Gem Archer And Zak Starkey Team Up For Charity Album

The drummers and bassists behind many classic bands' rhythm sections have reunited for a charity album.

Zak Starkey, who drummed with Oasis on their final two albums ‘Don’t Belive The Truth’ and ‘Dig Out Your Soul’, has formed the band Sshh with singer Sshh Liguz.

Their album ‘Issues’ sees the rhythm sections of many musicians play together to back the duo as they cover a host of classic songs.

These include Amy Winehouse’s bassist Dale Davis and drummer Nathan Allen play on a cover of ‘Back To Black’, while Starkey’s former Oasis bandmate Gem Archer plays guitar on a cover of The Small Faces’ 1966 song ‘Tin Soldier’, alongside their drummer Kenny Jones and The Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock.

The album's first single 'Problems' is a cover of The Sex Pistols featuring Matlock and Pistols drummer Paul Cook.

‘Issues’, out later this year, also features members of Primal Scream, Marilyn Manson, Blondie, The Pretenders, Mott The Hoople and The Ruts.

Starkey, who now plays with The Who, said he learnt more about playing drums from Jones than anyone else in his career – including his father, The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.

Starkey told NME: “Of all the people who’ve taught me drums – Keith Moon, my dad, all of them – Kenney showed me the most. It was just great to play with him. Two Who drummers, past and present, playing at the same time: just one more unprecedented connection in the making of this album.”

Sshh made their live debut at London club The Box this week, watched on by Starr, Klaxons guitarist Jamie Reynolds, Ride guitarist Andy Bell, Adam And The Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni, The Lightning Seeds singer Ian Broudie and producer Youth.

Profits from ‘Issues’ go to Teenage Cancer Trust.

Source; www.nme.com

Liam Gallagher Praises 'Biblical' Oasis Documentary

Liam Gallagher has proclaimed the hotly-anticipated Oasis film coming out later this year 'biblical' after viewing the first cut.

The documentary is being produced by the team behind Oscar-winning biopic Amy, about the late pop star Amy Winehouse , and will chronicle the Britpop band's astronomical rise to fame through reams of archive footage - much of it unseen until now.

Liam appeared wistful for the old days as he tweeted: "Just seen the 1st cut of the OASIS film BIBLICAL what ever happened to my ROCKNROLL LG x."

Filmmakers are said to have been given unprecedented access to the band for the project, with Burnage-born brothers Liam and Noel both offering their insight in candid interviews.

Manchester music fans will have seen director Mat Whitecross's handiwork before in his 2012 film Spike Island, about the Stone Roses' legendary 1990 gig of the same name. He also directed Ian Drury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll in 2010.

Titled Oasis - The Rock 'N' Roll Band That Defined A Generation, the new film is set to be released in cinemas later this year.

Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher is back in the studio to work on his new High Flying Birds album. He posted on his Instragram account: 'That's me done for a while now. I'm back in the studio. See you in The USA.'

Source: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Noel Gallagher On The Oasis Documentary, Amy Winehouse Eminem And More

Below is an interview with Noel Gallagher talks about the new Oasis documentary, Amy Winehouse, Eminem and more.


Thanks to Oasisnotizie

Oasis Slane Material Sought By Documentary Makers

A documentary team is looking for footage from the appearance of band Oasis at Slane in 1995.

The authorised feature documentary will chart the rise of Oasis from their beginnings in the basement of the Boardwalk to their landmark concerts at Knebworth in 1996.

Archive researcher Hannah Green says: "We are currently looking for any footage or photographs of the band's 1995 concert at Slane Castle where REM were also on the bill. We are ideally after shots taken backstage or whilst the band were trying to exit the venue - their van got caught in the crowd.

"Equally as helpful would be any articles covering the gig. The team behind this film includes the producers of Amy, Senna, Spike Island and is being directed by Mat Whitecross (Spike Island and Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll). My role on the film is finding the masses of archive footage and photos that we need to tell the story.

"Even if people don't have shots of Oasis, any photos or footage of the crush of people leaving the venue from any gig (ideally around 1995) would be incredibly useful!"

Material can be emailed to Hannah at  hannah.oasisfilm@gmail.com

Source: www.meathchronicle.ie

Early TV Appearance Wanted By The Makers Of A New Oasis Documentary

Time to rummage through the VHS collection and photos to see if you captured this long forgotten first TV appearance of Oasis before they became the biggest British band of their generation.

Makers of a new Oasis documentary sanctioned by Noel and Liam Gallagher are seeking what is thought to be the band's first TV appearance - as part of an ITV Telethon in 1992.

The broadcast, which took place on July 19 and was hosted by Michael Aspel, took place outside Granada Studios, and Oasis are believed to have played as part of the Blackpool Roadshow event organised by Granada TV.

No one is quite sure if the Oasis' set was broadcast, but the band has spoken in interviews about taking part in the telethon. Researchers for the biopic are also after still pictures or sound recordings that anyone in the audience might have taken.

The telethon, which brought all the regional ITV channels together, raised £15m for UK charities. The appearance is often incorrectly cited as being part of ITV's comedy-based fundraiser Comic Relief, or Red Nose Day, in 1993.

Makers of feature documentary Oasis - The Rock ’N’ Roll Band That Defined A Generation are asking people to look through their old VHS tapes and photo collections to see if they have captured the moment Oasis played almost a year before they were famously signed by Creation Records boss Alan McGee, at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow on May 31, 1993.

The Mat Whitecross feature documentary, which will be released to cinemas in 2016, is produced by James Gay Rees (Senna/Amy), Fiona Neilson (Spike Island), and Simon Halfon (Sleuth), with executive producer Asif Kapadia (Senna/Amy).

Oasis - The Rock ’N’ Roll Band That Defined A Generation is entirely made up of archive material and though the band do not appear on screen they and their former management have been interviewed about this formative period. The band's record label, Big Brother Recordings, has granted the film makers access to their archives.

It will chart their rise to fame which began when their first album, Definitely Maybe, became the fastest selling debut album in British history to date on its release in 1994.

During the height of their fame, Oasis landed eight UK number one singles - including Wonderwall, Don't Look Back In Anger, and Roll With It - and eight UK number one albums before their acrimonious split in 2009.

The documentary follows their story up to Oasis's two-night residency at Knebworth in 1996, when the group played to 250,000 fans, and hopes to paint a picture of the boys' childhood and the community and city that shaped the Gallaghers.

Despite constant rumours of reunification, Liam and Noel have had successful careers apart since 2009. Liam's band Beady Eye broke up in 2014, while Noel has released two chart topping albums with his solo project Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

The film's team of directors has a long history with making music movies. Whitecross also made the Stone Roses film Spike Island and Ian Dury biopic Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll, while Kapadia and Gay-Rees won acclaim with their Amy Winehouse archive documentary grossing £5.4 million at the box office.

Clips from the ITV Telethon do still exist online, but the Oasis appearance is not among them.

Anyone who thinks they may have unearthed this much needed footage can submit their videos by early January to researcher Hannah Green. All items will be returned, and the directors may pay to use rare footage. Contact Hannah Green on hannah.oasisfilm@gmail.com for mailing details.

Source: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Liam And Noel Gallagher Both Agree To Take Part In Oasis Documentary

Noel and Liam Gallagher have had their fair share of problems in the past. Well just one problem really – they hate each other.

But things are looking up. According to The Guardian, the brothers have both agreed to take part in an upcoming Oasis documentary, “sharing their favourite memories and offering their insight in interviews."

So maybe they’re ready to kiss and make-up? They’re bound to bump into each other at the wrap party, right?

James Gay-Rees of production company On The Corner and director Asif Kapadia are the guys behind the recent Amy Winehouse film, and will be creating the Oasis documentary, which will chart the Britpop band right from their early days.

Asif will act as executive-director on the film with Mat Whitecross to direct. Mat has directed a number of Coldplay videos and 2012's Spike Island.

They are said to have been given "unprecedented" access to the band and unseen archive footage.

Screen Daily reports that Independent Film Sales will launch the film at industry event, AFM, which takes place between 4 – 11 November.

Andrew Orr, managing director at Independent, commented, "Oasis are without doubt one of the classic British rock bands, selling 70million albums worldwide and defining the sound of a whole era.

“At its heart are Liam and Noel Gallagher, two of the finest rock ‘n’ roll stars this country has ever produced. Mat’s sensibility and style are going to provide the perfect complement to this tale of the rise of one of the great rock ’n’ roll bands."

Source: www.express.co.uk

Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.

Noel Gallagher, The Stone Roses And Royal Blood Among Best-Selling Vinyl Albums Of 2015

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' latest album 'Chasing Yesterday' is the biggest-selling vinyl album of 2015 so far.

The Official Charts Company has unveiled a list of the Top 40 vinyl albums of the year, with Gallagher's second post-Oasis LP, released in February, beating the likes of The Stone Roses, Royal Blood, Led Zeppelin and Arctic Monkeys to the top spot.

As well as 'Chasing Yesterday', among the Top 10 only two other albums were released this year: Blur's 'The Magic Whip' and Jamie xx's 'In Colour'.

Other records, such as The Stone Roses' eponymous debut and Led Zeppelin’s 1975 album 'Physical Graffiti', were recently reissued.

Outside the Top 10, new albums from Muse, Sufjan Stevens, Foals and The War On Drugs fill the top 20, while Tame Impala, Florence + The Machine, Wolf Alice and more feature elsewhere in the Top 40.

See the full Top 10 below. View a full list of the Top 40 vinyl albums of the year so far here.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - 'Chasing Yesterday'
The Stone Roses - 'The Stone Roses'
Royal Blood - 'Royal Blood'
Led Zeppelin - 'Physical Graffiti'
Arctic Monkeys - 'AM'
Pink Floyd - 'The Dark Side Of The Moon'
Amy Winehouse - 'Back To Black'
Blur - 'The Magic Whip'
Jamie xx - 'In Colour'
Ed Sheeran - 'X'

Source: www.nme.com

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Andy Bell's Ride To Play Intimate Show For War Child

Ride, Bastille and Duran Duran will play intimate shows to benefit the international charity in the tenth year of its fundraising Passport:Back To The Bars shows.

Acts like The Cure, Amy Winehouse and Elbow have played War Child's Passport:Back To The Bars shows in the past, and now the first acts of the 2015 line-up have been announced.

Andy Bell and Mark Gardener from reunited shoegaze band Ride will play an acoustic set for a small group of fans, in the run-up to the group's sold-out series of shows in the summer.

Bastille have also been confirmed for the bill, while 1980s popstars Duran Duran will also do a show in the capital in aid of the charity.

The shows will take place in Manchester and London, in small venues of no more than 300 people. Further acts and details will be announced early in January.

Duran Duran’s John Taylor said: “Thousands of children...are often being denied education and other basic human rights. We are looking forward to performing an exclusive event in London this coming February, in support of War Child and the important work they do in the regions where these children are suffering."

You can register for information here .

Source: www.xfm.co.uk

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Russell Brand Would Want A 'Taxidermied Noel Gallagher' On Desert Island

Russell Brand has told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme that if he were to become stranded he'd want a stuffed Noel Gallagher as his luxury item.

When asked by presenter Kirsty Young what item he’d want with him to make his life more bearable, Brand asked: "You can't take a person, can you? I can't take Noel Gallagher as a luxury item, as a minstel?" Young replied: "You could take him stuffed." Brand then said: "That’s the perfect thing. I'd like a taxidermied Noel Gallagher, perhaps somehow misrepresented – like wearing one of Liam’s jackets."

Later he added: "I've got my stuffed Noel Gallagher to worship and dress up, if I want to. I can do what I like to him. It’ll be a mockery of that man on that island."

For his eight musical choices, the comedian and actor picked:

Amy Winehouse – 'You Know I’m No Good'
Daniel Johnston – 'Like A Monkey In A Zoo'
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – 'Red Right Hand'
The Libertines – 'Tell The King'
Ravi Shankar With Family & Friends – 'I Am Missing You'
Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip – 'Thou Shalt Always Kill'
Nirinjan Kaur – 'Triple Mantra'
Morrissey – 'Now My Heart is Full'

Earlier this year, Brand performed with Noel Fielding for the Teenage Cancer Trust Show at London's Royal Albert Hall as part of a week of events organised by Gallagher. During the show, Brand 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!"

Source: www.nme.com

John Lennon Named As NME's Ultimate Icon

Beatles mans beats out David Bowie, Alex Turner and Liam Gallagher to take the crown.

John Lennon has been named as NME's Ultimate Musical Icon of the last 60 years. The Beatles' co-frontman topped the poll, which began with 60 nominees in March of this year, beating out the likes of David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner, Morrissey, Liam Gallagher and Damon Albarn to take the crown.

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher came second in the poll, with David Bowie in third and Alex Turner in fourth. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain came fifth, Amy Winehouse came sixth, with Jimi Hendrix in seventh place. Morrissey ranked in eighth place, with Noel Gallagher in ninth and Ian Curtis in 10th place.

Over 160,000 votes were cast in the poll, which ran for over six months and has taken place to celebrate NME's 60th birthday.

You can read the definitive list of all 60 icons in this week's issue of NME, which is on newsstands tomorrow (September 19) or available digitally.

The Top 10 in the poll to find NME's Ultimate Musical Icon of the last 60 years are as follows:

1. John Lennon
2. Liam Gallagher
3. David Bowie
4. Alex Turner
5. Kurt Cobain
6. Amy Winehouse
7. Jimi Hendrix
8. Morrissey
9. Noel Gallagher
10. Ian Curtis

Source: www.nme.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.

Still Time To Vote For Liam Gallagher As NME's Ultimate NME Icon

Still time to vote, or vote again if you have already....

You've been voting in your thousands but now the search for the ultimate NME icon really hots up.

Liam Gallagher is in the final shortlist with Alex Turner, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Morrissey.

Have your say by voting for ONE of the shortlisted artists here.

Still Time To Vote For Liam Gallagher As NME's Ultimate NME Icon

Still time to vote, or vote again if you have already....

You've been voting in your thousands but now the search for the ultimate NME icon really hots up.

Liam Gallagher is in the final shortlist with Alex Turner, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Morrissey.

Have your say by voting for ONE of the shortlisted artists here.

Still Time To Vote For Liam Gallagher As NME's Ultimate NME Icon

You've been voting in your thousands but now the search for the ultimate NME icon really hots up.

Liam Gallagher is in the final shortlist with Alex Turner, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Morrissey.

Have your say by voting for ONE of the shortlisted artists here.

Vote For Liam Gallagher As NME's Ultimate NME Icon

You've been voting in your thousands but now the search for the ultimate NME icon really hots up.

Liam Gallagher is in the final shortlist with Alex Turner, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Morrissey.

Have your say by voting for ONE of the shortlisted artists here.

Noel Gallagher Features On Recreated Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album Sleeve

British artist Sir Peter Blake has recreated the iconic album sleeve for The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on his 80th birthday.

"It's a cross I bear, it's an albatross I have to deal with," he says.

It is a fairly stark, somewhat surprising admission from Sir Peter Blake, sleeve designer of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.























"What vaguely depresses me still is that I'm known pretty much as 'Peter Blake - who did the cover of Sgt Pepper' when I've done so much else," he says.

"Every so often I manage to forget it but it comes back all the time."

What makes the revelation even more surprising is that Sir Peter has set aside any misgivings he has about his most famous work on the sleeve of arguably the Fab Four's greatest album, to create a new poster reimagining the image to mark both his 80th birthday and designer Wayne Hemingway's Vintage Festival.

Gone are cutouts of actress Marilyn Monroe, comedians Lenny Bruce and WC Fields to be replaced by Amy Winehouse, Kate Moss, artists Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst and musicians Eric Clapton and Noel Gallagher.

Sadly, gone too are The Beatles themselves.

"I don't own the copyright," he explains. "Part of everything that went wrong at the time was that my agent signed away any kind of royalties and the copyright so we had to ask Apple Corps - The Beatles' management - for permission and they didn't want it to be associated with advertising."

Apple Corps have yet to comment on Sir Peter's claims.

Instead, Sir Peter has used what he called "family, friends and icons" on the latest poster. Though he has craftily managed to get round the Beatle-ban by including not one but three McCartneys.

Longtime friend Sir Paul is in there, alongside designer daughter Stella and her sister, photographer Mary.

Alongside the McCartneys are an array of faces - from food, represented by restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King and chefs Delia Smith and Rick Stein, to Kate Moss and Paul Smith from fashion and Noel Gallagher, John Peel and Paul Weller for music.

Late singer Amy Winehouse also gets a nod, Sir Peter fondly recalls his first memorable meeting with her.

"It was after a South Bank Show lunch at the Savoy and we went into the American Bar after the lunch," he says.

"We were thrown out because Jamie Cullum was playing the piano, Amy was singing and we were singing along around the piano and we got chucked out. I really liked her very much and admired her and was very sad at what happened.

"It was memorable to be staggering out with Jamie and Amy," he adds.

From the art world, sculptor Grayson Perry makes an appearance in full drag and contemporaries Emin and Hirst are present.

Sir Peter is quick to defend Hirst from recent criticism, notably by the critic Julian Spalding who questioned the artist's credentials.

"I admire Damien enormously, I think he added a great deal to the excitement of the art world and I think that he is a very interesting artist," he says.

"I think the mistake people make is that they think it's about him making money and it's not that. Money and wealth are often his subject and I think people mistake that for greed which again it isn't.

"I honestly feel that if he suddenly didn't have any money, he'd be perfectly happy to stay in Devon and paint."

Musician Noel Gallagher, who worked with Sir Peter on the Oasis greatest hits album, said he was "very chuffed" to be included in the new work.

"I was lucky enough to go down to his studio," he told the BBC. "We were fans and all the props were still there from the Sgt Pepper photo shoot".

Gallagher added that he had his photo taken with a waxwork of boxer Sonny Liston and "was as starstruck meeting the doll in the jumper that said, 'Welcome the Rolling Stones', as I was when I met Ringo."

"If, for me, The Beatles and the Who and The Kinks and the Stones were the sound of the 60s then Sir Peter's work is the visual representation of that.

"When I look at his pop art stuff, I hear the Beatles. He's as important as the music."

The Vintage Festival which brings together fashion, music and art from the 1920s to the 80s is being held at the Boughton Estate in Northamptonshire on 13-15 July.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Oasis' Definitely Maybe Is One Of Zane Lowe's Masterpieces

From 21 - 24 November 2011, Zane's Masterpieces returns for a sixth season to Radio One to celebrate four great albums and their part in musical history.

Over four consecutive days, Zane - joined by a host of special guests - will pay tribute to these incredible albums and play them out for you in full. This means zero interruptions, no censorship and no talking as the albums are played back exactly as they were meant to be heard, with listeners across the world sharing the moment!

The four albums picked this time are

The Smashing Pumpkins
Siamese Dream
21 Nov 2011

Dizzee Rascal
Boy In Da Corner
22 Nov 2011

Amy Winehouse
Back To Black
23 Nov 2011

Oasis
Definitely Maybe
24 Nov 2011

Noel Gallagher On Liam, Amy Winehouse, Morrissey, John Lydon, The Queen And More

After Oasis ended in a flurry of kung-fu kicks and punches, Noel Gallagher went away and quietly made a solo record, which could just be his finest collection of songs yet. In a revealing interview with Stuart Clark, he talks about new beginnings, making babies, Amy Winehouse, Morrissey, John Lydon, the Queen and that violent night in Paris with Liam.

The Tower Bridge Business Complex in Bermondsey, London SE16 seems an unlikely place for a scurvy rock hack and his faithful snapper companion to be heading, but tucked in among all the industrial units is Backline, the famous rehearsal space where Noel Gallagher is preparing for his first tour at the helm of new outfit The High
Flying Birds.

Walking into reception myself and the boy Keogh are greeted by a sign bearing a bastardisation of the old Hunter S. Thompson quotation, to whit: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. But there is a negative side.”

Ah, the good doctor always did have a way with words. Walking down the corridor to the outside terrace where Mr. Gallagher is holding court, we see evidence of the warren-like building having previously been occupied by Joan Jett, Corine Bailey Rae, Jimmy Page, Robbie Williams, the Manics, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Massive Attack, The Raconteurs, Coldplay, Duffy, Kylie, Amy Winehouse, Rod Stewart, Muse, Paul McCartney and – cue swelling of national pride – Boyzone.

I’ve met Noel on eight or nine previous occasions and, while greeted with a firm handshake and smiley “hello”, he’s not his usual super-ebullient self today.

Maybe the ten-hour stints in the studio are getting to him or he’s worried about what sort of reception his first post-Oasis album, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, is going to get.

Read the full article here.

Source: www.hotpress.com

Ex-Oasis Star Noel Gallagher Talks Narcotics, Ireland, Music And A Troublesome Sibling

He had a bitter split with his brother Liam that saw the end of Oasis in 2009, now Noel Gallagher is back - and he's on top form.

In a wide-ranging interview with Shuffle, Noel talks frankly about his fame, wealth, early drug-taking, being Irish, his new album...and life after Liam.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - as he calls his new band and album (out this weekend) - will play their first ever performance at Dublin's Olympia next Sunday.

"It's a little bit daunting because I've never sung for an hour-and-a-half every night before," he tells me. "I'd been doing Oasis for 20 years, so I knew I was capable of fulfilling my role in that band standing on my head.

"This will be interesting and I'll be nervous going on, but I've never had stage fright. I know I can do it and I've got a great advantage over most people - I've got f**king great songs to play. And people know my voice, so half the battle is already won."

Will he miss Liam on stage?

"I don't think about it.That was then and this is now," he responds.

Noel walked out on Oasis after a furious row with Liam before a Paris show in 2009. The gig was cancelled and it was the end of the road for the iconic British band who played Slane twice.

"I hadn't had enough of Oasis, I'd had enough of Liam," Noel says.

Whether playing Slane Castle or the Olympia, it's all the same to Noel.

"My lounge is bigger than the Olympia and it's the smallest gig I've done in 15 years, but I don't really think about it as being a big or a small venue," he muses.

His father, Tommy, and mother, Peggy, are from Meath and Mayo respectively - but Noel doesn't flaunt his Irish roots.

"There is no English blood in me, but I don't need to be wearing the green, white and gold on St Patrick's Day to prove it to anyone," he says.

"I spent summers in Ireland all through the '70s and most of the '80s, bringing in the hay with my uncles in Charlestown in Mayo. I loved it and every time I go back it just feels natural to be there."

Since those simple times in Ireland, Noel has gone on to become a British rock legend...and a multi-millionaire.

"I didn't go crazy with it (success and money) and I'll tell you why: it's because I wasn't ashamed of it," he says.

"Some people get ashamed of earning money and being successful. I look at it this way: I worked hard for it. I didn't win the pools. Everything I've ever had I've earned. F**k me, I was going to enjoy it when I got it, make no mistake about that.

"But I've never been flash. I spent a lot on drugs, though, in the early days," he says almost in a whisper."Yeah, I spent a lot of money on drugs."

Is that a regret?

"Not really, it was f**kin' great," he responds without a hint of humour.

"It's not something I would pass on to my children, mind. But I have to say I don't look back at that period and think, 'I was at my lowest
and weakest then'.They were f**kin' great times believe you me.

"But there comes a point where you got to realise that this can't go on forever because then you end up like Pete Doherty or Amy Winehouse. I've got a bit too much working class pride for that.

"One day I got up and thought, 'F**k, I'm not doing this anymore'.That was it."

Were the drugs good for his creativity?

"No," Noel says. "I only wrote one album strung out on drugs and that was Be Here Now. I know it's a lot of people's favourite, but it's not mine."

Noel enjoys his notoriety. "Being famous is f**king brilliant and anyone who says otherwise is a weakling," he says.

"My level of fame is not like David Beckham's. I'm not super famous and I don't chase it. I still get public transport in London and I've not been asked for a picture once. I get the Tube every day and people are not arsed."

Noel is proud of his new album. "It will appeal to Oasis fans, but it's not stadium rock," he adds. "If I'm still doing the Olympia in 10 years time I'll know it has gone tits up."

Source: www.sundayworld.com

Noel Gallagher On Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse And His Brother

Noel Gallagher knows that interviews get him in trouble. "I can't help but offend people," he says. "I've got a certain turn of phrase and way with words, that when written down, they look bad. They look fucking bad. But I live with that shit. It's a constant tightrope, but I just walk it every day . . . I'm probably one of the only fucking people you will speak with in the flesh where you don't get a list of things not to talk about."

That is certainly true. During the course of a 30-minute phone interview with the 44-year-old former Oasis guitarist, we talked about his new group Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, the possibility of an Oasis reunion, Radiohead, drugs, Amy Winehouse, Mumford & Sons and a lot more. Earlier this week, we wrote about Gallagher's upcoming album and tour. Here's more from our chat.

What do you think about Radiohead?

They're an odd bunch, aren't they? They've been making the same record since Kid A. But this needs to be said. I don't own any of their records, but every time I've seen them live, they've fucking blown me away. It was like, "Wow, fucking listen to that! How do you fucking make that shit come out of those speakers?" It's fucking amazing. But have I ever had a moment where I fucking sat down and thought, "Do you know what this calls for? This calls for 'Paranoid Android!' Get it on!" No. I've never had that moment. Give me "Mony Mony" or "Runaround Sue." Something you can sing to.

How about Mumford & Sons?

What's the first big song they had? I love that. [Hums "The Cave."] I don't know what the fuck it's called. I haven't heard anything that sounds as good as that. I don't mind them. A lot of fucking people hate them in England. I think it's the waistcoat and facial hair. I don't mind them. I think that guy's got a good voice . . . I wish had written that song. That's the biggest compliment I can pay whoever wrote that.

Is there any chance that Oasis will ever reunite?

Liam has said that the idea makes him vomit and it would never happen, so I don't need to add anything to that. I don't need the fucking money, but I think it's a shame that songs like "Champagne Supernova," "Rock and Roll Star," "The Importance of Being Idle" and "The Shock of the Lightning" will never be played again. In a stadium. That kind of fills me with sadness. The money is kind of irrelevant.

There's bands that say, "We don't want to get back together. We'd have to make a new record." Why? Fuck a new record. No one gives a shit about your new record. Play the fucking old ones. The Led Zeppelin guys are like, "There will have to be a new record." Really? Yeah, because that would be fucking great, wouldn't it? Play fucking "Whole Lotta Love." Get over it.

So, you're saying there won't ever be a reunion? Most groups say 'never ever' and then 10 years later, they do it.

I'm saying that the singer has said "Never ever." So we'll leave it at that.

Do you talk to the guys at all?

I speak to Gem and the drummer Chris, but I never really hung out with them anyway. I was more of a loner. They always had their own . . . they always hung out with each other, and their wives and girlfriends are all friends as well.

Do you speak with Liam at all?

No. No.

Do you like the Beady Eye album? Have you heard it?

I haven't sat down and heard it as an album, but I've seen stuff on the telly and I've heard pretty much most of it on the radio. I've obviously not sat down and listened to it as as an album, but I'm aware of all of the songs, and it's all right.

The Kings of Leon are going through a rough patch right now. It's just hard for brothers to be in bands I guess. They canceled their tour and their singer might be going to rehab.

Well, I can't speak for them, but I've never been in a band with people who weren't . . . I mean, I've always had Liam. I'll never know what it's like to be in a band with just guys. I don't know whether or not it's difficult. But people deal with it in different ways. I took a lot of drugs in the 1990s, but it never really got a grip on me like that where I was like, "I fucking need to go to rehab." I'd literally done all the drugs that I'd had. There was none left in London. I'd done them all. And I was like, "Right, well, that fucking was interesting. Okay, we'll I've done that now. Can we buy me a bike?" But people deal with things differently. There's three things that are really hard to deal with: drugs, alcohol and the worst one is success. Because with success comes with a lot of real subtle things that you can't see and you can't feel and you can't talk to and you don't know what they are, but it comes down to pressure pressure pressure pressure pressure pressure pressure.

Do you think that explains Amy Winehouse?

I don't know. I wouldn't like to say. It's got to hit solo artists worse because they're on their own effectively, and she's only a little girl. But success is a fucking weird thing because you suffer so much to get it and when you get it you try to fucking hold onto it for dear life. And it's a fleeting thing, you know what I mean? Add all that and you still have to be creative and all that shit and then drugs and alcohol become involved. It's fucking tough, man. It's hard.

You guys were so young and you got so massively big so quickly.

Yeah, each individual is different. We come from a very tough part of the world. Then I had people following me around with cameras and people sticking dictaphones at me. That was like paradise, if you had fucking seen where I was born and what I had to to through go get there in the first place. That was like, "Fucking bring it on! Give me more. What? I get free drugs?" It was fucking unbelievable! "And free clothes! And what's this check for? You get money! Fuck me, this is unbelievable!" But some people are not cut out for it. Take Keith Richards, for instance. What a fucking pirate. The guy has lived it. Fucking rotten. He's lived it large and he wrote a book about it. Then there's people like Janis Joplin who didn't fucking make it. Success is a weird thing. Not fame so much. Fame is bullshit. But success and how people around you perceive it and how you perceive it.

Source: www.rollingstone.com

Russell Brand's Amy Winehouse Joke Tops Brits List

Russell Brand's gag about the state of Amy Winehouse's liver has been ranked the greatest on-stage quip at the Brit Awards.

Russell, who hosted the show in 2007, famously joked about the boozy singer: "Amy Winehouse - her surname's beginning to sound like a description of her liver."

MySpace users were asked to choose from a shortlist of the most amusing and cringeworthy comments since the event began in 1977.

Russell's gag came ahead of Robbie Williams challenging Liam Gallagher to a punch-up. As he stepped on stage to collect an award in 2000, he said: "Liam, a hundred grand of your money and a hundred grand of my money? We'll get in a ring and we'll have a fight and you can all watch it on TV."

The Gallaghers were involved in a number of the most memorable lines, with Liam ranked third for his 1996 remark at host Chris Evans: "It will take more than Ginger Bollocks to throw us off."

Will Francis, editor of MySpace UK, said: "The Brits are a national institution and millions of us tune in every year, not just to see who wins and who loses but to see who trips up on stage and who gives the wittiest speeches - the best of which linger in the memory long after the ceremony is over."

Justin Timberlake was fourth in the poll with his 2004 quip: "This is only my first record so you guys stick with me, we've got depression and drug addiction to go through."

In fifth was Bjork's bizarre 1998 comment "I am a grateful grapefruit".

Source: The Press Association

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