do it before I go bald. I'd like to do it before I'm 40 and still young to legitimately wear a black leather jacket.

I'm glad we're getting it now. When footage is shown of future Brits, there won't be a fat, old geezers accepting it."

Former Beatle Ringo Starr will present the award to the band at next Wednesday's music ceremony in London.

Source: www.contactmusic.com

Noel Brands Liam A 'Lunatic'

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Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher has branded his bandmate brother Liam a 'lunatic', insisting he is too easily led to be taken seriously. Noel, 39, is convinced his younger sibling still has the personality of a very young man, despite being 34 years old - and he regularly exploits Liam with his superior intellect.

He says, "Liam has really long hair at the moment and looks like a lunatic, which is about right. "He's still a very silly young man and talks out of his a**e 23 hours of the day. "You say, 'Hey Liam, what about putting a choir on that song?' He'll say, 'Brilliant, yeah, f**king choir, man.' "Then someone will go, 'Choir? That's a bit poncey isn't it?' And he'll be like, 'Yeah, no, choirs are s**t, mate, f**king rubbish.' So you can have good fun with Liam in the studio!"

Source: www.contactmusic.com

Rock 'N' Roll Stars

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“The reason Oasis are accepting the BRITs Outstanding Contribution Award,” says Noel Gallagher, “is that I want to do it before I go bald. Simple as that.”

For a band of Oasis’ stature, it was always a question of when, and not if, the nod would come. The November 2006 release of Stop The Clocks, their most recent disc and a best-of compilation, provided the ideal moment to pause for reflection. When the BRITs invite came, it was accepted.

“My argument was, I’d like to do it before I’m 40,” says Noel. “I’m going to go there and still be young enough to legitimately wear a black leather jacket. Whereas there’s always the chance you could go there and look like one of Pink Floyd.

“I’m glad we’re getting it now. When footage is shown in the future of the lifetime of The BRITs, there will be fat old geezers accepting it,” the 39-year-old grins. “And there will be one f***ing super cool rock’n’roll band. We all still look pretty good.”

When the band ‘dress from the floor up’, match their guitars to their shoes, and stroll on stage on BRITs night, it will be a special moment for many of the show’s other stars, as well as Manchester’s finest. From Razorlight to Kasabian, The Killers to Corinne Bailey Rae, it was Oasis who inspired them to first form a band.

Noel says, “I feel incredibly proud that we had an impact. Arctic Monkeys were nine when Definitely Maybe came out. Oasis was their first gig. Kasabian were in the crowd when we played Earls Court in 1994. Now it’s all come full circle.” Before Christmas, Kasabian themselves sold out the same venue. “And they were on stage and I was in the crowd watching them. It bends my mind.”

And yet Noel is not ready ? well, not quite ? to take on the mantle of Yoda of rock. He’s still too much of a fan himself to think about that. “I won’t feel like an elder stateman until Paul Weller dies.” A huge influence, alongside the likes of The Kinks and The Beatles, the 48-year-old Jam legend has always been king in Gallaghers’ eyes. “He’s still in charge. Until he goes I’m only second in command.”

Oasis were formed in Manchester in 1991, when Noel, then an Inspiral Carpets roadie, joined his brother Liam’s band. In 1994, along with long-gone founding members Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan, and Tony McCarroll, they released debut album Definitely Maybe, which sold 7 million copies, and went on to shape the sound of the next generation.

The double BRIT-winning, 20 million-selling follow-up came just a year later. But, says Noel, “I wish I could remember recording (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?. Twelve days and it was done, then I mixed it.” He muses, “Three weeks work, maximum, and the next thing it’s the biggest thing since Sargent Peppers’. How did that happen?”

In fact, says Noel, “The whole of 1995 to 1997 or 1998 is an absolute whirlwind of s***! What happened there?” It was slap-bang in the middle of the Brit pop explosion, with war being fought between Oasis and Blur, and daily doses brother-bashing in the press. Noel says, “You go mad with success. We’re talking about kids from a council estate here.

I never went to f****** university. I don’t know what a paint brush is, I never went to art school. I never experimented in my f****** youth. I worked on a building site then I sold out Madison Square Garden. Get on that”.

Fame and wealth brought a freedom never before imagined. He says, “My madness lasted five years, and that’s great, brilliant. But you have to know when to stop,” Noel shrugs. “Either when your bank manager says you’re bankrupt, or when you’re in rehab, or when you’re in hospital with your liver beside you in a glass box.”

“Eventually you come back from it. There comes a point where you know that’s it now, I’ve had enough of this.” The last album conceived in the fray was Be Here Now (1997). “It was the one album we set up properly you know. But it made me realise you can’t set things up and force them.” Despite being the band’s fastest selling album, it’s not a Gallagher favourite. “But I’m allowed to say that, no one else can. We f****** p***** it up the wall on that one.”

More recent albums, Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (2000), Heathen Chemistry (2002) and Don’t Believe The Truth (2005) saw experimental changes in mood and in line-up, but all of the band’s studio albums ? as well as eight of their singles ? including often overlooked post-millennium hits Go Let It Out (2000), The Hindu Times (2002), Lyla (2005) and The Importance Of Being Idle (2005) ? made UK No 1. In addition, they have sold 50 million albums, earned numerous accolades and, of course, picked up four BRIT awards to date.

Oasis in 2007 have a new regular line-up; Gem Archer on guitars and vocals, Andy Bell on bass and on a less official basis, Ringo’s son, Zac Starkey, on drums. However, it’s the mesmerising relationship between Noel and Liam, which Noel credits as being “the great achievement in itself”.

Playing in a band with his sometimes wayward, but now 34-year-old brother is, he says, “half the time amazing, half the time the worst pain in the a***.” The famed slanging matches, says Noel, are just the Burnage way of sorting things out. “Where we come from there’s a lot of straight talking. We call a spade a spade. I daresay in the Coldplay camp, a spade is a symbol of the working man’s struggle against the oppressor, the landlords, and tyranny of the Royal family. Well, it don’t work like that in our band.”

And in a straight talking, Burnage kind of way, he says he’s happy. “Most singers are idiots, you know. I wouldn’t be in a band with anyone else.”

Source: www.brits.co.uk

Brit Awards On US TV And More

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The Brits Awards this year will feature a performance by Oasis. The band is there to pick up their Outstanding Contribution To Music award. The BRIT Awards 2007 will be broadcast on ITV1 on Wednesday February 14th at 8:00pm. Non UK viewers will be able to enjoy the show taped on following dates:

International television dates

HRT, Croatia End of February
RTP, Portugal Around 20th February
TNT, USA 5th March
WHD, Japan End of March
XYZ, Australia 25th February
MBC, Dubai 21st February
TV Norge, Norway 23rd & 24th February

Thanks To Sean

Noel Gallagher On Virgin Radio

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Noel Gallagher will be interviewed on Virgin radio's Breakfast Show byChristian O'Connell on Monday morning, the show starts at 6.00am and finishes at 10.00am.

Listen to the show Here

In Next Weeks NME

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In next weeks magazine, the Oasis collectors' issue.

Three different covers, handpicked by Noel. Plus, the A to Z of Britain's greatest band!

Source: www.nme.com

Brit Awards To Get Shown In Canada

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