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Noel Gallagher On Oasis David Bowie, The Hillsborough Disaster And More













The older Gallagher hasn't been known to mince words even as a young guitarist and chief songwriter for Oasis, who burst out of Manchester and flipped the world over with the now classic album Definitely Maybe in 1994.

Oasis was never expected to "live forever", and it was a blessing it lasted as long as it did. From the beginning, the band had always been rocked by tumultuous relationships between members, line-up changes and inter-band feuds. The most unstable aspect _ one fans suspected could break the band up at any minute _ was be the everlasting rift between Noel Gallagher and his younger brother Liam.

The band's split finally came roughly two years ago, much to fans' chagrin but not surprise. Now Noel busies himself with his solo career, under the guise of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, while Liam has gone on to form Beady Eye with two other former members of Oasis. Reportedly, the brothers are still not on speaking terms.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds was in Bangkok last Thursday as a part of his Asian tour for the self-titled debut album.

As part of a Britpop royal family, Gallagher is known for many things especially his signature snappy retorts. As a round-table selection of journalists waited for him, the slight fear among the group was permeated by mutual excitement. But to much relief, Gallagher breezed in without fuss, shook hands with everyone and answered each question with moderate enthusiasm.

Slightly shorter and sunnier than expected, Gallagher has aged well in comparison to his peers. At 45, he manages to keep the boyish, roughish charm that he's been associated with for over two decades as well as the blunt manner in which he chooses to voice his opinions.

How are you today?

I'm not too well. It's just fatigue. I've been on the road for far too long now. It's catching up with me. I don't sleep really well. I don't eat very well. I drink and smoke too much. I think my body is saying enough. I've actually slowed down a bit. I don't mind the heat. The travelling is the main thing. Jet lag and all. But I'm not complaining. It's a great job.

Tonight will be your third time playing in Thailand, do you see any difference?

I've been to Thailand many times for vacations. I guess people are quite... they seem to be a lot more free spirited. A lot looser in Thailand. There don't seem to be as many rules in Thailand as in other Asian countries. I don't think there are any rules in Thailand, are there?

There might be one or two, actually. Well, now that you're a solo artist, how does it compare to being in a band?

Very different. I love being in a band. I've been lucky to be in such a great band. I feel lucky to come out of that, and to be accepted immediately as a solo artist, you know what I mean. Not many people do that. I like them both. I've been a solo artist for like two years now. I don't think I could ever go back to being in a band because there are too many compromises that you have to make. Once you've kinda done it on your own, and do your own things, it's different.

I don't get along with them, you know what I mean. I don't miss the other boys at all.

So you don't take input from the High Flying Birds? When I make the record, I make it on my own. None of them played on [this] record, apart from two of them. No, I don't ask for advice. Being in a band for 20 years, and [having] stepped outside of that, then to ask for advice, I think that's a bit weird. [If I did that], I might as well be in a band.

What's the difference between Oasis and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds?

Oasis was big and successful. This is not as big or as successful. Oasis has a lot of history. People grew up with that band.

Musically?

When I write songs now, I get to play all the instruments. In Oasis, it's like Liam had to be the singer, Gem had to play the other guitar, Andy has to be the bass player. So we shared, and sometimes I felt that wasn't working. With this, I can play what I want. And if I don't want to play on the records, I get someone else to do it. Musically, it's completely different.

Out of all your compositions, what would you consider your all time classic?

I can't really answer that question. Some songs of mine, people really (f******) love. You know, like Wonderwall. I don't really like it. Well, I like it, but it's just okay, you know what I mean. Some songs that I really like, like Part Of The Queue, you know that one? Well, I love that track, but no one else seems to like it. It's really all about what other people think. If somebody said to me Wonderwall is your best song, I'm not gonna disagree with them. I just write songs, and put them out there, and if people like it, they like it. If they don't, they don't. What I think about it is irrelevant. I don't listen to my own music at home. I'm forever told off by my fans for putting great songs on B-sides. I don't know what great songs are, you know what I mean. I just write music for a living, you know.

So what music do you currently listen to then?

At the moment, I listen to a lot of David Bowie. Anything really. The way technology is now, you can have an entire record collection on your phone. Everything. Then you just press the button, and stand back. So it plays on random order. That's what I like doing now.

Is it true that you wrote Who Feels Love in Phuket on a beach? If so, will you be writing anything in Thailand again?

That's right. I haven't got a guitar with me this time. They're all on stage. I still write all the time. I start a million songs a week. Every day I start songs. Then I rarely finish them. When I finish a song, it's like a massive celebration. I start so many, I don't know which ones to finish.

Your music videos for this albums are like short films, why?

I don't really get involved with that. I hate being in videos. I'm not an actor, you know what I mean. For these videos, I said to the guys, "I don't want to be in it." Everybody goes, "Oh, you have to be in it." I don't want to be standing [being filmed] playing a guitar. So they wrote this part where I stand staring out the window. Well, I can do that. I don't really get involved. I just turn up, and they tell me to sit in this car and pretend to drive along. I do that, and then I go home. But [these videos] are so beautifully shot. This guy, Mike Bruce, is a fantastic film-maker.

As a football fan, tell us your thoughts on the Hillsborough Disaster (the 1989 crush of fans that killed 96 people).

I was in Manchester, I was watching it on TV. I was horrified then, but even more so now. There was a lot of violence in England at the time. There was a lot of football violence. There was a lot of civil unrest [under] Margaret Thatcher's government and all that. The fact that it happened was terrible and tragic. But what really is more disgraceful is the fact that they covered it up. Now the truth has come out, I hope the families will go after the people who covered it up because that was a disgrace. They not only lied to the nation, and demonised football supporters and also people from Liverpool, they lied about death. It's disgraceful. For that period of time, Margaret Thatcher, I'm afraid, has got a lot to answer for.

Any new bands/artists you would recommend?

There's a guy from England called Jake Bugg, a solo artist. Sounds a bit like Donovan or Bob Dylan. He's only 17. He's great. As for bands, not really. There hasn't been a band since Kasabian really where I've gone "wow". British guitar music is on its knees at the moment. There's a band called The Vaccines. They're alright. Nice lads.

Source: www.bangkokpost.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.

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