Noel Gallagher has spoken to Radio X about his thoughts on the Manchester terrorist attack.
Speaking to John Kennedy as part of an interview about his career to be aired in full this Sunday at 8pm, Gallagher claimed the news had rendered him “speechless”.
22 people - many of them children - had been killed following a concert by US singer Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena on Monday night (22 May).
Noel explained: “I put on the radio [that morning] and of course you hear what’s happened and you know… it takes a while.
“Having played that arena and all that and stood in that foyer, and being from Manchester… It dawns on you that it’s aimed at young music fans.
“I’m saying that there are no words but there ARE words. But unfortunately, you can’t broadcast those words.
Noel, who hails from the Burnage area of Greater Manchester, went on: “But I suppose Manchester Arena will open again and, yeah, you have to keep going. I mean I don’t know what Ariana Grande is gonna do. I couldn’t imagine that…
Kennedy then asked if Noel felt sympathy for Ariana Grande, the 23-year-old musician who attracts a great many children and teenage fans.
Noel replied: “I don’t know what I would feel or how I would react. You just don’t know.
“I’ve got a teenage daughter, and you know, she may well have been there. But bar a couple of friends of friends who were in hospital and two very close shaves, all the people that I know didn’t get involved in it or weren’t caught up in it.
“But you know, I think this particular atrocity will take quite a while to heal.”
Noel joins a long list of Manchester artists to pay tribute to the city, with his brother Liam Gallagher, The Smiths' Johnny Marr and Courteeners' Liam Fray all sharing their heartfelt condolences.
Noel was talking to Radio X as part of an interview celebrating his 50th Birthday, which will feature a special show broadcast on the Bank Holiday weekend.
What A Life! Noel At 50, which will take a look back at the life and career of Gallagher, with reminiscences about his work with Oasis and his solo albums with the High Flying Birds, will air on Sunday at 8pm on Radio X.
Liam Gallagher feared he was a “has-been” and considered moving to Spain to escape London, the singer admitted today.
The Mancunian star and former Oasis frontman, 44, told of the pressure he faced in recent years dealing with battles over his divorce and child maintenance as well as the break-up of his band Beady Eye.
Speaking before the Manchester bombing, he told ES magazine he began “drinking too much” while living in Hampstead: “I’d open the door and get mithered to death straight away. People going, ‘Oasis, Oasis, Oasis’ in your face, and it’s like you’re in a bad trip.
Skepta has responded to praise to Liam Gallagher, after the former Oasis frontman spoke out for the grime star. Watch our video interview with Skepta above.
NME spoke to the grime hero at the Ivor Novello Awards in London, where he won ‘Songwriter Of The Year’. It has emerged that Gallagher is also a fan, after he tweeted: “Man like Skepta keeping it real. Got to stand for something.”
Responding to the praise, Skepta said: “I feel like the Earth is a re-print of a re-print of a print of a re-print. There are people who take on different objectives and missions in life. When you grow older, there’s a a void – and right now I’m filling a space where a lot of old rock, grime, hip-hop, punk artists left a vacant space. Everything has gone about the internet, everything has gone about the likes, everything has gone about social networking. I still have that…I can’t even put my finger on it, but I still have it.
“I like that these places I’m taking of the people that I respect and these people before me…Of course they’re respecting – they’re in touch. Liam’s in touch, bro. You can see. Not everybody really knows what’s happening. It’s a presence, it’s apparent, I’m here. You can see it in there eyes, you can see it in Bowie’s eyes when he takes a photo, rest in peace. There are so many of them.”
He added: “We get it, and when we see people who get it, we know that they get it as well. I’m happy that I represent that. Thanks to my mum and dad for giving me the right tools of life to get to this point.”
He's had plenty of wild times thanks to his time in Oasis and being one of the Primrose Hill set originals.
But, it would seem that Noel Gallagher hasn't lost his lust for life as his 50th birthday looms, as the former Oasis rocker is hosting a Narcos inspired birthday bash.
Revealing the theme on her Instagram account, the 49-year-old High Flying Birds frontman's wife Sara MacDonald shared an Instagram story with her followers that revealed the theme - showing Noel in a mock-up of the show's poster.
Showcasing the invite to her husband's half-century celebration, the glamorous PR guru revealed that Noel's quite the fan of the show - which in its two series has recounted the true-life tale of Pablo Escobar and the US agents who hunted him down.
Featuring the rocker stood in a pose that mimics the show's own promotional images, Noel is snapped in a cloud of smoke with white powder flying around him.
Titled "NG'S 50th", the card also features the show's tagline, "There's no business like blow business," at the top.
Waggling the card back and forth, Noel's image disappears and is replaced with that of Wagner Moura's Pablo Escobar.
A well known haunt of well known faces, and where to see future next big things in advance, this week's events are in Birmingham, London, Sheffield, Manchester and Leicester.
Visit www.thisfeeling.co.uk for tickets and information on club nights all over the UK.
Liam Gallagher will play in Seoul, Korea on August 22nd at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium.
He will be on the bill with the Foo Fighters and local band The Monotones.
Early bird tickets will be made available online at Melon Ticket (ticket.melon.com or 1899-0042) from noon on May 23 to 9 a.m. on May 24.
Tickets are priced at 110,000 won for standing, general ticket sales will be available at the Melon Ticket from noon on May 24, and the price will be 132,000 won for standing and 132,000 for sitting.
Lyla is a song by the English rock band Oasis. The song was released on May 16th 2005 as the first single from the band's sixth album Don't Believe the Truth.
The song was written by Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who has varyingly described the track as "specifically designed for pogoing", "annoyingly catchy", and the "poppiest thing since Roll with It".
Gallagher says that the song existed in an early form as a song called Sing and dated from the Heathen Chemistry-era. He also says that the title for the final song should have been Smiler, but was changed seeing as guitarist Gem Archer's previous band, Heavy Stereo, also had a song called "Smiler".
Sony's insistence that it should be released as the first single from the album has helped to fuel the tension between the band and their record label, which has led to Oasis not renewing their contract with the record label following the release of Don't Believe the Truth.
Lyla became the band's seventh UK number one when it reached top spot in its first week of release. The song also debuted at #31 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and has reached #19 since then. It is the first Oasis song to appear on any US singles chart since 2000 when Go Let It Out hit number 14 on the Modern Rock chart.
Noel has also joked with the fact that the Lyla in the song is actually the sister of the Sally mentioned in the Oasis single Don't Look Back in Anger. Also, he had said that the song is a "love song", being about Sally Cinnamon's sister.
Originally claiming that he wasn't very fond of the song, Noel has said that Lyla "isn't even the fifth best track on the album". The song had existed as a demo since the early recording sessions for the album but was all but forgotten until practically the last minute. However, on the Lock the Box feature on the Stop the Clocks, Noel admitted that he "didn't realise how good it was until [we] played it live," and admitted he loved the "guitars, the drums, and the vocals" of the song.
Live performances
When performing on the UK music chart show Top of the Pops, Liam, who was forced to mime to the music, made no secret of the fact, walking away from the microphone with his mouth closed mid-way through lines that he was supposedly 'singing'. It would be Liam's last performance on the programme before its demise in late 2006. However, Noel and the rest of the band would return in August 2005 to perform The Importance of Being Idle and later in 2009 to perform their last ever released single Falling Down.
Lyla was covered by the Foo Fighters during a performance at BBC Studios.
The song is included on Oasis' compilation album Stop the Clocks. It is also included in FIFA 06 as a track.
Track listing
CD RKIDSCD 29
"Lyla" (Noel Gallagher) - 5:12
"Eyeball Tickler" (Gem Archer) - 2:47
"Won't Let You Down" (Liam Gallagher) - 2:48
"Lyla" - 5:14
"Lyla" (demo) - 5:29
"Can You See It Now?" (Documentary) - 9:22
The DVD also contains a hidden piece about new drummer Zak Starkey. The video lasts for 1:16 and is accessed by highlighting the word 'Credits' on the main menu, then pressing right until you see the name Zak appear. Then press 'Play' or 'Enter' to view the video.
Noel Gallagher has been described as a ''chippy bloke'' who shows slight elements of wisdom by Russell Brand.
The 41-year-old comedian has a long list of celebrity pals, including the former Oasis band member, who he believes is a ''normal'' person, and will occasionally show a hint of ''wisdom'' when the air are together.
Speaking to NME magazine about the musician, the 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' actor said: ''Sometimes he's just a normal, quite chippy bloke from Manchester, but t other times you glimpse his wisdom.''
And Russell has revealed musician Morrissey - whose full name is Steven Patrick Morrissey - is ''always obtuse and vague''.
He explained: ''He is his art. I asked him what a bit of 'Now My Heart is Full' meant and he just went mysteriously: 'Oh you know ... the gang.' He's always obtuse and vague.''