Video Report: Noel Gallagher Performs With Members Of Blur For The Teenage Cancer Trust

Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher have put two decades of bitter Britpop rivalry behind them by performing together for the first time.

The Oasis and Blur frontmen appeared on stage at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

They were joined by Paul Weller and Graham Coxon for a rendition of the Blur track Tender.

Tim Muffett and Naga Munchetty report.

Click here to watch the video.

Noel Gallagher And Friends At The Albert Hall

The cessation of hostilities, when it came, was almost poignant – well, for those who remembered the mid-90s feud between Blur and Oasis, which gave the era's two biggest British bands license to insult each other every week in the press. On Saturday, Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher buried the hatchet in the name of the Teenage Cancer Trust charity, whose annual week of concerts Gallagher is curating.

They appeared together, along with the Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and Paul Weller (on drums, improbably), on Blur's Tender, separated only by a couple of microphone stands. If that didn't definitively prove hell had frozen over, a hearty backslap at the end did.

Even if their Britpop rivalry was always a joke to all except Liam Gallagher, who believed it was real, there was a genuine "ahhh" factor to this pop rapprochement. Middle-aged now – it was Albarn's 45th birthday – and with Britpop a sepia memory, it was clear the two men had more common ground than differences. "Noel? Noel?" Albarn beckoned. Gallagher duly appeared from the wings and they set about Blur's most pensive song, two veterans strumming and harmonising as cameraphones flashed.

In a musical sense, the shared moment was the only meeting point of a night that showed what different paths the pair have followed. As the night's main support act (the chore of opening was handed to the Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, who sang frazzle-brained folk songs as the audience chattered) Albarn and Coxon played just three other songs, each of which reminded us that while some people still bang guitars, they have long since moved on. Their set was introduced by Gallagher, who said cryptically: "Sit down, open your mind". One wondered what he made of what followed.

After an ambling cover of Kevin Ayers' May I, Albarn and Coxon were joined by Gallagher's old mate Weller, who was ecstatically screamed at, and the beat poet Michael Horovitz. The 77-year-old recited his Ballade of the Nocturnal Commune poem as Coxon honked a saxophone and the others played keyboards. Then there was a freeform composition written specially for tonight. Horovitz baaed like a sheep and spat words, only some of them decipherable: "War machine and bombs, teenage trust, old age trust, fruit juice!"

Gallagher has always professed to despise this kind of art-freakery, and it would have been wonderful to see his face while it was going on. It took about 10 minutes for his band, Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds, to expunge the memory of Horovitz's mischief.

Gallagher authored some stirring anthems in the early years, when he was driven by the compulsion to hear his music sung back at him by 50,000 people at a time, but now he merely pootles. The nine songs played from the High-Flying Birds' self-titled album were of a piece: Tesco-rock with the odd splash of psychedelic and blues window-dressing. Supersonic and Don't Look Back in Anger, nearly 20 years old, are magnificent anyway, but sounded particularly so in the company of Record Machine and If I Had a Gun, which use the four-square rock blueprint of the old songs but omit the crucial swagger.

More pressingly, Gallagher-as-frontman is a work in progress, and tonight Liam was never missed more. Maybe it comes of being the sensible brother, but Noel is a man who gets his head down and gets on with it, intent on giving fans their £75 worth. It got the job done here, spurring the fans into making every song a terrace chant, but it made you wish he would reunite with his estranged sibling. But can hell freeze over a second time?

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Gallery: Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon And Paul Weller At The Teenage Cancer Trust

Click here for a number of pictures of Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon And Paul Weller playing Blur's 'Tender' at yesterdays Teenage Cancer Trust concert in London.

Limited Edition Pete McKee Gig Poster Signed By Noel Gallagher Available Today

Artist Pete McKee is once again working in association with Noel Gallagher to create a special, limited-edition poster to celebrate his gig for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall. Noel will headline a very special show on Saturday March 23 featuring performances from special guests including Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon.

The prints are limited to just 50 copies and are signed and numbered by both Noel and Pete. The prints will be available to buy exclusively from petemckee.com at 12pm on Sunday 24 March and limited to one per person.

Pete McKee says ‘It's always an honour to be asked by Noel to produce artwork for his shows and help raise much needed money and awareness for a fantastic charity. The Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at The Royal Albert Hall are now part of rock history and are always special events, so to be a part of that in some small way is a privilege.’

The prints are £120 each and limited to one per customer. All proceeds from the sales will go to Teenage Cancer Trust.

Video: Noel Gallagher At The Royal Albert Hall

Below are a number of videos from yesterdays Noel Gallagher's concert at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer trust.

Video: Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon And Paul Weller Play 'Tender'

The video below is of Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon And Paul Weller playing Blur's 'Tender' at yesterdays Teenage Cancer Trust concert in London.

 

Setlist: Noel Gallagher At The Teenage Cancer Trust Concert

Below is the setlist for Noel Gallagher at the Albert Hall yesterday.

Thanks to Sandra

Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon And Paul Weller Play Blur's Tender Live

Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn put two decades of Britpop animosity behind them tonight (March 23), when they performed together at London's Royal Albert Hall for a Teenage Cancer Trust gig.

Former Oasis man Gallagher once famously claimed that he wished Blur's Albarn would "get AIDS and die", while Albarn had retorted: "I can't make up with Noel. Britpop would be over and heaven forbid that we'd ever admit we'd all grown up!" But the pair have been meeting up over the past few years, and were happy to pose together at the Brit Awards last month.

And tonight the thawing of their relationship was complete, as Gallagher joined Albarn on stage for a performance of Blur's 'Tender' at around 8:30pm (GMT).

Gallagher has curated this week's series of shows at the grand London venue, and it had long been rumoured that he was set to collaborate with his former rock rival. But tonight's joint performance still drew surprise from the audience at the sold-out show, as Albarn started saying "Noel? Noel?" during his scheduled performance with Blur bandmate Graham Coxon, Paul Weller and American author Michael Horowitz.

Gallagher then emerged to cheers as he played guitar for a performance of Blur's 'Tender' with Albarn on guitar and vocals, Coxon on guitar and vocals and Weller on drums. The ex-Oasis man had joked to NME the night before that he wanted to play 'Tender' with Albarn because it was "easy" to play on guitar.

The night is set to continue with a full set from Gallagher.

Check the next issue of NME, out March 27 for an exclusive interview with Gallagher about the collaboration and pictures from the performance.

Source: www.nme.com

Beady Eye's Andy Bell To DJ In Manchester Later Today

Beady Eye's Andy Bell will be playing a DJ set in London this weekend and Manchester on the 23rd, visit www.thisfeeling.co.uk for more details.



 

Video: Parlour Flames On Soccer AM

Parlour Flames duo Vinny Peculiar and Bonehead joined Max and Helen on the Soccer AM sofa.

Click here to watch the video.

Noel Gallagher To Play At The 'Teenage Cancer Trust' Concerts Later Today

Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon are set to perform at the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at the Royal Albert Hall later today.

Check back later today for all the details.

Parlour Flames Are On Soccer A.M This Morning

Helen Chamberlain and Max Rushden are joined by Bonehead and Vinny Peculiar from Parlour Flames for the nations favourite Saturday morning football show, with regular features and all the latest from the worlds of soccer and showbiz.

Soccer A.M is on this morning at 10am on Sky One (UK Only).

Pretty Green Presents: Parlour Flames

Parlour Flames will play at Pretty Green Manchester on Saturday 20th April at 1pm to celebrate the release of their debut single.

More details of the free event can be found here.

Noel Gallagher And Russell Brand On Xfm - Download The Podcast

He's back! Yes, Russell Brand has ended his exile from radio with a very special show in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. Returning to his old stomping ground of Xfm, Russell is joined by his old team of Noel Gallagher, Matt Morgan, Trevor Lock and poet-in-residence Mr Gee for a special show to raise money for Xfm's fund for Teenage Cancer Trust.

In this very special podcast, you can listen again to the whole broadcast… They discussed many things: Shetland ponies being made to moonwalk, what sort of animal Russell would have sex with, and why Noel's kids battered an effigy of Russell's face.

Also, Noel Fielding dropped by to talk about being drunk at a gig to benefit alcoholics and David Icke confirmed that the Mighty Boosh man was NOT a lizard. Download the podcast right here.

100% minus VAT (83.33%) of the price of this download from www.audible.co.uk will go to Xfm's fund for Teenage Cancer Trust.

Xfm's Fund for Teenage Cancer Trust is an appeal operated by Global Charities, a registered charity in England and Wales (1091657) and Scotland (SC041475).

Source: www.xfm.co.uk

Parlour Flames Are On Soccer A.M This Saturday

Helen Chamberlain and Max Rushden are joined by Bonehead and Vinny Peculiar from Parlour Flames for the nations favourite Saturday morning football show, with regular features and all the latest from the worlds of soccer and showbiz.

Soccer A.M is on Saturday at 10am on Sky One (UK Only).

Russell Brand Takes Aim At Noel Gallagher

Noel Fielding and Russell Brand performed for the Teenage Cancer Trust at London's Royal Albert Hall last night (March 20) as part of a week of special shows organised by Noel Gallagher.

The chaotic show was introduced by the charity's founder Roger Daltrey, after which Fielding and Brand appeared as a double act called The Goth Detectives, inviting audience members to offer up mysteries for them to solve. The show culminated later in the evening with them giving a 'gothmakeover' to an audience member, cutting his hair and draping him in black.

During the show, Noel Gallagher made an appearance to talk about the charity's work. But he was also the brunt of many of Russell Brand's gags. Brand joked about how Gallagher took the mickey out of him "murdering" The Beatles during the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Brand then joked that at least he hadn't "dug up their corpses and made a career of it".

Brand also played a video recorded at Gallagher's house, which showed the singer's children punching a Brand face mask while shouting, "I hate Russell Brand!"

Brand also performed solo for a section of the show, as did Fielding, who performed as Roy Circles, the chocolate finger PE teacher character from his show Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. Comedians Tony Law and Seann Walsh also played sets during the show.

The Teenage Cancer Trust shows continue tonight with Primal Scream. Kasabian play on Friday and Noel, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Gruff Rhys appear on Saturday.

Source: www.nme.com

Noel Gallagher Attends The Opening Of David Bowie's Exhibition In London

Noel Gallagher and Tilda Swinton were among the stars who turned out for the opening night of the David Bowie Is exhibition at London's Victoria And Albert Museum last night (March 20).

A host of stars from the worlds of fashion, TV, film and music turned out to see the exhibition. Tilda Swinton represented the absent David Bowie, having recently starred alongside him in the video for single 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)'. Also in attendance at the V&A were Bill Nighy, Doctor Who actor Matt Smith, Tracey Emin, Pam Hogg, Rosario Dawson, Kaya Scodelario, Nick Grimshaw and Pixie Geldof.

Pre-sale tickets for the show – which opens on Saturday (March 23) – have sold faster than any other exhibit at the museum. A spokesperson for the V&A said that almost 50,000 tickets have already been sold. She said: "We have sold over 47,000 tickets for the exhibition. It is the most pre-sale tickets that we have ever recorded for an exhibition."

The exhibition features 300 Bowie related artefacts, including photographs, film, set designs, handwritten lyrics and 60 stage costumes. Original Ziggy Stardust bodysuits are on display, as are Kansai Yamamoto's Aladdin Sane tour outfits and a Union Jack coat co-designed by Alexander McQueen and Bowie for the cover of 1997's 'Earthling' album. The exhibition runs until August this year.

David Bowie recently went to the top of the UK album chart with his new LP, 'The Next Day'. On Sunday (March 17), the much-anticipated album became Bowie's first Number One in his native Britain since 1993's 'Black Tie White Noise'. It also became the fastest-selling album so far this year, shifting 94,000 copies. Biffy Clyro’s 'Opposites' previously had that title, having sold 71,600 copies during its opening week in January.

Source: www.nme.com

Beady Eye To Play Italian And French Festivals This Summer

Beady Eye will headline Pistoia Blues Festival in Italia on July 6th . Tickets on sale tomorrow via TicketOne.

Beady Eye's participation at Solidays festival was also confirmed on their official festival facebook page. The festival takes place in France from June 28th through June 30th.

Gallery: Russell Brand And Noel Gallagher On Xfm

Russell Brand and Noel Gallagher hosted a special Xfm show in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

Click here to see the pictures.

Limited Edition Pete McKee Gig Poster Signed Noel Gallagher

Artist Pete McKee is once again working in association with Noel Gallagher to create a special, limited-edition poster to celebrate his gig for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall. Noel will headline a very special show on Saturday March 23 featuring performances from special guests including Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon.

The prints are limited to just 50 copies and are signed and numbered by both Noel and Pete. The prints will be available to buy exclusively from petemckee.com at 12pm on Sunday 24 March and limited to one per person.

Pete McKee says ‘It's always an honour to be asked by Noel to produce artwork for his shows and help raise much needed money and awareness for a fantastic charity. The Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at The Royal Albert Hall are now part of rock history and are always special events, so to be a part of that in some small way is a privilege.’

The prints are £120 each and limited to one per customer. All proceeds from the sales will go to Teenage Cancer Trust.