Oasis: New Interviews & Promo

More Aussie interviews

2006-12-17T20:24:00.000+01:00

Online Link (Sydney Morning Herald)

Noel Gallagher is his own worst critic and biggest fan, he tells Bernard Zuel.

There is not a lot of Noel Gallagher under that mop of Beatles-gone-shaggy hair which, since Gallagher and his brother, Liam, arrived in the early 1990s with their band Oasis, has been the do of choice for a generation of British rockers.

Slimly built, of barely average height and no fan of the gym, he is not made for any kind of fighting, though he is famous for rucking with his brother and inciting all kinds of passion and aggression in friends and foe alike.

You could say Noel Gallagher is all mouth and trousers - faded black ones tonight in Melbourne, worn with a dark brown pinstriped jacket. You could add he's a walking opinion who shovelled too much Colombian up his nose for a few years, a mouthy git and an egomaniac whose best years were a decade ago. He'd almost certainly agree.

"All the bad things that have been written about me, I've thought worse of myself; all the great things that have been written about me, I've thought better than them," Gallagher says equably, rocking back and forth on his tilted chair with the relaxed air of the lord of the manor.
"I'm my own worst critic and my own biggest fan."

He laughs, his eyes lighting up with amusement under the shag. "I seriously am a big fan of myself."

And there you have the conundrum of Noel Gallagher. He is a man who is verging on the insufferable but simultaneously charming and amusing. A man whose band has been bombastic and dull very often but whose best moments have always been the small and personal. A man whose Australian tours with that band have been patchy at best but who later on the day of our interview plays a wholly captivating solo set, at the renovated church home to the Live at the Chapel series, backed only by a guitarist and a drummer playing snare and bells.

"On the one hand, I don't actually think as a person, if you were to take away my songwriting, I am anything special. But luckily for me, I'm a f---ing awesome songwriter. And," Gallagher smiles broadly, daring you to take offence, "that makes me more f---ing special than [other modern songwriters], all right?"

Well, you are mouthier than the rest, I can't help but add.

"I guess, I guess. I certainly don't censor myself but I know for a fact that most of my peers, before you get to interview them, you are handed a list of what you can and can't ask. Ask me anything, anything, I've got an opinion on most things.

"However ill-informed my opinion is," he chuckles, "at least I've got one."

You couldn't ask for a better example of this truth than the recent brouhaha over Gallagher's comments to a London tabloid about Iraq, which incensed all the usual suspects. Essentially he said the war was messier for the Iraqis than the soldiers who had signed up for battle and that's where his sympathies lay.

"If you've got a problem with flying bullets, here's the thing - and call me old-fashioned - don't join the f---ing army. The way I see it, if f---ing idiots didn't join the army, there would be no war because there would be no soldiers, hence the world being a better place."

He pauses and says, his thick Mancunian accent adding an extra layer of self-mockery and self-amusement: "There, my Nobel Peace Prize is on its f---ing way, I think."

Gallagher's comments echo one he made a few years ago, originally directed at Radiohead (the more intellectual, esoteric flipside of British rock in the '90s to Gallagher's Oasis) but applicable to many others who say they hate the attention their careers give them. It boiled down to this for Gallagher: if you don't want to be famous, if you don't want the attention, don't join a rock band and sell records.

He tells a story about being in the supermarket once "when I was doing the shopping with the missus" and he knocked back a request to have a photo taken but the fan persisted, sneaking shots from the next aisle. There were raised voices among the juice bottles and cleaning products and, when Gallagher left, the store's security staff insisted on accompanying him out - not to punish him but to protect the by now seriously embarrassed musician from the stalker fan and his angry mates. It's a small price to pay, he reckons.

The most salient point in that tale, though, is that he does the shopping. Recently he suggested the likes of Elton John and Robbie Williams had lost touch with reality precisely because they never did things like buying groceries.

"He [Elton John] got really upset when I said that but I'm just assuming that a man who wears Versace underpants, spends a hundred grand a year on flowers, doesn't do his own shopping," Gallagher says. "I could be wrong. But I bet he couldn't tell you how much a pint of milk is."

Can Gallagher?

"Well they don't do pints any more, they do litres, but it's 79 pence a litre."

He goes on: "I think doing your own shopping is pretty good therapy. I know all the ladies who work the checkout in the supermarket on my high street and it kind of reminds you that life is pretty shit for some people. It kind of brings you back down to earth a little bit, if one was ever getting ideas above your station."

Did he ever get ideas above his station? Get a bit carried away for a while when the money and adulation rolled in? "Yeah, but you are supposed to get ideas above your station, you are a f---ing rock star, for crying out loud. Of course I did."

Noel Gallagher, rock star, laughs and shakes his shaggy hair. We are amused.

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Online Link (The Courier Mail)

Always quotable, Oasis singer/guitarist Noel Gallagher played a rare solo show in Brisbane last night. Patrick Lion heard the swear jar rattle 17 times in the space of just 14 questions backstage at the Tivoli Theatre.

Q: This is a solo tour to promote Stop The Clocks, your new 'best of' album. What is it like touring by yourself, without the band and particularly your brother Liam?
A: It's a lot calmer and lot more peaceful. Oasis are a big f--king band and there's a lot more people involved with it. There's only six of us on the road here. There's usually about 50-odd so in that respect it's a lot calmer. I've never actually toured without Liam. This is the first time I'm doing it. It's different. Liam would be doing his usual whingeing his f--ken arse off. It would be a pain in the arse if he was here. He doesn't do interviews because no one wants to talk to him anyway. He doesn't like acoustic. In his words: `He's in a f--ken rock `n' roll band'.

Q: What sort of show can we expect tonight?
A: We're doing a cover of The Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever but that won't be a surprise to anyone who has a computer because they no doubt f--ken heard it on the internet. I don't see these sort of shows as nostalgic. The reason I'm doing these gigs is they wanted me to come all the way over here and do the promotion. That's like being on tour without the good bits. My manager said, ``well, what's the good bits?''. I said, ``doing some gigs'' and he said we'd do that then. I'm really enjoying it and being here and the gigs have been great. It's just nice to get out of England. It's just freezing f--ken cold.

Q: You're a big Beatles fan. What do you think of Love, their new remix album done by Sir George Martin and his son Giles?
A: It's f--ken ridiculous. I don't like it and it annoys the shit out of me. I hate everything about it: the cover, the sleeve notes, the way the tunes are mixed and sound. Why would you do that? God forbid that ever happens with our music, although we would be powerless to stop it.

Q: Why didn't you want Stop The Clocks to be released?
A: It wouldn't have been my choice to put it out but I am powerless to stop it (due to their contract with Sony BMG). If we were to disown it, we wouldn't have been involved in the artwork and seeing as we're only going to do one best of we thought it was better to be involved. There's 11 hits not on this one. I'm sure that Sony will be putting together a singles album in the near future. I would if I was them. It would sell. I'm powerless to stop it. There's nothing I can do about that.

Q: You put the track listing together. Would it have been different had Liam done it?
A: You'd have to talk to Liam but he would probably tell you some f--ken crap about it being completely different to what I came up with. It would have been the same. If he wanted to, he would have got involved.

Q: Most of the songs are from the first three years in the mid 1990s. Has Oasis got another big album left in the can?
A: If he could tell you that, young man, I wouldn't be in the f--ken music business, I'd be in the gambling business and I'd make a f--ken fortune.

Q: Apart from them all, what was the best song you've written?
A: It's not for me to say what my best song is but I will tell you what my most important song was. Live Forever because it announced us to the world. Before that we were a very British phenomenon and then after that it kind of exploded. I dare say, that was the first song you heard by Oasis.

Q: You've spoken a lot over the years about who is the biggest band in the world. Who is right now and is that title still important?
A: I think U2 has consistently been in the biggest band in the world over the past 20 years. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Green Day this year, too. It was only important before we were the biggest band in the world (in the mid 90s) because that was something we set out to achieve. As preposterous as that sounded when we were all on the dole in Manchester, and as mad as people thought I was, we got there in the end, albeit briefly for about six months. I've got to say it was a lot of f--ken hard work to get there, to be honest. It's not something I think about now.

Q: Is it harder to hold the title, then?
A: So it would seem (smirks).

Q: Oasis and Brisbane have a bit of a history. In 1998, there was the biffo on the plane flight when Liam was arrested. Then you came back for Livid 2002 just 100 metres around the corner from here and blitzed it. Did you feel you had point to prove after the disappointment, on and off the stage, of 1998?
A: In a way, yes. That Australian tour in 1998 was an aberration. We weren't in the right place mentally. We were all high and taking a lot of f--king drugs at the time. We George Best'd it really. We kind of did have a point to prove but not that that made us play any better because we are a great f--ken band anyway. We wouldn't be going so long if we weren't. There's not been many gigs like that 1998 one.

Q: Robbie Williams is in town, staying at the same hotel as you. Any chance of a reconciliation beer after the gig to smooth over your past differences?
A: Unfortunately he is an alcoholic and doesn't drink. A mineral water? I wouldn't have thought so. There is a bit of history there. I don't like his music. No (I won't be going to the concert and) I shall be flying out tomorrow and going to Sydney.

Q: How hard has it been watching the Ashes cricket series?
A: I find it incredible England lost that last Test in Adelaide. How did they stuff that up? If Australia win the toss in Perth, then it is all over. To be honest I'm not a massive cricket fan, and I find it hard to get excited about a contest over a trophy which is that big (small gesture with fingers). That's just stupid. I'm disappointed for the team because finally we have decent cricketers in Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. Australia are the best cricket team in the world so there is no shame in losing to them.

Q: You had a swipe at our Socceroos a while ago, suggesting they stop trying to win the World Cup because it was pointless? England didn't go to well and neither did Manchester City on the weekend.
A: Don't get me wrong. Don't forget England are f--ken dreadful, too. The Socceroos as a name is f--ken ridiculous. It's like a cartoon for kids. It's just ridiculous. And as for Manchester City, that was lame. All my sporting allegiances are shite. It's a good job I'm brilliant at music otherwise I'd be a miserable old bastard.

Q: But we see the soccer World Cup as the last frontier in world sport to conquer?
A: (Leans back into couch, belly laughing) Win the World Cup? F--king hell. You've got more f--king chance of having a champion skier. F--king hell.

December Australian press interviews

2006-12-12T14:10:00.000+01:00

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=340420

Long gone are the days of cocaine-fuelled drug binges for Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher.

But he's far from mellowed and is still quick to fire up with little provocation.

"I was fuelled on some of the finest cocaine known to man back in the early days so that would make me a little more edgy, shall we say," he said.

"But I am not like that any more.

"I haven't taken any proper big boys drugs for eight and a half years now.

"I am sticking to the ... I won't tell you what I stick to ... but no I haven't taken any proper hard drugs for years now."

Gallagher was in Australia this week, performing a number of acoustic shows with Oasis guitarist Gem Archer.

He's also been promoting the new Oasis album, Stop the Clocks.

Gallagher is quick to point out that it isn't a greatest hits offering - it's a best of.

"Your greatest hits are the hit singles that are most popular ... your best of is what is considered your best work," the Brit said.

"Thereby lies the difference."

The double CD features a selection of what Gallagher considers the band's best work, including such hits as Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova, Don't Look Back in Anger and Morning Glory.

"It could easily have stretched to three CDs, but that doesn't really appeal to me, do you know what I mean?" Gallagher said.

"Three CDs is a bit much, seeing how the Beatles only had two on their best of. It would be taking the piss to have three I think."

Gallagher, 39, put the album together, with little help from brother, Liam, who is also in the band.

"I done all that," he said.

"I get to pick the songs, that is my right as the oldest living member of Oasis."

The Gallagher brothers, famed for their thick Manchester accents and bitter sibling rivalry, burst onto the British music scene more than a decade ago before going on to sell millions of albums worldwide.

Their volatile relationship, fights, drug problems, celebrity relationships - and their prodigious talent for producing catchy pop songs - have filled thousands of news pages around the world.

It seems the brothers are going through a rough patch at the moment.

"We are not on the best of terms," Gallagher said.

"I haven't seen him for a couple of months. I am not interested.

"I am generally not interested because he is generally not doing anything interesting."

They're not fighting though, he said.

"We aren't fighting at the minute ... but there could well be the next time I see him though."

Gallagher has never shied away from saying what he thinks.

He's not a fan of pop musicians, particularly Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Robbie Williams.

He hates the Australian soccer team, but he likes Melbourne rockers Jet.

His acerbic tongue has often gotten Gallagher into trouble, most famously in a 1995 interview when he expressed a wish for Blur's Damon Albarn and Alex James to "catch AIDS and die", a comment which he quickly publicly apologised for.

"I hate Kylie Minogue ... I hate Madonna ... I hate Robbie Williams," he said.

Gallagher doesn't care what is written about him in the press.

In fact, he finds it funny.

"I find that quite amusing," he said.

"It was written once in the newspaper that I was going out with Naomi Campbell. Have you seen Naomi Campbell? Have you seen me? It is preposterous.

"It is like one of the Seven Dwarfs going for it with Snow White - a ridiculous story."

Despite his frequent controversial outbursts, British music news website NME.com once labelled Gallagher the wisest man in rock.

"I have a lot of experience at these things - whether I am wise or not, I don't know," he said.

"It must mean my opinion counts for something I think - does it make me like Yoda then?

"Are you saying I am like a Jedi, cause I can live with that. I am right up for it, light sabres and karate moves, that is my bag mate."

Having completed their six-album deal with Sony Music, Gallagher is keen to take a break because for the first time since 1994, Oasis are without a recording contract.

"We only got back off the Don't Believe The Truth tour in March, that is only seven months ago," he said.

"I don't want to earn any more money just yet - I have got too much."

Brotherly feuds and record label contracts aside, Oasis have enough material to release another album in 2007.

"There is this project going on that will probably take us to spring next year," he said.

"We have got most of our next album already recorded, stuff that was left over from the last one - we could start mixing it tomorrow."

Stop the Clocks is out now.

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Online Link (The Age)

It was literally in a matter of days that Noel Gallagher went from being unable to pay for a round of pints at his local, to receiving a phone call informing him that a £1 million royalty cheque was to be deposited in his bank account.

"With hindsight, they were crazy times," he said in a room upstairs at the Forum Theatre this week where he was preparing for the first of two Melbourne shows. "You suddenly just waste a lot of money on shit, utter rubbish. God knows how much money I've blown on drugs, shit cars I can't drive, and daft houses I've never lived in.

"It takes you ages to get back on an even keel. I went mad with it for a good three and a bit years before I started to come around. You forget who you are."

Gallagher, now 39, is in town as part of a three-month world tour for Oasis' new best-of album, Stop the Clocks. The jaunt has been an outstanding success - tickets sold out in less than an hour.

On this tour, in which Gallagher is accompanied by Oasis guitarist Gem Archer, brother Liam Gallagher is a conspicuous absentee. On stage on Sunday, when a punter inquired of Liam's whereabouts, Noel was typically candid. "He couldn't be with us," he declared. "He was washing his hair . . . Actually, truth is, he couldn't be f---ed."

Offstage, he was a tad more decorous.

"Liam lives in Disneyland, y'know what I mean?" he said. "He's started to carry a man bag, which is very disturbing. Apart from that, he's the usual him. I kind of give him the wide berth. Liam doesn't do acoustic shows or interviews, anyway."

The best-of campaign has hardly lacked controversy. Two weeks ago, a widely reported tirade about troops in Iraq landed Gallagher in hot water with veterans' associations.

"I'm regularly grossly misquoted in the press," he said. "They made it sound like I was saying British soldiers deserved to get shot at. I was talking about soldiers in general in America, and I was just, like, 'If you don't like getting shot at, don't join the army.' "

Gallagher was also bemused by the storm that surrounded his sarcastic remark about the Socceroos.

"All things like that I've said very tongue-in-cheek," he said, with a grin. "But I'm yet to master the art of making my quotes look good in print. My point was, Australians are that good at cricket and rugby, why do you bother about football? Please leave football to the rest of us."

Last night, after a show at Vodafone Live at the Chapel, Gallagher also participated in a Q&A session at the Kino cinema for a screening of the band's new documentary film, Lord Don't Slow Me Down. He will also take in the Ashes Test in Perth.

Gallagher says that after spending more than two years recording and touring their last album Don't Believe the Truth, the band agreed to take a year off. They plan to reconvene in June. Gallagher has spent most of his time in his eight-bedroom mansion in Buckinghamshire. He also took his daughter to Sea World in Florida.

"I took my little daughter to see the killer whale," he said. "She was more underwhelmed than I was."

The band has experienced an odd history in Australia. Due to various internal calamities, the band never made it out here in their mid-1990s heyday. It was a tension-filled, bleary-eyed 1998 tour that introduced Australian fans to the band's live show.

"I wouldn't like to think I'm apologising to the Australian nation," Gallagher says, "but we let ourselves down on that tour. I was here for about a month and was out of it every day. We almost had to start from scratch when we came back again. We've only really had a career here for the last five years. I do like coming here, though."

Next year they will be honoured at the Brit Awards, the UK equivalent of the Grammys.

"We've been gently pushed into all this," he says. "Let's get this out of the way before I'm 40. I don't want to be like Pink Floyd going up there as an old fella. I might as well do it while I can still look good in a leather jacket."

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Online Line (News.com.au)

WANT to know the Ten Commandments of Rock? I can't reveal them to you unless you're a rock star. Oh, all right. Here are a few:

• Thou must wear shades at all times (especially indoors).
• Thou must own at least one black leather jacket.
• Thou must have a taste for the finest wines and the hardest drugs.

These were given to me by that learned older brother in rock, Oasis guitarist-songwriter-everything-man Noel Gallagher, 39.

It's what he tells young bands when they meet him for the first time, he says.

"What, when they come up shaking, going, 'You're, like, the coolest man in the history of all the world.' I just go, (adopts super-cool, calm, God-like voice) 'I know. Stop shaking. What can I do for you?' And they go, 'Please tell us how to be better rock stars!'

"And I say, 'Well, you have to follow the 10 commandments I've set out for myself'. And they go, 'Wow, you're like a Jedi!' And I say, 'Well, yes I am.' "

Australian Oasis fans will share space with the Cool One when he performs at Brisbane's Tivoli with Oasis rhythm guitarist Gem Archer this week.

After more than a decade leading one of Britain's biggest bands, Gallagher can indeed claim Jedi status. He has weathered the storms caused by his tempestuous younger brother, Liam, as well as various musical feuds and the ups and downs of a fickle industry. Somehow, he's managed to stay down-to-earth and funny. British music mag NME dubbed him "the wisest man in rock".

He's on the phone to promote Oasis's new (whisper it) "best of". But didn't Noel say he wasn't going to release one until the band split? What's the story? Oasis are jumping ship from record label SonyBMG. Sony decided to release a "best of" and the band had the choice to be involved or not. So Noel got involved.

He chose the 18 tracks on the collection, entitled Stop the Clocks, which begins with Rock 'n' Roll Star and ends with Don't Look Back in Anger. The other members didn't get a say.

"Well, they're all my songs! I can't have (bassist) Andy Bell telling me that Rocking Chair is better than f---ing Half a World Away."

What about Liam, the band's singer?

"F--- him. He's an idiot," he says, almost to order.

Liam recently turned 34. Noel didn't get him a gift. "We don't have that kind of a relationship. I'm not even interested in how old he is. 'Cos I know deep down he's still acting like a f---ing 14-year-old."

The highlight of his career, Noel says, has been meeting his own idols, such as Paul Weller, Neil Young, Morrissey and Johnny Marr. In his 15 years in the band he's learned "nothing and everything".

"When you start off, it's all magic. To be in a band and 'in the music scene, man', it's all magic. I guess you learn cynicism as you go along. You learn a lot of things that you thought were true, they're not true at all."

So what's a day in the life of a Jedi-cum-rock star like?

"I haven't got like a fireman's pole running down through my house; I don't descend from the heavens into my kitchen in a catsuit and eat breakfast and then go maraud around London and act like a rock star. Underneath it all, we're kind of all the same. I get up in the morning. I eat breakfast. I watch the news. I smoke some cigarettes. I have some tea and the phone will start ringing in the office and they'll tell me what I've got to do today, and if I don't have to do anything, I just go and annoy my girlfriend."

I tell him that Oasis have been nominated for the British Q Magazine Award for Best Act in the World Today. He says: "Well, what can I say? We've won that award quite a few times, so the novelty has worn off."

There will be more Oasis albums. But he's in no rush. He has slowed down, but his ego is as big as ever.

"It was pretty f---ing big to start with, I've got to say. And I have mellowed a great deal and it's still huge."

Would you expect anything less from the Best Band in the World Today? You might like to know that Oasis did win the award.

Noel Gallagher plays the Tivoli, Fortitude Valley, on Tuesday. Stop the Clocks is out now.

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Online Link (Sydney Morning Herald)

When Noel Gallagher was growing up, rock stars didn't come from Manchester. At least not until a band called the Stone Roses emerged in the 1980s.

"I'd always been interested in music, but the idea of what Oasis eventually became came from seeing the Stone Roses live," Gallagher says. "Rock stars then looked different to us. We were normal lads who went to the football, took drugs and hung out on the street. When the Stone Roses came along, they looked like us and made the goal seem nearer."

Oasis, with Noel and brother Liam out front, would become the biggest-selling band in Britain. Twelve years on from their debut, Definitely Maybe, the band are in hiatus. A two-disc best-of, Stop the Clocks, is released this week and Noel Gallagher holds court in his Buckinghamshire home.

After several patchy releases, the band was reinvigorated last year by strong sales and reviews of their sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth. A well-received world tour followed.

Sadly, neither success has served to mend fragile relations between band members. Noel says that with the exception of rhythm guitarist Gem Archer, he has not spoken to any of his bandmates, including brother Liam, since March.

"The minute of the last gig of the tour ends that's me f---ing gone," he says, cheerfully. "I don't speak to any of those geezers. It keeps it interesting for me. I wouldn't want to come back off the road and then go straight back into the studio."

From the band's infancy, the tension between Noel and frontman Liam saw them develop into something of a caricature. There were fearful public shouting matches, fist fights, bust-ups and walk-outs. Noel, 39, who was raised with Liam and elder brother Paul by his mother after their father walked out, is philosophical about their relationship.

"A lot of the negative stuff in this band has been very unnecessary and a lot of it caused by Liam," he says, matter of factly. "He's a very antagonistic young chap."

It was during his mid-1990s songwriting purple patch that he conceived Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory - 27 million copies sold worldwide - and some of the best B-sides recorded in the past 15 years such as Talk Tonight, Acquiesce and The Masterplan.
Gallagher places Talk Tonight among his favorite vocal performances. It was written on Oasis' first American tour in 1994 after a "massive row" with Liam in LA.

"I took all the tour money and a big bag of drugs and went to stay with a young lady friend of mine," he recalls. "I wrote it about brief experiences of running around America for a week. At least something positive came out of it: a great f---ing song."

In spite of the band's inner turmoil, Gallagher still fondly recalls Oasis' early days, so vividly captured in the artwork for Definitely Maybe. The cover was shot in former guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs' front room and captures the band as they were, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and playing guitar.

"The only thing manufactured about that was the drummer was there," Gallagher says. "I'd always be around at Bonehead's house playing guitar. They were f---ing great days. I'd love to relive them, but they really can't be relived."

The mid-1990s saw an embarrassment of musical riches concluded by the release of 1998's cocaine-plastered Be Here Now.

Mercilessly panned on its release, Gallagher considers the album's main flaw was that it wasn't Morning Glory. "But I'd ran out of gas. In hindsight it could have been better, but it's an expression of its time."

Live Forever, a recent documentary featuring the Gallagher brothers at their amusing best, focused on the rise of Oasis and Britpop in general. Gallagher says that those involved (including his former nemesis, Blur leader Damon Albarn) are portrayed "as we are".

"Damon come across how I know him, as a confused individual," he says. "He always wanted to be the man, the voice of that generation, but what he failed to understand is that that's a mantle you can't take yourself, it's given to you."

On Oasis' last Australian tour just under 12 months ago, Noel noted the band had arrived at the end of their contract with Sony, and were not going to re-sign with them. He also suggested his own life had taken a re-signing.

These days Noel uses the services of a personal trainer and the hedonistic lifestyle of the 1990s is a distant memory. So, we have to ask, what's the better high, drugs or stepping out on a stage?

"I'd say being on stage, that's just incredible. Drugs are a very personal and selfish thing; stepping out on stage is a very communal thing that involves you and thousands of people. I'm more about others now," he says, with a knowing chuckle. "I'm not that selfish any more."

"I took all the tour money and a big bag of drugs and went to stay with a young lady friend of mine," he recalls. "I wrote it about brief experiences of running around America for a week. At least something positive came out of it: a great f---ing song."

In spite of the band's inner turmoil, Gallagher still fondly recalls Oasis' early days, so vividly captured in the artwork for Definitely Maybe. The cover was shot in former guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs' front room and captures the band as they were, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and playing guitar.

"The only thing manufactured about that was the drummer was there," Gallagher says. "I'd always be around at Bonehead's house playing guitar. They were f---ing great days. I'd love to relive them, but they really can't be relived."

The mid-1990s saw an embarrassment of musical riches concluded by the release of 1998's cocaine-plastered Be Here Now.

Mercilessly panned on its release, Gallagher considers the album's main flaw was that it wasn't Morning Glory. "But I'd ran out of gas. In hindsight it could have been better, but it's an expression of its time."

Live Forever, a recent documentary featuring the Gallagher brothers at their amusing best, focused on the rise of Oasis and Britpop in general. Gallagher says that those involved (including his former nemesis, Blur leader Damon Albarn) are portrayed "as we are".

"Damon come across how I know him, as a confused individual," he says. "He always wanted to be the man, the voice of that generation, but what he failed to understand is that that's a mantle you can't take yourself, it's given to you."

On Oasis' last Australian tour just under 12 months ago, Noel noted the band had arrived at the end of their contract with Sony, and were not going to re-sign with them. He also suggested his own life had taken a re-signing.

These days Noel uses the services of a personal trainer and the hedonistic lifestyle of the 1990s is a distant memory. So, we have to ask, what's the better high, drugs or stepping out on a stage?

"I'd say being on stage, that's just incredible. Drugs are a very personal and selfish thing; stepping out on stage is a very communal thing that involves you and thousands of people. I'm more about others now," he says, with a knowing chuckle. "I'm not that selfish any more."

The Sun interview Part 2 + News round-up

2006-12-04T23:36:00.000+01:00

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HERE’S the second part of our exclusive in which Sun readers quiz Oasis.

Liam, Noel, Andy and Gem reveal their proudest moments, whether the future of the band lies with Liam or Noel’s songwriting and if the song Stop The Clocks — the title of the new compilation album — will ever surface.

YOU are set to receive the award for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the Brits in February. What has Oasis contributed to the British music scene that other bands haven’t?
SAM LAVIN, Luton
Liam: The music for a start, decent tunes and not comedy music. We brought rock ‘n’ roll vibes back.
Gem: Belief. I remember when we all heard Slide Away and Rock‘n’Roll Star and it was like a revelation. We’ve given bands like Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian a sense of ambition. We showed them it could be done. We came from f*** all to the biggest band in the world in five years. When I drive up to my house in Buckinghamshire I think “Wow, where did it all go right?”

WHAT is your proudest moment since joining Oasis?
GARY BOOTH, by email
Liam: Getting a record deal — someone believing in us to go and see if we were any good.
Gem: Going on tour with my son — he’s ten. And I was very proud because he held his own.
Noel: Hearing “That’s Supersonic by Oasis” on daytime Radio 1 was mindblowing at the time. We get a bit blasé about it now. Making my mam proud, I think. When we first had a single she never really understood what we were up to. My mam is colossal.

LIAM, how do you present a new song to Noel? How critical has he been?
PAUL LEAHY, Ireland
Liam: I don’t present them to him, he just sort of hears them. Even if it’s good he’ll walk out the room. He doesn’t encourage anyone, all he cares about is his f***ing self. He does his thing and I do mine — Gem’s more of an encouragement than Noel.

ANDY and Gem, how nervous were you the first time you played for Noel and Liam? WES GERRARD, Leicester
Andy: There was definitely some nerves going on. Noel called me and said he needed a bass player but I was a guitar player so I had to learn that. But as soon as I walked through the door they were very welcoming and chilled me out.
Gem: I got my nerves out of the way before I even put my guitar in the case. You can’t be nervous or else you price yourself out of the game. I think anticipation is the word.

EVERY Oasis fan knows the existence of the song Stop The Clocks. Noel even said it was the best track he’d ever written. When will we hear it?
MATT ROGERS, Welling
Liam: I don’t think Our Kid can get it right. I don’t think it’s the best he’s written — it’s a tune but not his best. He’s done about four versions but he’s not happy with it so it’s a bit of a nightmare.
Andy: It is an amazing tune. It has quite a heavy theme to it and we’ve had a few goes at it. We’ll get it right one day.
Noel: Every time I write a new song I say it’s the best ever! But it’s not the best thing I’ve ever written. There are about ten different versions and I can’t decide on which one. It’s a good song, the lyrics are great.

WHAT’S your favourite Oasis video?
STEVE SMITH, by email
Liam: I think all our videos are sh*t. It’s not that I don’t like doing them, just that they’re always sh*t.
Noel: The Importance of Being Idle because I’m not in it. I f***ing hate doing videos.

WHAT is the craziest night you have had with another band?
BOBBY CORRIGAN, Paisley
Liam: New York with Kasabian and Jet. It was mental. We were jumping off the bar and just acting like three-year-olds. It was a top night.
Gem: Liam’s birthday in America with Jet and Kasabian. We had a massive party. Half the people there were on acid. We were in the middle of the desert and midgets gave Liam his birthday cake and made up their own midget rap! They were stood on a table, rapping to Liam. It was one of those moments that you join a band for.
Noel: With Kasabian — every night on the American tour we kissed the sky. I’d tour with them the rest of my days. Tom Meighan is a colossal geezer. There are similarities between Tom and Liam, and me and Serge. I love that band. It reminds me of when I first met The Verve.

FOLLOWING Liam’s success as a song writer, does Noel see Oasis’s future in the hands of the younger brother?
JOE BIRCHLEY, Nottingham
Liam: I don’t think I’m a songwriter; I just do what I do. I just do my little thing with my guitar in a room I think it’s the b******s of course but if Noel thinks it’s all right to go on the record then it goes on. I’m not arsed either way because I get my kicks from singing songs. I’d never do my own records as it’s got to be Oasis.
Noel: Maybe yes. He said: “No” because he’s a lightweight but in the studio he’s always giving how good he is. But when it comes down to it he’s a sh** arse. He could carry it but he won’t because he hasn’t got the nerve.

RAZORLIGHT, Kasabian and the Arctic Monkeys all say they wouldn’t be in bands today if it hadn’t been for Oasis. How proud does it make you feel?
KEVIN QUINN, Edinburgh
Liam: It makes me proud when it comes from Kasabian but not f****** Razorlight.
Noel: It makes me proud as I love all those groups and The Coral too.

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I'd like to point you all to an excellent blog with uploads of many of the latest TV and radio performances by the band. http://seethewhiteofmyeyes.blogspot.com/

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Next Monday's show in Melbourne will be streamed live online at http://www.liveatthechapel.com

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Noel's recent interviews for CBCs 'The Hour' are available to view at http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?mode=w&save=1&id=1203

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A new interview with Noel from the Q Awards is in the new issue of Q. In it, Noel reveals the title of another songs from the DBTT sessions, 'Let It Come Down Over Me'.

Oasis 'The Sun' interview + News round-up

2006-11-26T21:46:00.000+01:00

WE asked you to send in YOUR questions for OASIS, and you did – in your thousands.
In an exclusive interview with SFTW, Liam, Noel, Gem and Andy answer what you wanted to know.

In the first part of our chat with the band (the second follows next week) read what they have to say about Oasis members past and present, why they will never tour when they are as old as the Stones and whether Noel will ever make a solo album.

A FEW years ago Noel said Oasis would never release a greatest hits album unless it was the end of the road for the band.
MALCOLM WEARING, Dumfries
Liam: I think you say that when you’re just starting out. We haven’t made the greatest hits — they’re all songs that we made ages ago.I’m proud of it. It’s got some of our best tunes and I wouldn’t have done it unless the record company forced us to do it. I’d rather be involved in it rather than not involved. But I prefer to be doing the new record, to tell the truth.
Noel: We didn’t have to get involved with any of it but we’re never going to do another “best of”. I was trying to be as hardcore as possible but there are about 10 more songs that should have been on there.
Andy: A lot of tunes were left off. My personal favourite would have been Whatever but it was Noel who picked the tunes. This is his baby.
Gem: I would have had Listen Up, D’You Know What I Mean? and Let There Be Love on there. But there you go. I totally understand the way Noel’s done it. It’s not meant to be the box set, it’s meant to run like a good gig — and everyone knows about all the other tunes not on there anyway.

WHY are there no tracks from Be Here Now? Has Noel missed off any tracks, do you think?
TINA HALLADAY, Liverpool
Liam: Yes, I think he’s missed a few. I’d have put on Rockin’ Chair, D’You Know What I Mean? I would have put some off Be Here Now. If he didn’t like the record that much, he shouldn’t have put the f***ing record out in the first place. I don’t know what’s up with him but it’s a top record, man, and I’m proud of it — it’s just a little bit long.
Andy: Noel has purged Be Here Now from his mind — I don’t think he even remembers it. I’d like to play some of the songs live. I tried to get us to rehearse My Big Mouth but Noel doesn’t like these songs as they are all too long and take up two tracks in the set and the same for the “best of”. He probably associates it with a time he doesn’t want to go back to.
Noel: D’You Know What I Mean? was on it right up to the day before it was mastered. But it’s just too long. It upset the flow of the album. When we recorded Be Here Now I thought it was the greatest thing ever but the novelty of that record wore off pretty soon. Andy’s wrong. It was a great period. The money had just come in from Morning Glory so we had become very, very wealthy overnight. Sony had given us a private jet, I was given a Rolls-Royce but, unfortunately, the music suffered. I don’t know why Liam is saying that because, when it comes to playing them live, he won’t sing them!

LIAM, if John Lennon was still alive and you had 24 hours with him, what would you do?
TRACY WHINNETT, St Albans, Herts
Liam: Good f***ing question, man, but I haven’t a clue. I’d freak him out by looking at him, stare him out — but I don’t know. I’d probably b*m him.

ACQUIESCE is a great record. Is it true it was written while the band were on a train – and that the title totally confused Liam?
TANJA BENDER, by email
Liam: I can’t remember, man, I don’t know when it was written as I was too busy having a f***ing good time. Yes, the title did confuse me. It still confuses me — I haven’t got a clue what it means. I’ve never asked Noel what it means either. The less I have to talk to him, the better.
Noel: It was written going to a studio in Wales to record Some Might Say. The train broke down and I was stuck for four hours and I wrote that song. Someone had said “Acquiesce” on the phone and I’d written it down. Liam still doesn’t know what it means. People have the misconception that song is about me and Liam, which annoys me to f***, as the lyrics in the second verse are, “To sing my soul to sleep, And take me back to bed.” It’s absolutely not about me and Our Kid and we’ve never shared a bed — and if I was looking for someone to take me to bed it wouldn’t be Liam!

HOW close did the band ever come to breaking up?
MARTIN MACDONALD, Kidderminster
Liam: Never. We just needed a couple of days off instead of going into another country. I don’t think it’s ever come close really. We’ve had some serious arguments but as you get older you think, nah, f***. Ask Noel.
Noel: The real low point was Barcelona for the Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants tour. In that period we were all drinking a lot and taking drugs.

IS it true Noel wants to make a solo album but never seems to have time. Would Liam let him?
MICHELLE GEMMELL, Ayr
Noel: I’ll do one eventually as life’s too short and none of us is getting any younger. I’d like to make one while I still look good and before I look like Phil Collins, which, eventually, I will. It’s nothing to do with Liam. I’ve got the songs — I could do four solo albums.

LIAM once said he was John Lennon reincarnated. So who does he think Noel could be?
KEV HOLMES, by email
Liam: He’s f***ing Buzz Lightyear.
Noel: Buzz Lightyear? So I’m a superhero, then? Liam is Arthur Mullard.

WITH all the band members that have left over the years, if you had to pick one of them to rejoin Oasis, who would it be?
CLIVE KEARNS, by email
Noel: None of them — and I don’t say that with any malice towards them as they were all f***ing brilliant and I wish they’d never left. But it led to better things.

WHO do you believe is the most talented member of the band?
WAYNE BURTON, Rotherham
Liam: I’d say it’s Noel but we’re all talented in our different ways. He’s good at writing songs and I’m better at singing them. We’re all the same man. If it’s about f***ing looks, then it’s totally me.
Noel: Everyone’s got their own individual talent. Liam’s got many subtle little talents. 99 per cent of them I can’t see but he must be talented as everyone keeps telling me. Gem is a brilliant producer, Andy is a whizz at everything and a great songwriter. Obviously, everyone else will say me.
Andy: We are a band of equals. That’s the feeling that I got when I started to play with this lot. We’re all super good at what we’re doing.
Gem: I think we’re all really talented in different ways but Liam’s voice is an absolute gift from the gods. But I think Andy is the best musician in the band, and Noel’s songs — he’s one of the all-time greats.

WOULD Oasis have ever been as successful if you were all bald?
ENDA BURKE, Galway
Liam: No chance. I wouldn’t go and see a band with a load of bald f***ers. You’ve got to have a barnet or it doesn’t work.
Andy: The hair’s getting a little thinner but we’re stapling it together.
Gem: In my world it goes hand in hand — shoes, guitars, hair. That’s the triangle.
Noel: Absolutely not. The way Liam looks is a big part of it. Back in the day I didn’t look that great as I was too busy getting off my head, Bonehead was bald, Guigs looked like an average man. And shoes are always good as we’re Mancunians. We dress from the feet upwards.

AFTER 12 years at the top, how long do you think you will continue? Will you be like the Rolling Stones or go gracefully?
DARREN MUGFORD, by email
Liam: I dunno. I didn’t join the band to split up. I joined the band because I like being in a band and I like to make music. If the tunes are f***ing good and we all look half-decent, then people will want to buy the records. I still love everything about it. This is what I like doing and it never gets boring. So who knows, man? All those bands that split up after a couple of records, well, they can suck my ****!I love singing Our Kid’s songs and I love doing the gigs. I like the way our band’s perceived and we’ve got the best fans in the world. So why would you not like it? I’ve got nothing in common with other bands — wearing their tight kecks and pointy shoes.
Noel: We just take everything one step at a time. I don’t know how long it will go on. As long as we’re all still into it. I’d say longer after the last tour, as I’ve seen a new generation of Oasis fans.

IF Tony Blair told the Queen to give Noel a knighthood as his parting gesture before stepping down, would you accept it?
RICHARD JONES, Australia
Noel: I’d initially accept it and not turn up. I’m not a big fan of the monarchy.

YOU’VE got one bullet. Who do you shoot, Robbie Williams or Phil Collins?
STEPHEN BAILEY, by email
Noel: It always comes out wrong about Phil. I don’t give a f*** about Phil Collins. I wouldn’t shoot him. I think he’s bit of a knob though. As for Robbie, I’d load the gun for him as he’s eventually going to do it himself as he is a grossly unhappy person.

MORRISSEY used his celebrity to reform the New York Dolls. What about using your power to get The Smiths back together.
CRAIG WELLS, by email
Noel: Well if The Smiths announced a gig anywhere in the world tomorrow I’d be there and the same goes for The Stone Roses. But they properly fell out. As bad as things get in Oasis there’s always this sibling thing that draws us back together or my Mam gets involved. So it’s a pipe dream.

THE Beatles have had their music adapted for Cirque Du Soleil and Queen have had their songs turned into a musical. Any plans for Madferit: The Story Of Oasis?
JAMES, by email
Liam: Nah, I wouldn’t be up for it. Not sure what Noel would say as he’s getting weirder the older he gets — especially as he’s coming up to 40. I bet he’ll have a yellow f***ing Ferrari next, so who knows where his head will be at in a couple of years’ time? But it’s not my cuppa tea. It’s not rock ’n’ roll is it?
Andy: The Cirque De Soleil is a mad one. I’ve heard some of the music and it’s amazing. I’ll see it next time I’m in Vegas.
Gem: I sincerely hope not. I really do. I think it’s an un-Beatles thing to do.
Noel: I bought the album and I had to switch it off. I thought it was ridiculous and I didn’t get it. It was like Stars On 45. A musical? I don’t know. It sounds that f***ing ridiculous that I’m kind of getting into it.

WAS Songbird included just to stop Liam whingeing?
BEN GOULSON, London
Liam: Our Kid put it on! It’s a f***ing tune! And I don’t f***ing whinge. Who asked that? Tell Ben he’ll be whingeing when I take my foot off his head.
Noel: No, because it’s a bona fide good Oasis song and I wish I’d written it as I f***ing love it.

DOES your success and commitment to touring and promotion interfere with your creativity?
GARY STANFORD, by email
Noel: I’d say yes it does. I used to aggressively pursue creativity. Ten years ago if I wasn’t writing a song every day I’d panic. But now I’ve nothing left to prove and I don’t mean that in a defeatist way. The only things I’ve got to prove are to myself. So even if I go four months I don’t stress. I used to chase after my creativity but now I let it find me.

ANDY/GEM, if you could have played on any songs before your time which would they be? Do you ever regret not being a part of Definitely Maybe?
SARAH DYSON, Wigan
Andy: I would’ve liked to have played on all my favourites like Slide Away, Champagne Supernova, Live Forever — all those kind of tunes. But it doesn’t really matter as I play them live now anyway. I don’t have any regrets in life as everything led me to where I am now. When they did Definitely Maybe I was seeing Liam and Noel as we were in the same studios a few weeks apart as I was making Ride’s third album.
Gem: It’s all what it was, what it is. It’s carved in stone. Now they’ve got a different life in my head played live. Champagne Supernova is a different record when I play it live.

DO you envisage a time when the band no longer tour?
BRENDAN FINNEGAN, by email
Liam: I hope not because sitting in the studio all day is great but I’ve got to see people’s reactions. It’s a top day out at an Oasis gig, whether you’re on the stage or in the crowd so why would you want to cut that stuff short?
Andy: Yes I can, well maybe not tour so much. I can look forward to a day when we do tone it down but right now we’re still in our prime and none of us want to stop now.
Gem: No I think you’ve got to tour and that’s why all the great bands, us included, have our fans because we go and play to them. Simple as that.
Noel: Me and Andy look at things more objectively. I’m not going on the road when I’m 50! And it depends on how I look. We’ll still be touring in five years but I don’t ever want to end up like Pink Floyd. Now I f***ing love Pink Floyd but on stage at Live 8, well I’m not going out like that. I want our last photo shoot to look good. I don’t see an end to it yet but we’re not going to be like the Rolling Stones, no f***ing way — all that macrobiotic food and tights? No way.

NOEL and Gem, will you make an acoustic album after your tour?
SIMON MANGERS, Luton
Gem: Who knows? We’ve done loads of stuff, radio sessions and everything so all they need is for someone to put them in a sleeve. It’s weird as everything with Oasis is this rock ’n’ roll lad thing but this shows a really tender and quiet side of us.
Noel: We had a good laugh doing that tour but I wouldn’t like to make it a bigger tour. Doing the acoustic tour I was centre of attention and I’m not sure I like that. It’s weird.

YOU’VE got a docu coming out, but if Hollywood was to make the Oasis film, who would play who?
NEIL RENTON, Edinburgh
Noel: Nobody really looks like Liam and fortunately no one looks like me. We’re pretty unplayable I guess. Rhys Ifans would do a good Liam if he could get the accent right.

WAS it difficult for the band to adjust to being musical celebs?
ALEX MacGREGOR-DEVLIN, by email
Liam: Nah, if people ask for an autograph, sign it and move on. I don’t like it if there’s a load of people mithering me but apart from that it’s not hard.
Andy: I haven’t the same profile as the brothers so I can go down Woolworths, do my shopping and I don’t get bothered.

NOEL featured on the Radio 2 superstar line-up telly advert. Who would you have in your fantasy line-up?
DAVE MYERS, Liverpool
Liam: I wouldn’t have had Sheryl Crow. I would have had Keith Moon for a start. I would have f***ed Our Kid off and got Jimi Hendrix in. Elvis would go and I would have been in there. For backing singers, The Supremes.
Andy: I’d keep Keith Moon on drums, Noel on guitar. I’d get rid of Sheryl Crow and get John Power from The LA’s in and yes, maybe Elvis on vocals.
Noel: I’d go for Reni from the Stone Roses. Lee Mavers from The LA’s singing and playing guitar and me on another guitar. On lead guitar Johnny Marr and on bass Mani.

I SAW Oasis in Colorado and it was amazing. Do they still care about breaking the US?
RICH JONES, Denver
Liam: What’s breaking it? We tour there. I would never want to be that huge that you’re on Oprah. I’d never want to be that big in America as they’re all f***ing weirdos. If it means going out there all the time then I’d rather be big here. The money would be nice but if that’s the only reason, then nah.
Andy: Last time we played Red Rocks, Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden so have we not made it playing those places? I feel like we have, though I feel we should be bigger. Americans would like it if they heard us more on the radio.
Noel: Our US label is conservative, Celine Dion’s on it. They’re ultra-professional and we weren’t bothered about the meet-and-greet side of it but the older I get the more I like going there. It would be great to have a No1 American album but I know what it takes to get that. The reason we didn’t break America wasn’t anything to do with the music — how can it be, our music is f***ing great. A lot of it has to do with mine and Liam’s personalities — they just don’t get it. Our record company never really got us, but I can live with that.

SO, will there be another record?
MARTIN PETERS, Manchester
Liam: We’ve done stuff for the next record. When we recorded the last one, we recorded about 50 tunes and I think there’s an album there definitely. We’ve just got to wait for Our Kid to decide what he wants to do. If he wants to make a new record let’s go. I’m ready to go. If Noel wants to take a f***ing break then I’ll be doing the f***ing record with Gem as I don’t take breaks. He always says: “Our Kid loves the limelight, he can’t relax” Well where were you last week? In Tokyo you f***ing knobhead.
Noel: Is that right Liam? Liam sees things very differently to the rest of us. After The Brits I don’t know. Liam needs to go to anger management classes and get some manners and then maybe we’ll make another record.

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Noel was interviewed over the week on the Ken Bruce show on BBC Radio 2. He was choosing his favourite 10 tracks by other artists and finsihed off by saying a few words about 'Stop The Clocks'. You can listen to the interviews by going to www.bbc.co.uk/radio2

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Noel done an interview and a short acoustic set (Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger) for Italian radio station Radio Deejay. Download the set and interview at AnotherOasis

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Noel's planned acoustic set for MTV Italy on Saturday 25th was postponed to the 30th.

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Liam gave an interview to celebrity gossip magazine 'Now'. Read it here.

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Noel was on Russell Brand's BBC Radio 2 on Saturday night for one of his regular chats. In it he spoke about the big Oasis/Westlife chart battle. Listen to this at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2

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Next week is littered with Noel acoustic broadcasts. On Tuesday is a live video stream of Noel and Gem's Paris show on www.msn.com . On Thursday is their MTV Italy interview and acoustic set. On Friday, Noel will be doing a couple of songs from a BBC Radio 1 listeners living room and on Sunday XFM will be broadcasting Noel and Gem's show in Manchester.

New Noel Australian press interviews + News

2006-11-23T23:49:00.000+01:00

The Age.com

WHEN Noel Gallagher was growing up, rock stars didn't come from Manchester. At least not until a band called the Stone Roses emerged in the 1980s.

"I'd always been interested in music, but the idea of what Oasis eventually became came from seeing the Stone Roses live," Gallagher says. "Rock stars then looked different to us. We were normal lads who went to the football, took drugs and hung out on the street. When the Stone Roses came along, they looked like us and made the goal seem nearer."

Oasis, with Noel and brother Liam out front, would become the biggest-selling band in Britain. Twelve years on from their debut, Definitely Maybe, the band are in hiatus. A two-disc best-of, Stop the Clocks, is released this week and Noel Gallagher holds court in his Buckinghamshire home.

After several patchy releases, the band was reinvigorated last year by strong sales and reviews of their sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth. A well-received world tour followed.
Sadly, neither success has served to mend fragile relations between band members. Noel says that with the exception of rhythm guitarist Gem Archer, he has not spoken to any of his bandmates, including brother Liam, since March.

"The minute of the last gig of the tour ends that's me f---ing gone," he says, cheerfully. "I don't speak to any of those geezers. It keeps it interesting for me. I wouldn't want to come back off the road and then go straight back into the studio."

From the band's infancy, the tension between Noel and frontman Liam saw them develop into something of a caricature. There were fearful public shouting matches, fist fights, bust-ups and walk-outs. Noel, 39, who was raised with Liam and elder brother Paul by his mother after their father walked out, is philosophical about their relationship.

"A lot of the negative stuff in this band has been very unnecessary and a lot of it caused by Liam," he says, matter of factly. "He's a very antagonistic young chap."

It was during his mid-1990s songwriting purple patch that he conceived Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory - 27 million copies sold worldwide - and some of the best B-sides recorded in the past 15 years such as Talk Tonight, Acquiesce and The Masterplan.

Gallagher places Talk Tonight among his favorite vocal performances. It was written on Oasis' first American tour in 1994 after a "massive row" with Liam in LA.

"I took all the tour money and a big bag of drugs and went to stay with a young lady friend of mine," he recalls. "I wrote it about brief experiences of running around America for a week. At least something positive came out of it: a great f---ing song."

In spite of the band's inner turmoil, Gallagher still fondly recalls Oasis' early days, so vividly captured in the artwork for Definitely Maybe. The cover was shot in former guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs' front room and captures the band as they were, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and playing guitar.

"The only thing manufactured about that was the drummer was there," Gallagher says. "I'd always be around at Bonehead's house playing guitar. They were f---ing great days. I'd love to relive them, but they really can't be relived."

The mid-1990s saw an embarrassment of musical riches concluded by the release of 1998's cocaine-plastered Be Here Now.

Mercilessly panned on its release, Gallagher considers the album's main flaw was that it wasn't Morning Glory. "But I'd ran out of gas. In hindsight it could have been better, but it's an expression of its time."

Live Forever, a recent documentary featuring the Gallagher brothers at their amusing best, focused on the rise of Oasis and Britpop in general. Gallagher says that those involved (including his former nemesis, Blur leader Damon Albarn) are portrayed "as we are".

"Damon come across how I know him, as a confused individual," he says. "He always wanted to be the man, the voice of that generation, but what he failed to understand is that that's a mantle you can't take yourself, it's given to you."

On Oasis' last Australian tour just under 12 months ago, Noel noted the band had arrived at the end of their contract with Sony, and were not going to re-sign with them. He also suggested his own life had taken a re-signing.

These days Noel uses the services of a personal trainer and the hedonistic lifestyle of the 1990s is a distant memory. So, we have to ask, what's the better high, drugs or stepping out on a stage?

"I'd say being on stage, that's just incredible. Drugs are a very personal and selfish thing; stepping out on stage is a very communal thing that involves you and thousands of people. I'm more about others now," he says, with a knowing chuckle. "I'm not that selfish any more."

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Adelaide Now

Noel Gallagher isn't backward in sharing his opinions about, well, everything. Here's what's been on his mind.

We're talking about the new best-of Stop the Clocks. Have you got a favourite Oasis song?
Not really a favourite, no. If I was to pick one I was to listen to right this very second it would be either The Importance of Being Idle or Supersonic.

Have you got a song then that you think is the best song you've written?
You can't . . . I don't think you can really say that. Fifty million people would say Wonderwall, I would say Live Forever but then again Liam would say something else. It's all opinion and conjecture, isn't it.

When you write a song like Wonderwall or Supersonic do you have that feeling once you get to the end of it, `Yeah, that's pretty good'?
I did with Live Forever. Supersonic was done in such a rush I still . . . when I listen to that song now I still think it's amazing. The Importance of Being Idle, when I finished that I thought it was amazing. I went out and celebrated that night.

You can feel it?
I've written many, many great songs, obviously but I've also written a few stinkers, you know what I mean so when the good ones come along I know. Some of the songs take you by suprise. Some songs you write and you think, "Hmm, that's alright'" and then loads of people go, "Wow, that's amazing." Like Lyla for instance, I thought, `well that's pretty good and then when people heard it they were going, `F***ing hell that's incredible' and I'm like, `Really?'... of course it is, I wrote it.

But that must be part of the fun as well. To take albums on the road and see which songs people really respond to live?
That's all part of the creative process. I've written some things that I thought were monumental and then people have heard it and gone, "Gnah, that's alright". You never quite know. But there certain songs that come along where you go, `F***in' hell. That is fantastic.'

Was it always frustrating that Acquiesce never got onto an album?
Not really. Frustrating for other people. Not me. I never understood what people were, "Oh this should have been a single." Well, why wasn't it then? I don't remember people at the time clambering for it to be a single. It's a great song and all that, but it's not like it's been brushed under the carpet and forgotten about. The cream always rises to the top.

Because a lot of the talk at the minute is going to be about the best-of, is it difficult or interesting for you to start thinking about the early days all over again?
You know it's not difficult because everytime we put an album out people always compare it to Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory so it seems to be I've been talking about the past forever. It's like same sh**, different day for me.

Does it feel then that the best-of might get rid of a bit of that then? Once the best-of is out you will be able to start again.
I don't know. Oasis and particularly Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory had such an impact on people around the world that maybe I wouldn't want people to stop talking about that. I don't know.

The best-of is the end of your contract with Sony BMG. So now you're looking for another record company?
My manager deals with all that kind of thing. We don't have to deal with any of that sh**. Far too complicated for me. I remember looking at a record contract once and it just looked like what I imagine the script for Lord of the Rings would have looked like. I was reading it, going, "What does...? What? What the...? What does that word mean?" It was like one of those scenes from Star Wars where an android is reading out the technical difficulties on one of the space ships in the desert. And you're just like, "I don't know what that means." I thought this is all about making records, isn't it? It's all forthwith and hereforth and I hereby degree that those forsooth, "What?"

So people just need to tell you when to start writing songs and when to book into the studio.
I'm a huge rockstar, point me in the way of the drum riser. That'll do me.

I read an interview where you said the 90 seconds where you walk from the backstage of a stadium to the stage are the best moments you can get.
Walking from the wings to your microphone is an incredible high, and it's an incredible re-affirmation of what you do. It's such a communal... people have said to me, "Well, is it better than drugs?". Well, it is because drugs is a selfish personal thing. If you're taking drugs with a whole lot of people, you can all take the same drug but it effects you in different ways. But when you experience something like that, this very communal thing with 60,000 or 70,000 people it's quite special. It's not something to be taken lightly. If you're going into it thinking it's a f***ing walk in the park...
The more you do it, the more you learn how to handle it. To me, I never used to get nervous, do you know what I mean? I was always a little on edge before going onstage. But now I just love it. It's almost like you can conduct an orchestra when you're up there.
What a lot of people don't understand, when they're starting up, they go, "Oh, I'd be petrified to get up there" and I always say to them, "The thing about it is ... all the people looking at you, they want you to be there. You should never go out on a stage and feel I'm not worthy to be in this stadium. The state of mind you've always got to be in is I'm bigger than this stadium and these people want me to be bigger than this stadium. So even if I don't feel like I'm bigger than this stadium I've got to act like I'm bigger than this stadium or let somebody else do it. I've never understood these wimpy rockstars who get stage fright. Go and get another job then.

When you can command an audience of that size elsewhere in the world, why come to Australia when the reality is you'll only play to 5000-10,000 people when you could be playing to 60,000 elsewhere?
That's a good question ... the weather?
The first time we came to Australia we didn't have a very good time at all, we were in the wrong place mentally and we were all heavily into drugs. It was a f***in' crazy time. We were having a great time but the music and all that suffered so we didn't go back for a while. I guess ever since then ... well, let's put it this way. You speak English. We've kind of got the same cultural references. I can order room service pretty easy in Australia. It gets a bit difficult in Japan. You say, `No, I asked for sugar, man. Not lobster.' That kind of thing.
Australia traditionally has loved it's music, it's rock'n'roll. Who wouldn't want to go there? My very good friend Paul Weller, I keep saying to him, "Everytime I go there, man, they keep asking me when you're going to go there.' And he's like, `Well, it's a bit far isn't it?" And I'm like, "Well, f***ing hell, it's a bit far. They do have airplanes now you know. No-one's requiring you to drive there."

Are you worried about the reception you're going to get next time you come down here after your comments about the Socceroos?
What did I say?

I believe you said, you wanted to "kick Tim Cahill in the bollocks" and that the Socceroos had a "sh*t name."
That's rubbish. Socceroos. That's f****n' nonsense. And explain to me this ... you know Tim Cahill? Everytime he scores a goal he goes and boxes the corner flag, that's ridiculous.

He's being the Boxing Kangaroo.
F***ing boxing Socceroo. What a tit.

It's no different to British players DJing when they score goals.
Yes it is. Well, they're idiots as well. Listen... can you print this? All footballers are f***ing idiots. Start from that rationale. They're all idiots. All of them. They're moronic. They can't dress, they're into shit music, they've got sh*t hairdos, they've got ugly wives and they've got stupid kids.

That's alright then, if you're bagging all footballers.
Oh, totally. I do think Australians are that good at cricket and rugby, what are you playing football for?
You'll never win the world cup. That's for sure. But then neither will England so I don't know what I'm going on about.
England are shit and all. And don't get me wrong, I went to the World Cup in summer and all those English footballers are f***in' knobheads.

Are you going to come out here to catch some of the Ashes?
No, cause I'm kind of busy doing the promotion for this.
It'll be interesting, very, very interesting. You ... you lot have to win it really, don't you? Cause it was bad last time. Old f***ing Glenn McGrath saying you were going to whip us five-nil but it didn't quite turn out like that, did it.
I'm looking forward to that and the Rugby World Cup. It's going to be good man. Do you think you'll win the Rugby World Cup?

I'm from the Southern States so we don't really play Rubgy down here.
Oh really, Do you play boomerangs and all that lot?

We play Australian Rules Football.
* See, now that's f***in' insane. That is insane.

It's a great spectator sport.
It's stupid. Men in really tight shorts and vests, c'mon.

Have you been to a live game?
Are you insane? How would I have been to an Australian Rules ... do you know why it's called Australian Rules?

Because we only play it in Australia.
Because you only f***ing play it in Australia.

What about when you've been out here on tour?
Listen, I'm too busy getting drunk and talking about the Beatles.

You can do that at the football
Nooooo. I'm not having that. That's wrong. That's like saying Sumo wrestling, ain't it brilliant... if you're Japanese it is. It bears no relation to the rest of the planet. It's like baseball. What a load of sh** that is. Each to their own I guess.

No plans to tour here any time soon, then?
I guess when we put a new record out whenever that'll be. It'll be on the map.

Have you started thinking about a new record?
Not really. We only really got back off that tour, it only finished in March. And I don't really need to be hanging out with my brother. Once every three years and only for one year at a time.

You also have another brother Paul, what does he do?
He gets on my nerves, is what he does.

You're the oldest?
No, I'm the middle. Our Paul, what does our Paul do? He keeps the Oasis archive. If you asked him where were the band playing on the 29th of August 1992? He could tell you in an instant. He could even tell you what clothes I was wearing. He's an encyclopedia of all that irrelevant bullsh**. Good lad though.

Thanks for your time, Noel. I think you need to check out a bit of Australian Rules Football next time you're in Australia.
And you need to get a life, love. See you in a bit.

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Noel appeared on BBC Radio 4's 'Front Row' on Wednesday evening talking about the album. You can listen to the show (Noel is first on) by going to www.bbc.co.uk/radio4

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Noel gives an interview to the new issue of American magazine Spin.

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When Noel was in Japan, he gave an interview to the 'School Of Lock!'. Listen to the interview by clicking HERE.

'Stop The Clocks' UK TV advert

2006-11-22T00:09:00.000+01:00

Noel interview for The Sun + XFM live broadcast

2006-11-21T13:33:00.000+01:00

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,4-2006540086,00.html

NOEL GALLAGHER has seen RED over the current mania for all things GREEN. The OASIS legend has given a landmark interview in which he passes judgement on modern Britain, politics, music and the celebrity culture which he despises. Noel gave off enough of his own hot air to bring down the ozone layer in one interview session.

What makes Mancunian Noel most angry is the fad for Green politics and do-gooders trying to save the planet. Guitarist Gallagher, 39, fumed: “Greens are f***ing hippies with no place in the world. “They’ve been telling us for the last 50 years not to use aerosols or the sky’s going to fall in. “Well - you’re the scientists, do something about it. “How do you suggest we get 50million Chinese not to have a fridge? “Or get 700million Americans to stop using their big stupid cars.
“The only way its going to happen is if the sky falls in. “Until is does, these Greens are wasting their time. “I’m glad - because in 50 years time I’ll be dead.”

Finding a rock star with such strong opinions is a rare thing these days. But Noel more than makes up for the rest of them during this exclusive interview to promote Oasis new Greatest Hits album Stop The Clocks. His Green opinions - like all of his thoughts - are more than just hot air. He tries to get a rise with a controversial statement - but then backs it up.

Noel is convinced that even if the world does change for the worse, kids of tomorrow will simply adapt. He explained: “They won't be sitting there going: ‘Dad, you shouldn't have brought me into this world.’ “Kids adapt. “Our parents are horrified about the society we built for ourselves - drugs and sex and drink and rock'n'roll and television. “But to us that's normal. “So - we'll be horrified with what follows. “By the time I'm on my deathbed my daughter ANAIS will be some mental axe-wielding cyber punk lunatic. And I'll be horrified. “I'll be glad to get out of the place! She'll have adapted quite well, I would have thought. “The world in which we live - they always say: we have to leave a safer planet for our children. “Well - I haven't got a car. So I'm doing my bit for the environment. “I walk everywhere. I only live round the corner from Central London and I walk everywhere. “That's my bit. I take public transport and I walk. So I don't clog up the roads with petrol fumes and all that stuff. That's what I'm doing.”

And Noel has utter contempt for celebrities who lock themselves away from the rest of us and refuse to ever get on the bus or just walk. He maintains that he still goes to buy his own groceries - and people like ROBBIE WILLIAMS and ELTON JOHN who don’t, come in for a tongue lashing. Noel said: “If I run out of milk, I go to the supermarket. And I queue up like everybody else. “Can you imagine Elton John queuing up to by milk? “The thing is - these stars like Robbie Williams and Elton John and all the rest of that lot - what are they afraid of? “Are they actually afraid somebody might actually say hello to them in the street? “There ain’t no axe-wielding celebrity murderers out there. It's not like that. “It p*sses me off that they lock themselves off from humanity. “And then you see these people on telly and you wonder why they're a**eholes. “Cause they're surrounded by a**eholes who treat them like they're something special when they're not. “Whereas the likes of me, when I want a taxi I queue up.”

But it does not mean that Noel will always pause to speak to people.In fact he loathes signing autographs. He added: “I don't give a f** about autographs. Just say no! “I take great pleasure in that sometimes. “People think they're slaves to their fans. No. People stop you in the street, sign this - no piss off! “"Could you sign this, please?" No. "Why not?" Cause I'm not in the fu**ing mood, that's why. Dead simple.”

Noel - who has been described as “the wisest man in rock” is on great form. He is celebrating a complete rebirth of Oasis since their last studio album Don’t Believe The Truth. New bands like ARCTIC MONKEYS and KASABIAN honour him as the godfather of modern music. It is now taken as a given that Oasis are the most influential British band of the last 20 years - probably since The Clash or Sex Pistols.And Noel is relishing his new-found status of the elder statesman during the 11th anniversary of his own band.

The former hellraiser has calmed down on all fronts - and relaxed into a life of quiet enjoyment.
He is blissfully happy with his girlfriend SARA MACDONALD - and refuses to do anything he doesn’t enjoy. That includes making music when it doesn’t take his fancy.

He explained: “In the early days if I wasn't writing songs I was in the studio recording songs. If I wasn't in the studio I was rehearsing. I was aggressively being creative. Cause I had goals to achieve. You won't get to be the biggest band in the world sitting on your arse watching telly all day. “Soon as we were the biggest band in the world in 1996/7 I took the foot off the gas. “You can keep re-inventing yourself, like U2 But then - look at the clothes they wear. It's not very graceful. So - I don't get up every day and go, right, pass me the guitar. “I really do enjoy being lazy. “Let me see what I've done this summer. I went to Ibiza for 6 weeks. I went to Miami for 2 weeks. World Cup. Moved house. Went to Republic of Ireland to visit my mother. Been to New York. I just get around. I enjoy doing nothing.”

When Oasis blew up in 1996 at the centre of Britpop they were linked in with the rise of the Labour government. Noel was famously photographed attending a function at No10 Downing Street and shaking Tony Blair’s hand. It is an image he does NOT regret. Noel recalled: “I don't feel any shame about that. The picture's a bit sh*t, cause I have a glass of champagne in my hand. And I was wearing a cheap suit, and that's not f**king like me. But I have no regrets about going. "I was only in my twenties at the time, and I thought - "wants to meet ME? Well, f**ing bring it ON!" And I can't remember the mindset I was in. But looking back now I think I probably would have just been fascinated by it all.”

Noel is no fan of Blair - but he has an interesting take on the Iraq War.Soldiers come in for a bashing from him - for complaining about having to fight. He continued: “Blair made an almighty cock-up about going to war in Iraq. “But when people go on about that it's like they're suggesting that if anybody else had been in power they wouldn't have gone in with the Americans. “Because after WW2 we always have sided with the Americans.“Don't think for one moment David Cameron wouldn't have sent the troops in, or the other guy from the Liberals.

“And another thing annoys me. “You get a million people walking through Hyde Park, "don't send the troops", and all that. “The troops they wanna go, all they want to do is fight! They're soldiers! They're lunatics! They're loving it until they get shot - and then they're claiming compensation. “If you're bothered about getting shot - here's a thing - don't join the Army!”

Despite calming down on the work front - and enjoying life more - one thing has not changed. The relationship between Noel and his singing brother LIAM remains as strained as ever. Noel continued: “The problem with our relationship is that he doesn't like me. “I know that. I can accept that. I actually don't mind that. “And I'm indifferent to him. I'm not bothered what he does, I'm not bothered what he says, I'm not bothered about his music, his haircut or where he lives. “I don't actively go out of my way to antagonise him. He does actively go out of his way to antagonise me. “But I just keep out of his way. I can't be dealing with him, he's just a pain in the a**. “He's got a split personality. He's either got a Messiah complex. When he looks in the mirror he sees the Messiah. “Or he's got a Caesar complex. When he looks in the mirror he sees enemies everywhere. “It's very difficult to deal with a person who thinks he's the centre of the universe one minute and the next minute everybody's out to get him.”

Luckily, despite their differences Oasis are around for the long-term.Noel has compiled the greatest hits to satisfy a contract with Sony Records. But then the band will go it alone - and start a new album which they plan to release themselves on their label Big Brother. Noel explained: “Record labels are places you go and borrow money to make records. We don't need to borrow money any more. That's basically it. “Why take all that money off them, put it in your bank - and then when your record comes out, for every record sold you get 15 Pence. Why not just not take the money and when it comes out, and it sells for £ 15, you get £15 of it. That makes business sense to me.”

Noel hinted that a new studio album will be ready next year. But for now there’s the compilation to look forward to. Stop The Clock features 18 of Oasis’ best tunes - and will be released in the UK on November 20.

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http://www.xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?id=307674

Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer of Oasis will be playing an exclusive Xfm homecoming gig in Manchester this December to be broadcast live across the Xfm Network.

Xfm in association with Virgin Megastores are proud to announce that Noel and Gem will be taking to the stage at The Lowry, Manchester to play this special exclusive set on Sunday 3 December to celebrate the release of their best of album ‘Stop The Clocks’.

With a capacity of just 400, this will be one of the smallest venues Noel has played in a very long time, and a once in a lifetime chance for fans to see the Oasis helmsman play a seriously intimate gig.

Tickets to the one-off show won’t be available through normal ticket outlets or from the venue, and can only be won by tuning in to Xfm London, Xfm Scotland or Xfm Manchester during our special Oasis Day on Friday November 24

Or by signing up to Xfm Plus (if you're not already a member) and going to the competition on the Xfm Plus homepage by clicking here.

Not that we’re blowing our own trumpet here but this is just two weeks after Xfm’s exclusive session with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and just days before Xfm’s charity Christmas extravaganza Xfm’s Winter Wonderland. We’re said it before and we’ll say it again. Damn we’re good to you.

To hear Noel Gallagher and Gem Archer Of Oasis live at the Lowry Quay Theatre, Manchester tune in to Xfm from 6pm on Sunday December 3.

‘Stop The Clocks’ is out on Big Brother / Sony Records on November 20.

New Noel Reuters interview & news-round up

2006-11-20T23:03:00.000+01:00

Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rock icons Oasis release their greatest songs album on Tuesday capturing more than a decade of hits, but the band's main songwriter Noel Gallagher says his best-known tunes are not so great.

For many Oasis fans, three songs -- "Wonderwall," "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Champagne Supernova" from the blockbuster hit 1995 album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" -- were the defining moment for the band.

For Gallagher, the album was overrated.

"Morning Glory, I don't think it's the best-sounding record we have ever done," Gallagher told Reuters in an interview. "Some of the songs are not as great as people think they are."

As for the notion that "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Wonderwall" captured the spirit of British optimism of the mid-1990s, Gallagher puts much of it down to timing.

"There was always going to be one defining British album that came out at that time, it just so happened we put ours out at the right time and the songs, being about hope and love, just struck a chord with people," Gallagher said.

"I don't much like 'Wonderwall,' but the effect that song has on people, I can't deny it," he said. "Great music is in the ear of the beholder."

"I still don't know who this chick Sally is," he said of the heroine of "Don't Look Back in Anger."

"I wrote the thing and I don't know what it means, but for some reason, for (fans) it means the world to them," he said.

"All those lyrics, like 'Champagne Supernova' and that, they were just nonsense ... you can think about those lyrics for the next 500 years and they still won't mean anything."

"BIGGER THAN JESUS"

As Gallagher reviews the 18-song, 2-disc "Stop the Clocks" compilation, he says the band's first album "Definitely Maybe" from 1994 remains his best work.

"People are still hailing it as one of the greatest albums of all time," he said, calling it on a par with the seminal punk opus "Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols."

Absent from the album, which includes some of the band's famed B-sides, is anything from their third effort, 1997's "Be Here Now," when the band came close to imploding under the weight of their own success and a blizzard of cocaine.

"As soon as you get involved in cocaine, it all goes out the window because you think that every note you play on the guitar is ... monumental," Gallagher said.

Now 39, Gallagher is more relaxed that at the height of his fame and drug abuse when he notoriously wished Blur frontman Damon Albarn death by AIDS before later apologising.

"It's shallow," Gallagher said of the life of drugs he gave up in 1998 after a moment of clarity.

"Back in the day, I was prone to making sweeping statements," he said, adding that he has no real regrets. "It was a time for heroes, it wasn't a time for being reserved and concise about our success. We were ... bigger than Jesus."

Now having completed a six-album record deal with Sony Music, Gallagher says he has no plans because for the first time since 1994, Oasis are without a recording contract.

"It's quite a liberating feeling," he said. "I'm sitting back at the minute and saying, 'I couldn't be bothered, I've achieved everything I ever set out to achieve.'"

"But on the other hand, Oasis is such a fantastic thing, you could never walk away from it, ever," he said. "While you still have breath in your lungs and could still stand up and weren't bald, you couldn't walk away from this."

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A new Noel interview also appears in new edition of The Big Issue.

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Noel appear on Radio 2 today on Ken Bruce's show, talking about his favourite songs. You can listen to the show again online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2 . Noel appears roughly 2 hours into the programme. More clips from the interview will be broadcast over the next 5 days on Ken's show.

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Noel also appeared on The Album Chart Show on BBC Radio 2, talking about 'Stop The Clocks'. Again, you can listen to the show online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2

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Noel will be appearing on BBC 2's The Culture Show this Saturday evening, talking about R.S. Lowry, the insepiration behind the new Masterplan promo video.

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Two bonus tracks are being made available on the UK edition of iTunes with 'Stop The Clocks'. These are Columbia (from the 2nd night) and Cast No Shadow (from the 1st night) at Knebworth in August 1996. Both tracks (along with the version of Champagne Supernova from the first night on the STC bonus DVD) have been freshly mixed for the release.

'Stop The Clocks' UK TV teaser advert

2006-11-19T23:23:00.000+01:00

Noel interviews and appearances

2006-11-19T17:31:00.000+01:00

Reminding people that the TV edit of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' will be shown tonight on Channel 4 at 11:50pm. This is followed by a repeat of the 2nd July 2005 City of Manchester Stadium gig.

==
Before then, Noel will be appearing on The South Bank Show (ITV1, 10:45pm) which is about Sir Peter Blake, designer of the 'Stop The Clocks' and the Beatles 'Sgt. Peppers' album sleeves.

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Noel was chatting on the phone to Russell Brand last night on his new BBC Radio 2 radio show. Listen to the show again at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2
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Noel will be on BBC Radio 2 on Monday. On Ken Bruce's show (9:30am - 12:30pm), he'll be choosing his favourite tracks as part of the 'Tracks Of My Years' feature and later on he'll be on The Album Chart Show (7pm - 8pm) chatting to Simon Mayo about 'Stop The Clocks'

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Dates for your diaries: Noel will be on MTV2 UK's Gonzo show next Friday (7pm) for a 2-hour special. You can watch a clip from the interview on the Overdrive player at www.mtv.co.uk .There's also an Oasis appearance on MTV Italy's TRL on Saturday 25th November. The website seems to suggest a live performance as well. Also, him and Gem should be appearing on Gary Crowley's Saturday show on BBC Radio London before the end of the year. More news on that as it comes out.

New interviews and Channel 4 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' trailers

2006-11-18T04:22:00.000+01:00

An Oasis special aired on MTV Brasil the other day which included more footage from that MTV interview with Noel, Liam and Gem that's appeared on here a couple of times.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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Noel also done an interview with mtvU.com recently. The interview is in two parts, one from a normal interview and the second with Noel answering questions sent in by fans. You can view these at http://www.mtvu.com/music/backstage_pass/

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Ahead of the showing of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' this Sunday night., Channel 4 have beeen trailing the film a few times over the last couple of days. Here are three trailers (in DVD quality), which include a bit of footage not yet seen online.

http://www.savefile.com/files/267070
http://www.savefile.com/files/267105
http://www.savefile.com/files/267201

Noel interview for The West Australian

2006-11-16T03:17:00.000+01:00

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=25&ContentID=13284

At the end of 1994, Noel Gallagher was on tour with his band in the United States. The album he’d just written and recorded had gone straight to the No. 1 spot on British charts and was quickly becoming the (then) fastestselling debut album in British history.

But none of that meant much in Los Angeles. He’d just seen his younger brother, Liam, completely mess up a concert, bent on a cocktail of drugs and booze.

Gallagher grabbed his passport, went to the airport and, without telling a soul, boarded a plane for San Francisco. Oasis were over before they’d barely begun.

This was to be the first of many splits, fractures and punch-ups surrounding the enigma that is Oasis, one of the greatest episodes in the celebrated history of rock’n’roll.

Gallagher is enjoying a fairly relaxed day at his luxurious home in Chalfont St Giles, a short drive north of London. It’s been 15 years and more than 50 million album sales since he joined his brother’s band and drove it to the kind of fame and fortune that made instant rock’n’roll folklore.

“I didn’t think that we’d still be sitting here after however long it is discussing the merits of one’s back catalogue,” Gallagher laughs, reflecting on the tumultuous history of Oasis and the release of the band’s greatest hits album, Stop the Clocks.

“It was good to just be getting off the dole, really, and possibly making some money. Taking as much drugs as possible and have a good time. Rock’n’roll is not about making plans or achieving goals and that. It’s about doing what you want. Of course, Liam takes that to the absolute f...ing extreme, but there was no master plan, really.”

With the release of 1994’s debut, Definitely Maybe, there was no going back to the dole line for the five members of Oasis, which included the Gallaghers, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan and Tony McCarroll.

Formed amid the crumbling decay of Thatcherism, for these Mancunians music was the only escape. And they were never going to leave quietly, as Liam so famously stated on the snarling Cigarettes and Alcohol: “Is it worth the aggravation/To find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for/It’s a crazy situation/But all I need are cigarettes and alcohol.”

Six albums later, including an impressive B-sides release, and Oasis have run and crawled rock’s gauntlet. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory created Brit-pop and made them filthy rich, Be Here Now pushed them out of favour with the hostile British music press and last year’s superb Don’t Believe the Truth reinstated them as heroes again.

There have been broken spirits and broken noses, and today Noel and Liam remain the only two original members in the band — and even they are hard pressed to muster any scrap of brotherly love.

“He’s a f...ing little idiot is what he is,” Gallagher says matter-of-factly. “I haven’t seen him for four months but I know wherever he is he is being a f...ing idiot. Genuinely, he doesn’t like me, I tell you that for a fact. And I am indifferent to his idiocy.”

Behind the brawls and tabloid fanfare, Oasis were quite simply a brilliant rock’n’roll group. Noel the pop mastermind, Liam the untameable rock star — together they were unstoppable. And hearing these 18 undeniable hits from Stop the Clocks blast through the stereo back to back is all the proof you need: Rock ’N’ Roll Star, Wonderwall, Slide Away, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Live Forever, Supersonic, Don’t Look Back in Anger and so many more.

“We tell it like it is,” Gallagher suggests of the reason for the band’s continued success. “And I guess people have been through the ups and downs with us, and ultimately there’s some good music in there. It’s real as well; I often see the rock stars on the tele and I think, ‘There’s something intrinsically fake about you’. And you don’t get that with Oasis. Ask me the f...ing question, I won’t tell you any lies.

“I guess the 90s would have been a little less exciting if it wasn’t for us.”

Add the 21st century to that as well. Not only did Oasis make English music exciting again in the 90s, the band’s influence stretched across the oceans and has today manifested itself in the contemporary rock vogue, headed by bands as diverse as Jet and the Killers.

While Gallagher, who turns 40 next May, is happy to accept his fate as rock’s elder statesmen — and says he’s currently working on the next Oasis album, which will see a release “later rather than sooner” — he humbly admits his time as rock’s bad boy genius has passed.

“Fundamentally, rock’n’roll is youth,” he explains, “so once you reach a certain age you cease to be rock’n’roll any more. It’s not about bad behaviour or about living on the edge or wearing a leather jacket or having a drug habit and drinking Jack Daniels all day. All of those things help, right, but it’s about being young.

“Then you get older and you’ve got more baggage and instead of music being the single most important thing in your life, it becomes one of many important things in your life.

“A kid who is 24 and has one electric guitar and a f.....g head full of ideas is far more interesting than someone who is in their 50s with five kids and six houses.”

Couple of new Noel interviews

2006-11-15T22:16:00.000+01:00

News.com.au

AS A twenty-some-thing oik in Manchester, Noel Gallagher remembers using some of the money he had little of to buy Nirvana's In Utero album.One song made his blood boil: the unfortunately prophetic I Hate Myself and I Want to Die.

"I remember thinking 'Here's this f---ing yank who's got everything I want'," Gallagher recalls of Kurt Cobain.

"He was in the biggest band in the world, he's critically acclaimed, revered by fans, he's a f---ing multi-millionaire. That was everything I wanted in life, he had it. And the c--- wants to kill himself. I started thinking, 'How can that be?'."

Gallagher, who had started writing the songs that would become Oasis' seminal debut Definitely Maybe, suddenly got the inspiration to write Live Forever.

The ballad became the band's signature tune, recently voted the best song ever by Q Magazine readers in the UK.

His lyrics became the antidote to Cobain's suicidal misery.

"At the time I had nothing, I was living in a council flat, I had nowt," Gallagher says. "I had one guitar, I could barely pay the rent on the rehearsal room, I didn't have a job but we kept it going. I still loved getting up every day because it was a pleasure to be alive. Live Forever just came out."

Fast forward to 2006 and the twenty-something Gallagher is now a thirty-something multi-millionaire who is the songwriting force behind one of the biggest rock bands in UK history.

He's got everything he thought Kurt Cobain was wasting . . . except Courtney Love. "I'm still working on that," he jokes, "but she won't have it."

Gallagher is on the phone to spruik an album he didn't want to release – Oasis' best of Stop the Clocks. You see, Oasis had left their label Sony BMG in the UK, but the company were going to release the album regardless, so Gallagher stepped in to, as he puts it, stop it being sh--.

"They're within their rights to do one," he says, "We got wind they were going to do one so we figured it's best to be involved, choose the tracks and the artwork and all that f---ing bollocks. But it's frustrating, we'd rather be working on new stuff."

Stop the Clocks features precisely no new tracks, resisting the recent trend for artists to throw a couple of new or previously unreleased songs on their "best of" albums.

"Best ofs aren't about new music," Gallagher says. "When you buy a best of, not by a classic band but by new bands like Supergrass or Blur or Manic Street Preachers, there's always two songs at the end that are so obviously new songs that have been lying around the studio – let's stick that on the best of and they're so obviously not the best."

Two unreleased songs, Stop the Clocks and The Boy with the Blues were mentioned by fans as possibilities to make the compilation.

Gallagher says the songs exist but were never going to make the best of.

Instead the best of features Liam and Noel Gallagher's pick of their songs – tellingly nothing from their critically mauled Be Here Now album and a large smattering of tracks from their debut and follow-up What's the Story Morning Glory. There's also four B-sides from that era, only two tracks from their recent "comeback" album Don't Believe the Truth and one track each from Heathen Chemistry and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.

"This album is not for the Oasis generation, as they're called," Gallagher says. "If you're an Oasis fan you've probably got all these songs anyway. This album is for kids in 10 years time who will maybe get an introduction to Oasis the way I got into the Beatles, through a best of. Then there's plenty of other material they can discover for themselves, as opposed to the band going 'Here's all our best music'. There's songs like Rockin' Chair, D'Ya Know What I Mean, Listen Up, Fade Away, Headshrinker and all these B-sides that should have been on there, but people can discover those on their own."

Stop the Clocks is a best of, not a "greatest hits". There is a difference.

Indeed, there's not only eight singles left off Stop the Clock, but three UK No. 1 hits.

"There's another seven or eight songs that should be on there. But that would have meant stretching it to three CDs and I thought that was a bit f---ing sh--, really," Gallagher says.

"Two CDs is enough. It would have been nice to get it down to one CD, to get 12 killer tracks on one album but unfortunately I've written too many killer tracks."

Not that Gallagher isn't quick to point out which singles he automatically nixed from the potential tracklisting.

"Roll With It, All Around the World. Stand By Me, Sunday Morning Call. Quite a few really. But I wouldn't be surprised if a 'greatest hits' album is on the way very, very soon. The record label owns all the rights to our music. I've got a couple of record labels myself. I'm thinking if I run a record label I'd go 'Hmm, I can still milk this Oasis thing for another album'. There's eight singles not on it. I wouldn't be surprised if there's an Oasis 'greatest hits' imminent."

While rifling through the Oasis vault recently Gallagher says he found a "f---ing immense" live version of Some Might Say and a demo of Cigarettes and Alcohol he has "no recollection of recording".

His iPod contains only one Oasis album in full – Don't Believe the Truth – but plenty of demo and unreleased material.

Any chance of an anthology series, like his beloved Beatles?

"I don't know how these things work. Sony Records is going down the toilet mate. They own it all. I'd brace yourself if I was you, the barrage of any old sh-- is coming.

"There's a full unreleased album of Definitely Maybe, the one that was scrapped, plus a full unreleased album of stuff from Don't Believe the Truth that was scrapped because of, well, various reasons. Well, it was sh-- really."

While they're in nostalgia mode, Oasis will also release a tour documentary Lord Don't Slow Me Down filmed on their Don't Believe the Truth tour between 2005 and 2006.

"Swarthes of it are from Australia, actually," Gallagher says. "What's it about? I have no idea. There's lots of me f---ing about in it. Me swearing and playing guitar, signing autographs.

"People are expecting me to big it up, the people who made it. You see band documentaries and they're really exciting? This one seems f---ing boring to me but who am I to say? I'm in it."

The band are also in hibernation, and will begin negotiations for new record deals outside the UK.

"As for offers I don't know, my manager deals with all that, but I'm sure there's been millions and millions been offered," Gallagher states.

There's also no word on a new album, but Gallagher is not concerned.

"We had 11 songs leftover from the last album. Out of those seven were pretty good and four were great. I'm certainly not panicking. We could release an album now without even going into the studio to be honest. But there's no hurry. We only got back off that tour in March. F--- that. I'm not even interested yet to be honest. I haven't spent the money I made yet."

Manchester Evening News

(NOTE: These are extracts from the 'Lock The Box' interview available on the 'Stop The Clocks' bonus DVD. - Mr. M.)

IN 1994 Britain's rock fans were in the grip of a grunge invasion. American bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam dominated the charts with their heavy riffs and desolate lyrics.

Luckily Noel Gallagher was on hand to save the day. "I remember Nirvana had this two-chord song saying, 'I hate myself and I want to die'," says the Manchester-born Oasis songwriter.

"And it was like, as much as I like Kurt Cobain, I'm not having that.

"I couldn't have people like that coming over here saying that they hate themselves and they want to die, that's rubbish. So I wrote early hit Live Forever at that time.

"I'm not saying it was written directly as a retort to that, but kids don't need to hear that kind of nonsense. It seemed like to me he was a guy that had everything and was miserable about it, and we had f*** all.

"I still thought that getting up in the morning was the greatest thing ever because you didn't know where you'd end up at night, you know? We didn't have a pot to piss in, but it was great, man."

This was Oasis at the beginning - champions of the people, champions of themselves - a group of men with a deep desire to make music that meant something.

Today, despite selling millions of records, they're still as down to earth, still as cocksure as ever - stomping along rather than treading the fine line between arrogance and self-belief, and still making music they believe in.

It's an impressive feat, not least because of all the line-up changes (only Noel and brother Liam Gallagher are left from the beginning, currently with Gem Archer on guitar and Andy Bell on bass while Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey is semi-official drummer), and the fall from grace as national heroes after some duff albums.

They're still an enticing live draw, holding on to a stadium-filling legion of core fans, and they've kept the less loyal interested with their entertaining interviews and the aggressive in-fighting between the Gallaghers.

But it's their insistence at doing things their own way, thank you very much, that has really kept them in favour with their fans.

Noel and Liam haven't changed at all. For a start, Noel still does his own shopping at the supermarket, and they've kept a 'can't-be-arsed' attitude to conquering the lucrative American market.

Even in bowing to record company pressure to do a best of, they've done it on their terms. The forthcoming Stop The Clocks compilation isn't the greatest hits collection fans may have expected, or even wanted - half the singles aren't there.

Instead it's a compilation of the songs that Oasis themselves think are their best, including some album tracks and b-sides.

"To me, the songs that are on it are the songs that we have generally played live over the last 14 years," says Noel. "Those are the songs that I feel is our best work. Five of us, four of us, can't sit in a room and pick a track listing.

"I always pick the set list and if anyone's got a problem with it they say to me they're not doing that. It's the same with the track list. I picked it, it went round, and I didn't get any of the usual phone calls at quarter to four in the morning," he laughs.

People now bow to Noel's obvious savvy because Oasis' longevity is mostly due to his dedication and undeniable songwriting talent.

Before Noel joined, Oasis were just a bunch of school mates gigging around Manchester. Liam then invited Noel on board, who made himself sole songwriter, simplified the band's playing technique and demanded they aim for nothing less than the top of the charts.

But it took some time for his peers to realise his potential.

"I remember writing Cigarettes And Alcohol in my flat in Manchester," he says, "in those days I used to write on the electric guitar with my amp on 10 in my room in this block of flats.

"One of the guys that lived above me, I remember him once passing me on the stairs going, 'You're not going to write a song with that riff, are you? That's rubbish'. I was going, 'Listen, fat arse, it's going to be amazing when it comes out'.

"And I remember going down to the rehearsal room and bringing the song in. Bonehead used to always be the tut-tutter. I told him I've got this tune called Cigarettes And Alcohol, and he goes, 'Cigarettes And Alcohol? You've got to change the title'.

"And then I did the riff and he's just going, 'Woah, you can't do that, that's T-Rex'. And I was like, 'I don't give a shit who it is, no one's ever going to hear it anyway'."

Both were wrong. Cigarettes And Alcohol was a massive hit, among many others. The Oasis hit-making machine shows no signs of stopping or even slowing down. After a few critically-panned albums, their last, 2005's Don't Believe The Truth, was lauded by many as a return to form.

And while Noel and Liam continue to put new, up-and-coming bands in their place (Arctic Monkeys and The Klaxons are their latest sore points), as well as happily sharing their political views ("New Labour have destroyed politics in this country," Noel said recently), they'll always have an audience.

"To me 1/8this album3/8 is like looking back at old photos of your kid and going, 'Look at that, you've got an ice-cream on your head'," says Noel. "It's just like looking back in time and going, 'There's the tune'.

"And if we don't do as many great tunes for the next best of, then we'll see. But who's going to tell us we're not going to do any more great tunes? I reckon we'll be rockin' 'til the cows come home."

Stop The Clocks lyrics + News round-up

2006-11-15T00:58:00.000+01:00

In 2003 a set of lyrics purporting to be from the original demo of 'Stop The Clocks' were posted onto an unofficial Oasis forum. 3 years later, those lyrics have been confirmed to an extent with this page in the 'Stop The Clocks' album booklet.

Thanks go to the teasers at Big Brother.

--
Noel and Gem's set for MySpace Japan is due to take place later today. Hopefully we'll get some information soon on what was performed, and maybe even some audio/video. I believe Noel has also got a couple of Japanese TV appearances planned for this week as well.
--
Bit of media reminders for you all: Noel will be on BBC Radio 2's Burt Bacharach documentary this Friday evening at 7pm. The edit of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' will be on Channel 4 this Sunday at 11:50pm, followed by a repeat of the 2nd July 2005 Manchester gig at 1:05am.
--
Liam, Gem and Andy will be "taking over" BBC 6 Music on the 12th December to be talking about their favourite music, reveal the artists that have influenced their sound and plunder the extensive BBC archives to play some classic session and concert recordings from the past 40 years.
--
Channel 4 will be broadcasting one of the recent Noel/Gem/Terry acoustic gig at some stage believed to be before the end of the year.
--
For those of you too skint/lazy to buy the 'Stop The Clocks' special edition, the 'Lock The Box' interview with Noel and Liam will be broadcast on ITV2 on the 25th November at 11:50pm. This follows Noel's interview on Parkinson on ITV1 at 10:50pm.
--
Noel will be appearing on MTV2's Gonzo with Zane Lowe on Friday 24th November at 7pm.
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The 'Stop The Clocks' EP was released on Monday with the album versions of 'Acquiesce' and 'The Masterplan', the 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' demo, and a live version of 'Some Might Say' recorded in Tokyo on the 22nd August 1995.

Noel Sunday Mail Interview / New song clip

2006-11-12T12:14:00.000+01:00

Some more clips from 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' here, including a short clip of what sounds to be a new Noel tune.

See them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxSuHTkb4Kw

Also, it's emerged that there are two edits of the film, the first of which was roughly 95 minutes long and was shown at the world premiiere in New York on November 4, and the second of which was roughly 60 minutes long and was shown at the Toronto showing. This hour-long edit looks to be the one that's going to be shown on Channel 4 on the November 19.

---

A new interview with Noel was published in todays Sunday Mail, available in Scotland. Extracts appear here.

IT'S ONLY CLOCK AND ROLL

When Noel Gallagher moves up a gear into verbal overdrive it's best to sit back, relax and enjoy the no-holds-barred ride.

The Oasis guitarist carefully picks off his targets with the skill of a deadly assassin.

So who's in his sights? H is volatile brother Liam for a start. Try this for size.

"We're in a period of unrest at the minute because he's a ******* idiot who insults my intelligence," said Noel, 39, sternly.

"I have to supress all my working class urges not to smash a chair over his head.

"The polite thing to say is that we do a dance around each other. He doesn't get in my way and I don't get in his.

"I know for a fact Liam doesn't like me. It's because I'm much more talented than him.

"I love him because he's my brother but I don't LIKE him. He says he loves me but I don't see much coming from him.

"Trouble is, Liam can never take yes for an answer. He tells me he's written a great song for the next Oasis record and I say: 'Okay, we'll put it on.' But then he'll start shouting that it should be included on the CD. I've just said yes, what part of that does Liam not get?"

Noel invited me to Oasis' secluded studio bolthole in the Buckinghamshire countryside to talk about the group's first greatest hits compilation, Stop The Clocks, due for release on November 20.

He is compelling company and our conversation covered a variety of diverse topics.

Last month, it was revealed Oasis are to receive an Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the Brits in February.

The group have publicly snubbed the ceremony since winning a trio of gongs in 1996, so why the U-turn?

Noel told me: "Last year when we should have been nominated for best single they chose Shane Ward and Tony Christie. We should also have been in the running for best album and in there was Kate Bush and Westlife.

"That p***** me off, big time. They've asked us to accept this Outstanding Contribution award for the last few years and we've always said no.

"With Stop The Clocks coming out we thought, This isn't gonna go away so we either do it now or when we NEED to do it in five years and look more like a bunch of old fellas.

"I'd like to do it before I'm 40. It means Oasis will be the youngest ever band to get such an award. That's colossal.

"But it's live on telly. God help them - they've made the biggest mistake of their life."

The promo schedule for Stop The Clocks is relentless. On November 19, Channel Four screen Lord Don't Slow Me Down - a fly-on-the-wall tour documentary.

While Noel has agreed to be a guest on Parkinson on November 25.

He said: "About 70 per cent of the tracks on Stop The Clocks chose themselves then we had to work out which B-sides to use.

"Initially, I wrote down a list of 30-odd tracks but I didn't want to run to three CDs. The only criteria was to look at every track and say: 'Why should this song NOT be on the record?' In the end, it was put together like an Oasis fantasy set list."

Noel claims success sits comfortably on his shoulders. Not only is he one of rock's greatest ever songwriters ... he's also one of the richest.

Royalties from hits such as Live Forever, Morning Glory and Don't Look Back In Anger have made him a multi-millionaire.

What was it like when the huge royalty cheques dropped through his letter box?

He said "I went mental. I spent s*** loads of money buying cars and I don't have a driving licence.

"I've got a Rolls Royce that Alan McGee bought me for making him a multi-millionaire. Sixteen grand it cost him ... and I made him £20million.

"I've also got a 1967 Mark II Jaguar and a big black Range Rover. But I can't be a**** taking driving lessons. I was told I had to sit a written test. There's no chance of me taking an exam in a school gym with a load of toerags from Slough. It would be like sitting my 11 - plus again. No way.

"If that's what it takes, I'll go buy a HORSE!"

Noel added: "I've also spent a lot on s*** - drugs, clothes and parties. I've never been ashamed of that. I earned that money.

"An Oasis CD costs £16 and from that the five of us get a pound to share between us while somebody else earns £7.

"I've got a huge house. It's ******* enormous and takes me an hour and a half just to walk a round the grounds. But what do you expect me to do? Live in a council flat?"

At 39, Noel is wiser than the young upstart who exploded on to the UK rock scene in 1994.
He's sussed enough to realise he has occasionally overstepped the mark but says he has no regrets, despite once infamously saying he hoped Damon Albarn of arch-rivals Blur died of Aids.

He also dismissed Robbie Williams as "the fat dancer from Take That" sparking a 10-year feud which continues to this day. He said: "The Blur stuff was out of order and fuelled on booze and drugs. You could pick out just one line from any of my interviews, stick it in a magazine and it would look offensive.

"I've only ever spoken my mind. But I don't wish Damon any bad luck at all. I felt I was goaded into it by the guy doing the interview and I was a bit too dumb not to take the bait."

So what about Robbie?

Noel told me: "I don't like Robbie Williams' records, it's not my bag at all. But the guy has carved out a career for himself after really only being a backing dancer.

"I remember seeing him once at the Brits after he'd had one of his six-month periods of mouthing off. He put his hand out to shake mine and I said: 'Not when you're wearing eye liner, Sonny Jim.'

"Again, I bear Robbie no malice at all because he doesn't enter my way of thinking.

"I've heard about the secret track on his latest album Rudebox attacking us but I can't be bothered with it any more. He's got his thing, he sells out stadiums around the world - good luck to him." Noel did fire a warning to Mr. Williams though. The guitarist sings lead vocals on several of the hits on Stop The Clocks. Has he considered a solo career?

"Robbie is probably the biggest solo artist in the country but I'd eat him for breakfast," he said.

"Why? Because I write better songs, I'm a better singer and I've got soul. End of ******* argument.

"If I decided to go solo I'd be enormous. Just be thankful I can't dance AND play guitar at the same time or you'd be looking at the first gunslinging John Travolta.

"My heroes were Johnny Ma rr of The Smiths and John Squire of The Stone Roses and they never moved a muscle. So I'm not starting any of that.

"Much as Liam and me don't get on you DON'T leave a band like Oasis.

"Luckily, my head has never been turned by the prospect of making a country and western album."

NOEL ON... MARRIAGE

OASIS guitarist Noel Gallagher has ruled out marrying his Scots girlfriend any time soon... because he can't be bothered with the hassle.

He's been with Sara MacDonald for seven years but insists he has NO plans to tie the knot.

Reports this week said he was planning to wed at Manchester's Urbis museum followed by a party at his beloved Manchester City's football ground.

But in an exclusive interview at his recording studio he revealed: "I've got no marriage plans at the minute.

"It infuriates Sara when I say this cos I love that girl dearly... I just can't be a**** with a wedding. She says I need a slap.

"You ask me when I'm getting married all the time. Ask me a question on sport instead."

Noel revealed that when Oasis signed a deal with Creation Records in 1993 it killed off a previous relationship.

He said: "I remember going home to Manchester after a meeting with Alan McGee in London.

"I got into my flat about two in the morning and the girl I was living with at the time woke up.

When I told her Oasis had a record deal she burst into tears... and they weren't tears of joy.

"I said: 'What is wrong with you?' And she said: 'You're gonna leave me now and move to London.'

"I replied: 'Don't be stupid babe'. But six weeks later I was off. I said: 'London's calling. I can't stay here, love. It's my destiny.' So while McGee gave me a record deal, he temporarily ruined my love life."

Noel invited the Sunday Mail to Oasis' studio in Buckinghamshire to talk about their greatest hits compilation, Stop The Clocks, released on November 20.

And our no-holds-barred chat - covered in full in seven-days magazine - ranged from his rivalry with younger brother Liam, his long-running feud with Robbie Williams and how he feels about being part of New Labour's Cool Britannia brand.

He was also vocal about Oasis being given the Outstanding Contribution to Music gong at next year's Brit Awards.

Noel said: "Last year we should have been nominated for Best Single and they chose Shane Ward and Tony Christie. That p***** me off, big time.

"They've asked us to accept this Outstanding Contribution award for the last few years and we've always said no.

"With Stop The Clocks coming out we thought, 'This isn't gonna go away.'

"I'd like to do it before I'm 40 next year. But it's live on telly. God help them!"

NOEL ON... TONY BLAIR

It was the image which defined the Cool Britannia era... Noel Gallagher sipping red wine with Tony Blair at Downing Street prior to the 1997 general election.

But has the superstar lived to regret pinning his colours so firmly to the New Labour mast?

The answer appears to be definitely ... maybe.

Noel told me: "I didn't want to meet Tony Blair - he wanted to meet ME! I was the king of London. Looking back, it was a cynical ploy by his spin doctor Alistair Campbell.

"I was in a euphoric state of mind thinking: 'Of course Blair wants to meet me. I'm ******* amazing. Who wouldn't?'

"But I don't feel conned or used. As trivial as it sounds now, the fact that a guy who'd been in a band, owned an electric guitar and has probably had a spliff was Prime Minister really meant something at the time.

"It felt like it might be important after years of John Major and Margaret Thatcher. He just MIGHT be one of us.

"In hindsight, it turned out he was just a politician like all the rest. Initially, we all thought something was gonna change... it didn't.

"I was brought up as a Labour voter. I come from a working class family and was on the dole for seven years.

"I admit I got carried away by the whole Britpop-Cool Britannia thing. It WAS euphoric when the Labour Party got into power. I didn't realise it wasn't New Labour at all - it was the Tories dressed in red.

"History has shown it's really the Bank of England who got into power."

What does Noel think of those calling for Blair to resign and pull our troops out of Iraq?

He said: "What a lot of people fail to grasp is it doesn't matter who was in No. 10, Britain would STILL have gone to war. We're in America's a*** pocket and that's the end of that."

"We have this big inferiority complex because we're this tiny little island in the middle of nowhere. If there's something going on in Turkmanistan WE need to be involved. Why?

"We're a nation built on war. We still Troop the Colour... like anybodygivesa ****."

But Noel did have some words of praise for the PM.

"If you were to take the Iraq thing out of the equation, Labour do seem to have made a difference with things like the minimum wage.

"They also made education and health a priority."

NOEL ON.. THE FUTURE

Noel admits he's not sure if Oasis will still be on the go in another 10 years.

"I'd be 49 then," he said. "To be quite honest, I get up in the morning and it's a struggle pulling my socks on. I've got a bad back, a stiff neck and I don't get enough sleep.

"When I was young I was kind of fascist about not making music when I got to 30. Then I thought, 'I'll pack it in when I'm 35' and so it goes on. It all depends on how trim we look.

"Groups like Pink Floyd started out playing middle-aged music and it's STILL middle-aged music. Oasis songs are more up.

"Will I be playing Cigarettes And Alcohol at 50? Probably not... but who knows?"

One thing Noel is determined to do again however is gig in Scotland.

"Scotland has always been a very special place for us. It's the whole Celtic thing.

"Scots see themselves as rebels. They saw Liam and me giving two fingers to society and instantly related to us. Our gigs there have always been extra special."

NOEL ON.. ALAN McGEE

Creation Records' boss Alan McGee wrote a new chapter in music history when he spotted Oasis playing at King Tut's in Glasgow in 1993.

He was so knocked out by the unknown Manchester band he offered them a deal on the spot.

Noel told me: "The story we were NOT booked to support 18 Wheeler is true... but the myth which says we threatened to smash up the club if they didn't let us on isn't.

"As anybody who's ever met a Glasgow doorman will tell you you're not smashing anything up in that town - particularly if you're five skinny kids from Manchester. You'd get your head kicked in.

"McGee asked us: 'What are you called?' I said: 'Oasis'. I was trying to be quite cool so when he asked if we'd like a record deal I asked: 'Who with?'"

Noel revealed that when the group got home to Manchester they hit the phones to find out more about the charismatic McGee.

Noel said: "There used to be a big cardboard cut-out of McGee in Eastern Bloc Records in Manchester. That's how I knew who he was.

"I was into Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub so I knew about i Creation. I phoned a couple of people who knew him and said: 'McGee is off his head, isn't he?'

"But they said that was what he did. That's when I realised he was serious. McGee is a superstar in my eyes."

New Noel interview (Guardian) + News

2006-11-10T11:59:00.000+01:00

A whole bunch of new Noel interviews took place in the last couple of days. He's interviewed with Paul Weller in the new edition of Esquire (UK) and with Kasabian in a new NME 2006 magazine. He also took part in a very lengthy interview on Sex Pistol Steve Jones' LA radio show yesterday, which was recorded and I'll try to get online later.

Here's the Guardian interview

'Liam doesn't like me," shrugs his older brother. "He confuses love with hate. 'I love you.' No, Liam, I think you'll find you fucking hate me." Sitting in his management's central London HQ, Noel Gallagher recounts a recent disagreement. Oasis are about to release Stop the Clocks, their first retrospective. In the accompanying booklet, the lyrics for each of the 18 songs appear beside an image. The picture Noel chose to go next to Songbird - the only track written by Liam - was a red brick wall. "Because it's a love song about his bird," explains Noel. "And red is the colour of love."

But Liam, who wrote the song for his long-term partner, Nicole Appleton of All Saints, didn't take it that way. "I got a message on my answer machine," sighs Gallagher. "He was like, 'The colour red? Beside the song I wrote about my missus? Who I've got a child with? How fucking dare you!'" Gallagher tells the tale with a mixture of amusement, resignation and disbelief. "He only had to say he'd like to change it. No problem. But instead it descended into personal abuse." Liam's rant continued until the tape ran out. "I listened to it with my missus," says Noel. "She was going, 'You and your kid are actually insane. It's amazing you've managed to get this far.'"
But, somehow, here they still are. The Gallaghers may be Oasis's only original members, but their massive following remains. Last year's warmly received Don't Believe the Truth sold 2.5m copies, propelling Oasis on to a worldwide tour to 1.7 million people in 26 countries. They plan to record the follow-up in 2007. "The empire is still building," says Gallagher.

For now, though, the 39-year-old is looking back. On completing their six-album deal with Sony, Oasis were asked to release a greatest-hits collection.

Gallagher wasn't keen, but aware that Sony actually owns the band's songs, he agreed to support a best-of, featuring his selection of Oasis favourites.

It's a belting collection, with an intriguing tracklisting. Of the 18 songs, four are B-sides and four album tracks - meaning only 10 of Oasis's 22 top-40 hits feature. The rejects include Roll With It, Oasis's contribution to the famous 1995 chart battle with Blur. "I don't like that song," admits Gallagher, who seems comfortable enough with his achievements - and himself - to be self-critical. But the most telling statistic is that 14 of the 18 tracks were released in 1994 or 1995. In other words, Gallagher seems to be admitting what many of us believed: that his band - and his songs - peaked over a decade ago.

"Yeah, of course," he shrugs. "We're talking about the best of Oasis here. If you stop the man in the street and ask 'What's Oasis's best album?', a few might say Don't Believe the Truth, which is great, but the squares will say Morning Glory and the cool people will say Definitely Maybe. That album should just be called the Best of Oasis." He leans forward. "Look. I was a superhero in the 90s. I said so at the time. McCartney, Weller, Townsend, Richards, my first album's better than all their first albums. Even they'd admit that."

So why didn't he remain a superhero into the next decade? "Because those songs were written in my 20s. All I had in the world was a guitar and a Dictaphone. When you're young, you write about being young and shagging and drugs and drinking. You can't do that when you're 39. I was a different person then."

These days, Gallagher's Saturday nights involve watching Match of the Day, and he hasn't touched cocaine since 1998.

"Cocaine itself isn't that bad," he says. "It just makes you drink more and that's the worst drug there is. Especially when you're surrounded by people whose psychosis sets in the more they drink. But people think I stood up at a party and announced, 'That was my last line of cocaine, from this day forth I shall take no more,' and everybody sighed and left. It wasn't like that. The reason I packed it in was that it was only meant to be a weekend, which became a week, which became a month and so on. I just decided I couldn't be arsed any more."

Although Gallagher says his songwriting passion was reignited by Don't Believe the Truth, his inescapable problem is that any new Oasis album must compete with their first two records.
"Which is completely unfair. If I knew how to write another Definitely Maybe, I'd do one every year. It astounds me that I wrote those songs. But nobody has ever bettered Definitely Maybe, don't pin it on my shoulders. The Arctic Monkeys came close, but that's it. They've got the tunes and the attitude. If only they could front it out."

At times this year, the Arctic Monkeys have seemed almost embarrassed by their success. It's the antithesis of the Oasis way. "I've never understood that kind of thing. Like the Clash going, 'We're not playing on telly.' Well fuck off then. When we first started we said we were the greatest band in the world. We should have said we were the best band in the charts. 'Cos to me, the world is the charts. I don't give a fuck about Radiohead and all that indie nonsense. I was brought up on the top 10. Slade, T.Rex, David Bowie. If you're not in the charts, you don't exist. BMX Bandits? Four people are listening to it in Hull. I went in there to get Phil Collins' severed head in my fridge by the end of the decade."

Which, in a manner of speaking, he did. "I came from a shithole in Manchester, right, so it was all brilliant to me. Even touring in a transit van was better than being in my flat. Then when we got a deal, we were like: 'Bring it on!' I wanted the big hairdo, big shades, big car, big house, swimming pool, jet, drug habit, a mirrored top hat and a chimp. All of it. The Kasabian lads told me they'd only get out of bed to read about us in the paper. And what would you rather read? 'The guy from Keane's been to a rabbit sanctuary 'cos one of the rabbits needed a kidney implant, so he swapped his with it' - or 'Liam Gallagher sets fire to a policeman in cocaine madness, while his brother Noel runs down Oxford Street nude'?"

No doubt Kasabian loved the story about Gallagher visiting the victorious Tony Blair, in 1997, at his Downing Street reception and asking the new PM how he'd managed to stay up all night during the election; "Probably not by the same means you did," was Blair's knowing reply.
Having effectively been New Labour's house band, what does Gallagher think of Blair now? "Well, I think that Britain is a better place than it was before the Labour party took over. Personally, I'd have loved Neil Kinnock to get in. He was gonna rip Margaret Thatcher's head off and shit down her neck. Then Tony Blair came along and it was like: 'Ah, he's gonna outsmart all of these public schoolboy cunts.' But we all got carried away in 97. Once the veneer wore off - even taking the Iraq debacle out of the equation - we've all just given a massive shrug. I think the Labour party's crowning achievement is the death of politics. There's nothing left to vote for."

Gallagher is concerned David Cameron will win the next election, "although even if he does, it won't matter because it won't change anything. He's just saying the same as Tony Blair was saying. Gordon Brown over David Cameron? When I see them on television, I switch them both off."

Gallagher, though, is contented. He has no sympathy for those for whom fame is a burden. He doesn't sit in his country house (though he has one) counting his millions (though he has several). "Life is a great thing, why shut yourself away from it? I can't understand people like Elton John and Robbie Williams going straight from their blacked-out limos to a restaurant. I stand in the queue at Waitrose. More rock stars should do that. Forget therapy, go to the supermarket and interact. The staff in my local Waitrose are really blase about me now. They'll be like, 'Him? Oh he's in here all the fucking time. And between me and you, he doesn't eat very well.'"

Ten years ago, Gallagher's life was almost entirely focused on Oasis. But even though he says its not his sole passion any more, that he has a full life outside Oasis, he insists he is still very much the band's leader. "If I said the next album was going to be Irish reggae, then it would be." Nevertheless, he's relinquished control to the point where all four members contribute songs, something he admits would have been unthinkable in the mid-1990s. "I've got to say a lot of weight was lifted from my shoulders when Liam, Andy and Gem started to deliver songs for Don't Believe the Truth and they were actually good."

Gallagher readily concedes his brother's earliest songs weren't great. "But you either say, 'That's shit, fuck off,' and he retreats into his shell. Or you go, 'Look, I'm not into it, but if you believe in it, it goes on - but you're taking the flak for it.' Liam used to say in interviews, 'Noel won't let me write.' But back in the 1990s while I was grafting, he was shooting Stella into his arms 'cos he thought it would mainline into his brain quicker. So I was like, 'Well write one, and we'll take it from there.' I'm glad he's done it, because the great ones are great and the shit ones he gets slagged off for. And there's nothing I like more than reading people slagging Liam off." Gallagher cackles.

"The reason he doesn't like me is that I'm indifferent to him," he explains. "I can come off tour, put the bags down and shut the door. Liam can't do that. He wants to carry on. Plus, he insults me and I don't like being around people who insult me."

The brothers don't exchange Christmas or birthday presents and have only seen each other "two or three times" since returning from tour in March. "I just don't need to be in the gang all the time," says Gallagher.

Presumably he has considered the possibility that Liam's insults stem from jealousy; after all, Noel's the older, brighter one, the one who wrote 17 of 18 songs on Stop the Clocks, the one people respect more. "But he's got nothing to be jealous of. Thing is, you say about the 17 songs, but Oasis is dependent on three equal parts. That's him, me and the songs. It's all about that struggle and it wouldn't be Oasis without him. But Liam can't see that. 'Cos when he has a drink, he's got an enemy complex. And a serious inferiority complex. But, y'know, he is my brother. And although I don't like him, I do love him to bits."

Perhaps, I suggest, you should buy him a Christmas present this year. "Yeah, maybe I will," nods Noel, thoughtfully. "I'll get him a fucking straitjacket."
---
There's a possible Noel solo performance on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show on the 1st December. More news on that as the date draws nearer. Noel also confirmed acoustic shows in Manchester and Tokyo in his LA interview.

New Noel + Liam interviews (Toronto Sun, NME, Uncut, AOL)

2006-11-08T23:11:00.000+01:00

Toronto Sun

Oasis braintrust Noel Gallagher has never been one to mince words, God bless him.

So if the Manchester-born songwriter and guitarist had his way, Oasis wouldn't be releasing a greatest hits package, the two-disc Stop The Clocks, on Nov. 21.

"If it was up to me, it wouldn't be coming out until Oasis wasn't around anymore," said Gallagher in Toronto yesterday before his acoustic performance last night with rhythm guitiarist Gem at the Danforth Music Hall.

SONY OWNS RIGHTS

However, it was either cooperate with the band's former label, Sony-BMG, from which they've since parted, or not be involved in Stop The Clocks' track listing and art work at all.

"They own all the rights to everything, so we were informed that they were going to do a retrospective of some description by Christimas -- did we want to get involved?" explained Gallagher. "Well, if it is has to be now, it has to be now. Don't be surprised if there's a singles album following this. They're well within their rights to do it."

A BATCH OF NEW SONGS

Gallagher, who said he's currently got about 30 new songs in rough form for the next Oasis studio album, isn't sure who Oasis will sign with next on this side of the pond but they'll stick with their own indie label, Big Brother, in England.

"We won't be going back to Sony," he said. "They're all right for us in Canada, so we might stay with them in Canada. In America, I feel they kind of let us down a wee bit. I balance that by saying they didn't really dig our unprofessionalism. They found it very difficult to actually grasp the concept that we actually didn't give a f---. And they thought, 'Well, if they don't give a f---, we don't give a f---.' That's how I see it anyway. I don't bear any malice towards any of them. They've got a business to run."

Gallagher said Oasis fans shouldn't hold their breath for the next studio disc -- it definitely won't be out in 2007 -- but he did offer a hint at the sound.

"Some of it's great,"he said. "But for what it's worth, a lot of my songs will probably end up being acoustic. But not in the Cat Stevens sense. 'Cause a lot of (2005's) Don't Believe The Truth was kind of acoustic-driven. But when you get into a studio, it all goes out the f---in' window and you just go, 'Let's rock!'"

To promote Stop The Clocks then, Gallagher and Gem are on a mini-tour of acoustic performances that began last Thursday in London and after Toronto will be followed by stops in L.A., Tokyo, Manchester, Paris and Milan.

Noel said his younger brother and Oasis lead singer Liam wasn't part of the trek because he "doesn't do acoustic performances. He doesn't do promotion. What's the point of him being here?"

Meanwhile, the Oasis road movie, Lord Don't Slow Me Down, was to be screened in Toronto last night at the Danforth before the acoustic set, and is expected to be released as a DVD in Canada next year.

Gallagher said director Baillie Walsh was given carte blanche to shoot the band on the road during their tour for Don't Believe The Truth. Sadly none of their stops in Canada were filmed.

"There's no gringey-bits for me in it," said Gallagher of the film. "Liam wears some very questionable clothes in it. Shorts at one point. That's no good for being in a band. And some very questionable headware. But there's a lot of drinking involved and a lot of talking absolute nonsense. It's quite funny in places.

"The opening scene is very funny. When I'd seen it, I cried with laughter. It involves extremely large bottles of champagne which are called methusals, and there's a scene of a lot of people trying to open this bottle of champagne. It gets, very, very, very, stupid 'cause everyone's f---in' a--holed.'"

---
Noel also done an interview for this weeks NME which I won't bother to reprint here - instead you can go to stopcryingyourheartout.com as the webmaster took a long time to type it all up so the least I can do is give her a few hits.

---
http://www.aolmusicnewsblog.com/2006/11/07/oasis-stop-the-clocks-not-the-band/

Oasis' Noel Gallagher has embarked on a mini-world tour to promote his band's best-of CD, 'Stop the Clocks,' due out Nov. 21.

The axeman's next tour city will be Los Angeles, where he'll play Friday. So far Gallagher's solo sets have consisted of 14 songs, only half of which actually appear on the new CD/DVD package. Gallagher says the shows, including one in London, England, last week, have been, well, interesting.

"[It] was very boisterous. It was quite overwhelming, to be honest," he tells AOL Music. "I sat on a chair with a guitar, and I couldn't hear anything over the crowd singing. My sound engineer tried to rectify it and ended up blowing up the PA."

Known for their tumultuous history, which has seen walkouts by frontman Liam Gallagher and the departure of several members over the years, we wondered whether the album provides some kind of closure.

"I guess it's the end of something. I don't think it's the end of the band," Gallagher says. "Nobody's expressed any interest in doing anything else other than another album."

---
http://www.nme.com/news/oasis/24953

Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has revealed the band are likely to get started on their new studio album this month.

The rock giants release their Best Of compilation 'Stop The Clocks' on November 20, but Gallagher is keen to get started on the follow-up 'proper' to 2005's 'Don't Believe The Truth'.

He told NME's sister magazine Uncut: "I reckon we're going to start doing something this month, go to our studio. It's the bollocks. Fuckin' old Tudor ranch in High Wycombe, fucking stay there and get it done. Just got to wait for Noel to finish his tunes I suppose."

Speaking about 'Stop The Clocks', which marks the end of the band's deal with SonyBMG, Gallagher added: "I want to get this (album) out of the fucking way, it's doing my head in. To me, it's the last of however fucking long, the last 16 years of that label, that's done. We can start again."

---
http://www.nme.com/news/oasis/24974

Noel Gallagher made a special appearance in New York City on Saturday (November 4) at the world première of new Oasis documentary 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'.

Around 400 fans, some queuing up from 3am, attended the screening at the CMJ festival and took part in the following Q&A session with the Oasis leader.

Directed by Bailie Walsh, the man behind Oasis' 'Let There Be Love' video, the film captures follows the band's Don't Believe The Truth' world tour with a collection of backstage footage, on the road perfomances along with a series of band interviews.

Following the screening, Gallagher then answered questions from fans present, discussing The Beatles, his relationship with brother Liam Gallagher - he insisted it was "as good or bad as it ever was" - and the group's forthcoming best of 'Stop The Clocks'.

He also explained why the track of the same name does not feature on the collection.

"Despite various demos we never nailed what version we're all happy with," explained Gallagher of the us-yet-unreleased song, "but the title fits where we are now."

A fan also asked the guitarist why he claims Oasis' are "the greatest band in the world".

"I only go by what's on the charts," declared Gallagher in response. "I'm not interested in what's hip to music critics, what I was actually saying when I was saying I was the greatest thing since Elvis Presley was: 'I think I'm the best thing in the Top 40 and I think anybody whose from England would probably agree with that!'."

Oasis are set to release 'Stop The Clocks' on November 20, while 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' will be screened in the UK later this month.

New Noel Hot Press interview / Possible Liam Irish radio appearance

2006-11-05T15:18:00.000+01:00

Noel recently done an interview for Irish magazine Hot Press where he revealed that Oasis are hoping to release a new EP in "mid-late 2007" and an album in 2008.

The Noel truth and nothing but the truth

Renewing acquaintances with Hotpress, a chipper Noel Gallagher reveals how he helped Italy bag the World Cup, explains why Oasis are better than U2-sort of- and, oh yes, tells us about the band's new best of collection. WORDS Stuart Clark

"Fucking hell, where's the rest of you? The last time I saw you, you were a fat cunt and now you're skinnier than Pete Doherty. You on drugs or summat"

Ah, no one delivers a backhanded compliment quite like Noel Gallagher! It's been a while since our paths last crossed, and I must say I've missed the old rascal. While I'm diplomatically ignoring the final part of his inquiry, I have indeed shed 26lbs. of blubber, whish is just as well because the rest of me is in rag order.

Noel, on the other hand, actually looks better than he did in 1994 when we first met backstage at Slane Castle. Oasis had just comprehensively blown REM off stage and he was, well, dilated to see me.
"If it was 1994 I probably didn't know what continent I was on, but now I'm the most boring man on the planet and loving every minute of it," he laughs.

Noel knocking hedonism on the head coincided with him meeting his girlfriend of the past six years, Sara MacDonald. Among the P.R. woman's many admirable qualities is a willingness to let her chap spend the summer in Germany watching the World Cup.
"I can honestly say it's one of the most magnificent summers I've ever fucking had,R" the Mancunian beams. "The story is a couple of years ago I was on Italian radio and personally offered Alessandro Del Piero (top Italian footie player) a hundred grand a week to join Man City (not so top English footie team). Everyone took it as a joke bar his agent who was on the phone wanting to talk contracts. Luckily, he was okay when I told him I wasn't going to give his client £5.6 million a year and Alessandro came to a couple of Oasis gigs in Europe and hung out with us afterwards"

In a manner that was entirely in keeping with his status as a professional footballer, of course.
"Of course!" Noel deadpans. "We actually sent him back to Juventus in better condition that when he'd arrived. Anyway, come the World Cup he invites me to be his guest at the Italy games, which I say I will be once our lot gets knocked out. England being shit, I fly in for the semi finals against Germany and get picked up by a mate of his who takes me to the Italian team hotel to get the tickets. We arrive and, of course, there's this huge scrum of media and fans who start cheering. Even more surreally, when I walk into where the players are having their lunch they start clapping. Talk about the wrong way round! Alessandro's pissed off because he's just heard he's on the bench so I flippantly say, 'Don't worry man, I've a feeling you're going to come on and score in extra-time,' which is precisely what happens. Afterwards, amazed by my psychic briliance, he goes, 'You have to come to the final, and in the same clothes' A week later I walk into the stadium and Mrs. Del Piero -who's as fit as in, fuck by the way- immediately unzips my jacket and goes 'We will win, we will win' because down to my pants I've the same clobber on. The Italian press has heard about me being his lucky mascot, so when they went one down I was sweating on the top line. Eventually it goes to penalties, Italy win and I feel this mixture of relief and exhileration. If England ever get their hands on the World Cup, I think my heart will explode!"

According to the tale that made it back to Blighty, Noel was guest of honour at the victory party and serenaded the players with Oasis and Beatles songs.
"Alessandro phoned and said it was mental at the hotel, so I ended up going on the piss instead with Adrian Chiles, Martin O'Neill, Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, Ray Stubbs, Gary Lineker and -very weirdly- Spike Lee who was with Marcell Desailly. Ray Stubbs was doing this party trick where he got two pints of German beer and necked 'em before everyone else finished the them tune to Match of the Day. He did four or five of them and was as pissed as a cunt. Every time I see him now on Grandstand I'm like, 'See Ray Stubbs? He's a fucking legend!' Hansen's going to me, 'You picked the wrong fucking team supporting City', while Lineker was tearing into Sven Goran Erikkson. It was the best night I've had in years"

For the benefit of Hotpress' non-football obsessive readers, we'll turn our attentions to the upcoming Oasis 'Best Of', Stop the Clocks, which they're cheekily releasing on the same day as U2's.
"I only found out yesterday," Noel reveals. "Neither of us would probably want to release original albums on the same day, but I imagine that people of a certain age will be going to HMV on the Saturday and buying both."

Very nice and concilatory, but who's going to grind fucking who into the ground on November 20?
"U2 will beat us 1-0 in Ireland, but we'll stick two past 'em in the return leg in England to win 2-1 on aggregate," he says slipping back into footiespeak. "U2 are the best band of the past thirty years, but we're the best of the past 15. I think Bono himself would admit that. And by the way it's them being cheeky releasing on the same day as us!"

Talking of Bono, what type of third world campaigning does Noel engage in when he's not on Oasis duty.
"I'm not just saying this to reinforce the stereotype but, apart from watching telly, I don't really have that many interests," he confesses. "Unlike Liam who picks up the phone and freaks if room service isn't on the other end, I love getting back to the humdrum of life 'cause where I write my songs is in the queue of Waitrose. If I spend too much time in the tour/celebrity bubble, I turn into this perpetually hungover character who's not always fun to be around."

Forgive the amateur psychoanalysis, but I get the impression Noel Gallagher's in a good place at the moment.
"Personally, my life is better than it's ever, ever, ever been," he enthuses. "So much so in fact that I'm waiting for it all to go wrong! Professionally, I'm still searching for the next fucking great tune. Putting together this 'Best Of' -which we did ourselves rather than leave it to the record company- reminded me that I've written some belters in my time, but I can and will do better."

Is there also an element of wanting to remind young pretenders like The Killers and Arctic Monkeys who's King still?
"I'm loathe to say the words 'cause I'm more Machiavellian than that but, yes, and if we can't show 'em we'll fucking sabotage what they do! Bono's like Liam in that way -always aggressively pursuing his muse and bigging up U2. The Edge and me, on the other hand, are the Yoda figures at the back going, 'Alright it will be.' If Oasis have been out of the limelight for two years I never panic 'cause I know what's coming next."

While still a mere child of 39 -his fortieth is on May 29th 2007 if you want to send him a card- does Noel have an age in mind for eventually hanging up his plectrum.
"I used to think that 30 as over the hill, but I saw Paul McCartney recently and he's still fucking got it. His last album's no Sgt. Pepper's, but it's still ten times better than fucking Hard-Fi. Getting Nigel Godrich in was a good move, and I imagine it'll be Rick Rubin next. The Rolling Stones are still worth paying into as well but Mick, mate, ditch the leggings!" he continues. "Everyone loves Keith -and for good reason- but the real heart n' soul of that band is Ronnie Wood. What a fucking amazing bloke."

Having spent a very pleasant night guzzling wine in the Shelbourne with Ronnie, Jimmy White and a poker player who declined to give me his name because he wasn't meant to be in Ireland, I'd have to concur. Talking as we are of rock's OAPs, has Noel run into New Order recently?
"No, but ony the other day I was telling somebody how Peter Hook barred me from the Hacienda live on radio," he chuckles. "Before getting a record deal even, we did a session for some tinpot Manchester Radio station in their usual in Studio A. The presenter says, 'Hi Oasis, we've got Peter Hook here', and I'm like, 'That's exciting, innit? Still wearing your fucking leather trousers Pete?' He shouts, 'Don't bother coming down the Hacienda 'cause you won't get in!' and I go, 'Good, it's been shit for two years anyway!' No matter what he or anyone else tells you, the Hacienda ceased being the centre of the universe on New Year's Eve 1989 when the clock struck twelve and everybody stopped taking E and started taking coke and crack instead. There was a fight between two blokes over a bird, which would have been unthinkable when everybody was loved up. Some other facts about the Hacienda -the sound was shit, the layout terrible and the beer lousy. They did sell skins behind the bar though, and have fantastic music courtesy of Mike Pickering who deserves a knighthood for services to clubbing,"

Hooky got ten out of ten for honesty a few years back when, introducing 'Blue Monday' at Lansdowne Road, he said, "Here's one you all love and we all hate." Are there any songs that Noel's fed up with, and felt obliged to put on Stop the Clocks?
"If Sony had done it, you'd have 'Roll With It' and 'Stand by Me' on there, but they didn't and they're not," he states triumphantly. "Bar seven tunes that should be on it but aren't 'cause we still want people to check out the back catalogue, this is genuinely the Best of Oasis. Archaeologists will dig it up in five thousand years and go, 'Fuck me, that civilisation was advanced!"

So what was cynically left off?
"'Cast No Shadow', 'Married With Children' and 'Do You Know What I Mean' are three that immediately spring to mind. Bands ought by law be made to stick some of their best stuff on B-sides."

He's already expressed his disdain for Hard-Fi, but what does Noel make of the other bands young people are listening to nowadays?
"My mate Mr. Weller has an eldest son who's a goth," he confides. "You'd think being the ultimate mod he'd be against this, but no, his attitude is, 'Kids have got to be what kids have got to be.' What's great about this scene is it's almost a surrogate family. They all look after each other and share make-up bags, which is better than smoking crack."

How's his own daughter Anais?
"Six and very well, thank you," he beams. She came out with a classic the other morning, We were going to her school in a cab and she said, 'Dad can I read you some stuff from my book Its eight o clockish and im absoulety fucked so I went just read the billboards to me as we go along, the first set of traffic lights its 'na na nation wide. second its Gol gol golden wonder, Still Okay. Third set of lights, I have a heart attack as she reads out fluently this time 'Spearmints Rhinos Gentelmans club. Whats a gentlemans club Daddy? 'You'll find out soon enough!!!"

Is she ready for a full-blown birds and the bees conversation?
"She's be having that with her mother, not me! I'm not one of those people who have plans for their daughter. She'l make her own mistakes and learn from them like I did. If she asks me what i think of the blokes shes going out with, i'll have him round and tell her whether I think he's either a nice guy or a fuckin toe rag. Women like to think they can sum up men in one nifty sentence, but as complicated as they are, fuck me we're worse! It's not all about beer and the pizza and the football -especially not to us intelligentsia."

Stop the Clocks is the last record Oasis will release through Sony BMG, the label they've been with since 1998 and don't seem unduly upset to be leaving. Sony BMG could be down two major acts soon if rumours of them sacking George Michael prove to be true.
"At their peril will they get rid of George Michael," he ventures. "He's the last major act they've got in the UK since we walked. That said, I don't feel in the least bit sorry for him. If he'd fallen asleep at the wheel once, with a spliff in the ashtray once, fair enough, there for the grace of God go I, and all that stuff. But twic... I respect George Michael, I really fucking do, but that's just inviting trouble. As for Sony invoking some sort of 'morality clause', our behaviour was a hundred times worse than his and they never said a dickie-bird."

What about that other hard-living, drug hoovering son of Satan, Tom Chaplin?
"The rest of us if we ever have to go to rehab deny it to the hilt, but he issues a statement going, 'No, no, no, I'm doing drugs, really I am.' He takes drugs and his music's shit -that's some sort of fucking achievement in itself. Keane have squeezed into that tiny, tiny gap there was between Coldplay and Travis."

Two groups, whom to quote Noel's little brother, are "Dido's with willies"
"(laughs) He does come up with some good lines, I have to admit."

George Michael, Keane, Travis and Coldplay insulted, let's return to Oasis and the fact they've co-opted Sgt. Popper's man Sir Peter Blake into designing the Stop the Clocks sleeve.
"He's seventy-something and mad keen for drink still," Noel says approvingly. "I met him out one night and he told me he's working on a set of prints -'Elvis is in there, The Beatles, The Stones, all the greats' 'Aren't we forgetting somebody?' 'Oh my dear boy, we'll work together one day!' So it comes to doing our cover and I think, 'Right, let's take him up on that.' We went down to his studio, which is a real throwback to the sixties, and he starts talking about the Foo Fighters. He's a really clued up old fella who'd done us fucking proud."

Which of Noel's covers does Noel rate?
"I think Morning-Glory is truly appalling. Be Here Now is a mish mash of cocaine ideas, but Heathen Chemistry is pretty good. We're on the front, but in an abstract way, and it just generally represents the music really, really well. In general, I'd have to say our single sleeves are better than the albums. From memory, I'd go with 'Shakermaker' and 'Who Feels Love' as the best."

It's a question I'm almost frightened to ask, but how's the brother?
"Still fucking moaning! I'll give you an example. Last December we headlined the Cardiff Millennium Stadium. There were 60,000 people there, all of them with their lighters out singing along. We come off stage and he's like, 'They weren't really into it, were they?' Why does he have to be the one person in 60,005 not having it?"

The 30,000 Irish people who've purchased The Killers' Sam's Town mightn't be aware that it was Noel whom Brandon Flowers turned when he got a bad attack of second album jitters.
"Him deciding what kind of music he wanted to make after being at an Oasis gig is the same as me seeing the Stone Roses and going, 'Right, I'm off home to get me fucking guitar out.' The 'elder statesemen' tag is something I seem to have inherited from Weller who helped every waif and stray out in the '90s, yours truly included. It's not so much Oasis as Definitely Maybe that your Kasabians and Razorlights and Kings of Leons cite as an inspiration, which is cool 'cause afterwards they all went off and did their own things. What that makes me feel old isn't old, but fucking proud."

Any other young whippersnappers who's caught his eye recently
"I was in New York for a photo-shoot, and they had this bloke on in the studio called M. Ward. He's an album out, Post-War, which is along the same lines as Elliot Smith and fucking brilliant. You've three records to buy on Saturday now when you go into HMV!"

As is traditional when interviewing Noel Gallagher let's finish with a game of 'Confirm or Deny that Tabloid Rumour.' Okay, your starter for ten 'Him and Liam are planning to set up a chaing of Supernova Heights Hotels.
"(Cackles) Bollocks of a variety that has never been so utter.

The Arctic Monkeys beat him in a tequila-slamming contest.
"That one's true. I went drinking with the bass player who was fired/left, which was all very civilised at first 'cause we were on pints of Guinness. It stopped being civilised when he came back from the bar with a tray of shots that I shouldn't have gone near but, well, you try and keep up with the youngsters. I nearly hit the fucking deck on the way out."

Noel's gotten so thin his mum's started sending him food parcels
"Has she fuck! I met the guy responsible for that gem on holiday in Ibiza and he said, 'We have a source.'
'Who?'
'A neighbour'
'Is she an Irish lady, name of Mary?'
'Er, yes'
'She's winding you up, you fucking idiot!'"

Noel was in Charlestown, County Mayo last week.
"I wasn't, but Liam was and spent most of the time in bed with the 'flu. Our mam's as happy as a pig in shit 'cause we've just bought her a magnificent new place there. Talking of Ireland, I hear your Mr. Ahearn's been a very naughty boy. I'm sure he'll wriggle out of it though, same as our lot."

The recording of Oasis' next studio album will be put on hold while they tour Stop the Clocks.
"I've got a gig at Camden Palace on November 2 for the charity that got my good mate Russell Brand off crack -he's doing an hour of stand-up and I'm doing an hour of skiffle- and then I plan to sit on my arse for the rest of the year. There'll probably be an EP out in mid to late 2007, and a new studio album in 2008, which we can't postpone 'cause we havn't started it yet. We do have some rather excellent songs written though, so I think it'll be a good 'un."

Thanks to Foreveryoung from the Masterplan forum for the lengthy transcript.
--------------------
Liam is rumoured to be appearing on Irish radio station Today FM on either this Monday or Tuesday or possibly both. The programme is Tom Dunne's Pet Sounds starting at 7pm and going through til 10pm. If anyone can record this and pass it on to me for sharing, I'd be grateful.

Noel will be on BBC2 later tonight (Sunday) contributing to a Paul Weller documentary. The programme starts at 9pm.

New Noel interviews + news round-up

2006-11-04T14:02:00.000+01:00

Prior to the KOKO gig, Noel gave a short interview to BBC 6 Music. Download here.
http://www.savefile.com/files/225379

Noel interview for exclaim.ca - 2nd November 2006
http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=5833

What are your current fixations?
Well I’m really into the Kasabian album, but I’ve just got an album in New York by a guy called M. Ward, it’s called Post-War. Fookin’ hell man. I’ve never heard this guy before, and I was doing a photo shoot, as us rock stars generally do, and some guy was playing it in the background. I was like, “What’s that fookin’ music?” And he’s like, [adopts American accent] “Dude, it’s M. Ward.” One of the best albums I’ve ever heard actually.

Why do you live where you do?
Why do I live in London? Because it’s the centre of the universe, young man. I think it’s everybody’s right and duty, if they’re not gonna leave the country that they live in, is to at least live in the capital because it’s the biggest fookin’ city. That’s not strictly true, because you wouldn’t go live in Washington if you were in America. I wouldn’t anyways. London’s the capital of Europe — it’s one of the great six, seven cities of the world. I came for the weekend in 1994 and I’ve never been back to Manchester.

What has been your most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
Can I pick two that I’ve attended? One was in 1992 at a place called G-Mex in Manchester and it was U2, Public Enemy and Kraftwerk on the same bill. Fookin’ dig that. It was on U2’s Zoo TV tour and it was mind-blowing. I wasn’t even in a band at that point, but it was like, “When I get in a fookin’ band that’s how I’m fookin’ havin’ it.” The second gig was about three years ago when Neil Young was doing his solo acoustic tour of Greendale. It was just him, an acoustic guitar and his mouth organ at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and it was just fookin’ outrageous. He played the whole album from start to finish and you kind of sit there watching him and think, “Fookin’ hell man, I haven’t made it yet.” D’ya know what I mean? He’s the master. And then of course, true to form, you go out and buy the album and it’s absolute dog shit. [The movie] is fookin’ dreadful. I kind of like Neil Young just because he’s fookin’ punk rock, he and Dylan. Crazy old dudes man.

What have been your career highs and lows?
Career high, I guess, is playing at Maine Road in Manchester because it was the grounds of the football team I’ve supported since I was a child [Manchester City FC]. It was the first stadium we played and it was amazing. It was so inconceivable that a kid from around the corner from the football ground would get to play that. And a career low? I don’t know because they’re all part of the story, so they’ve added something in a weird kind of way.

What’s the meanest thing ever said to you before, during or after a gig?
During? I don’t fookin’ listen to what any of those idiots have got to say during a gig. But Lars Ulrich came to see us one night — we tune our own guitars up because we’re still capable of doing that — and he was like, [adopts perfect Ulrich accent] “F-Fuck, you know, you know you guys should really fuckin’ get one of your fuckin’ road crew to tune your guitars. The fuckin’ spaces in between the songs are too long.” And it’s just like, “Look man, I don’t know if anyone’s ever pointed this out to you before, but you’re the fookin’ drummer in Metallica. Now you fookin’ get on with that and leave the rest of it to us.”

What should everyone shut up about?
George Bush, I guess. That’s kind of a lame thing to say though. I mean he’s a scary idiot, everybody knows that, don’t they? So just let him get on with it. He’s not gonna be around in two years anyway, is he? Thank the lord.

What traits do you most like and most dislike about yourself?
What I most dislike about myself is the fact that I think I’m capable of achieving anything. If somebody came up to me and said, “We’re just having a bet over there and my mate reckons that you couldn’t swim the English Channel.” And I’d say, “Really? Gimme the fookin’ trunks!” Now I can’t swim, but I’d still give it a go. Plus, I also interrupt people a lot. That annoys me. I love the fact that I’ve managed to generate myself an extraordinary amount of cash. I really am very proud of that… because it allows me to interrupt people.

What advice should you have taken, but did not?
Don’t fookin’ join your brother’s band. And this is my advice to people: if you’re ever gonna join a band, don’t have any family members in it. It’s wrong. The Everly Brothers and the Kinks will tell you the same fookin’ thing. It always ends in tears. Always.

What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
Well, there’s been a healthy turnover of band members, as you probably know. It doesn’t take much to get you fired in Oasis. Not turning up for band meetings is an instant dismissal. And kick someone out of bed? I guess if I was hungry or not and I needed feeding. “Just get on with my fookin’ bacon sandwiches and shut up!” Although, I’ve never done that before in my entire life, you see. I guess any form of flatulence. That would be wrong.

What do you think of when you think of Canada?
I think of being absolutely freezing fookin’ cold. And I also think of this fookin’ weird, weird French influence. What’s that all about? What business have they got over there? Why French? I was in a Dunkin Donuts in Canada, and the menu was in French — the whole thing, right. And I asked the woman for a coffee, and she only spoke French. Now, I’ve taken a lot of drugs in my time mate, but I’ve got to say that the single most frightening experience of my life was thinking, “I could have swore I was fookin’ in Canada when I got off that tour bus. And now I’m in… am I? No. I don’t know.” And then I said to the woman, “You can speak English, can’t you?” And I think she was getting annoyed that I was being a bit rude by that point, because she was only speaking French. I was going, “I know you can speak English. We’re in Canada. And I know you understand what I’m saying.” I may have brought up something about the war and then left.

What is your vital daily ritual?
A cup of very strong tea and a Marlboro Light in the morning. Gotta have that. And at least two hours from the point of opening one’s eyes to the point of getting ready for one’s business. Gotta be two hours. I can’t be getting up and going straight to practice. That’s out of order.

What are your feelings on piracy, internet or otherwise?
See, I like pirates. That’d be a good occupation, wouldn’t it? I’d like to have been a pirate, if I wasn’t a rock star. Some might say pirates are earlier day rock stars. Of course, on the sea. Fook internet piracy. How boring’s that? I just don’t think I have an opinion on that. We’ll leave that to Lars Ulrich. Make an arse of yourself. Hey, if it’s out there for free and you can find it, then good for you. To be quite honest, between me and you, can I say this off the record? I’ve got enough money. I don’t need any more. Lars Ulrich has got enough money. He don’t need anymore. Keith Richards or Paul McCartney have got more money than sense — look at the way they dress. It’s blatantly evident. We’re well paid, us successful people.

What was your most memorable day job?
Being a roadie [for the Inspiral Carpets]. It’s almost up there with being a rock star. In fact, it’s less hassle than being a rock star, but you don’t get paid as much.

How do you spoil yourself?
I own a lot of guitars, and if I see one I’ll just buy it. I own lots of shoes. Shoes are important. Since I don’t take drugs anymore, I have a real weakness for guitars and sunglasses.

If I wasn’t playing music I would be...
I guess I’d still be a roadie. I’d be setting guitars up for playing music.

What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
What does that mean? Get naked and start fooking goblins? I dunno, Viagra?

What has been your strangest celebrity encounter?
Well, I’m one of the rare breed of rock’n’rollers who I actually does my own shopping. You can catch me at various supermarkets round the west end, buyin’ various household appliances and bits of food, stuff like that. So I kind of mix quite well with the general public, and I don’t mind rubbing shoulders with the mere mortals in the street. I don’t consider myself to be a celebrity. It doesn’t freak me out going to buy a pint of milk. Not like Elton John or Robbie Williams — I don’t lock myself way from society and then claim that people don’t understand me. But, have you met Lars Ulrich? Although he’s a fookin’ geezer and I do love him, he’s a strange character. A strange, strange man. I met William Shatner once, in a lift. He got in a lift we were in and we actually did resist the urge as he pushed the button to his floor, to say, you know what I’m gonna say, don’t you? I don’t need to say it. But we all burst out laughing because we all wanted to say it. You know he’s a midget, and he was kind of looking at us and said, [Adopting a Shatner accent] “Are you in some kind of band?” Well, what? What does that fookin’ mean? We’re in a band. And then he went, “You look like the Doors.” Which one of us exactly?! Who looks like fookin’ Jim Morrison? D’ya know what I mean? “I’m not being Ray Manzarek,” that’s what I said. “Fook that! And I’m certainly not being Robby fookin’ Krieger!”

Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
Right. What would I serve them? How many can I have? Right, well let’s see, my dining table seats eight, so that’s me and my girlfriend, so that’s six guests. Bono, Bill Hicks, John Lennon… I reckon it’s gonna be a shit party this, innit? Well let’s just do lunch with five, and ham sandwiches I think. And if people didn’t eat meat, just fookin’ eat the salad.

What does or did your mom wish you were doing instead?
My mum? She’s fookin’ havin’ a laugh. My mum actually thought we’d amount to zero, so the fact that I’m a fookin’ major rock star makes her happy. Maybe the fact that I just bought her a new house has something to do with it.

Given the opportunity to choose, how would you like to die?
I’d like to die in my sleep, take a real coward’s way out. Or overdose, preferably on heroin.
----------
Perhaps the most verbally colourful band of the last 25 years, Oasis — primarily songwriter/guitarist/occasional singer Noel and front-man Liam Gallagher — know how to give the right sound bite at the right time without any care. But beyond their big gobs is a collection of songs that took Britain — and a good portion of the world — by storm, in a way unlike any other British band since their heroes: the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This month, Oasis celebrate their 15-year existence with Stop the Clocks, a collection of the best songs, according to the band. Heavy on selections from their two masterpieces, debut album Definitely Maybe and its follow-up (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, the compilation may throw some off with its unbalanced track listing — namely the complete write-off of their third album, the cocaine-fuelled circus Be Here Now. According to Noel, it’s just about honesty. “You can’t be sentimental about these things. It was just like, ‘If it’s that good, then why haven’t we played it for fookin’ six years?’ Subconsciously, in the back of all our minds, we’ve dismissed [Be Here Now]. Anyway, who’s gonna argue that my best work was done over the first two records, and it’s only recently come back to work over the last two records.” But it’s also about having a laugh too, something the band have done plenty of, even at their own expense over the years. “The middle two, well, not much inspiration going on there… not that anybody out there shouldn’t go out and buy them!”

------
The first batch of Stop The Clocks reviews are in. Q Magazine gave it 3/5, Rolling Stone Australia gave it 4/5 and Uncut have given it 5/5.

Noel appears in the new issue of Irish magazine 'Hot Press' with a lengthy interview. If anybody could pass on a full transcript or scan of the piece then I'd be most grateful.

Noel and Gem are due to play an acoustic set after a screening of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' on Tuesdat 7th November in Toronto, Canada. The show will be broadcast on the Edge 102 radio station, so if anyone in the area is able to record it from FM or Digital Radio, please pass me on a copy to share. Thanks.

A Noel interview with MTV Asia will appear on their website from this Monday the 6th through till the 20th.

More content was added to the Oasisinet Stopclock on Friday. 2 clips from 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' were on there, as was the video of Champagne Supernova live from Knebworth to be included on the 'Stop The Clocks' DVD and a clip from the EPK of 'Talk Tonight'.

Noel will be doing an interview for MTVU in America to be broadcast at a yet unscheduled date. Fans have until Monday 6th to send in their questions via this link.

Oasis are the subject of a new photo exihibition due to open on November 13. In celebration of the new Oasis Best of collection “Stop the Clocks”, an exclusive collection of images taken by Jill Furmanovsky will be on show at FOPP’s flagship store on London’s Tottenham Court Road. Rockarchive have selected images for the exhibition from Furmanovsky’s Oasis collection “Was There Then.” She captured Oasis candidly from their beginnings in Manchester key events in their career such as Maine Road in 1995 and to America. All images at the exhibition will be available for sale for the first time as limited edition signed prints. For sizes and pricing information, you can get in touch with fopp@rockarchive.com

KOKO gig download + Lord Don't Slow Me Down TV premiere

2006-11-04T02:11:00.000+01:00

Here, as promised, is my recording of Thursday's nights events at KOKO in Camden, London. Gem Archer was on electric guitar and Terry Kirkbride wason percussion. NOTE: This recording unfortunately does not include Don't Look Back In Anger, Married With Children and Listen Up as the MiniDisc ran out as it was so late. But I am assured that those songs were recorded by other people, so they should emerge in time.

http://www.savefile.com/projects/1038285

Also, here' s an excellent video of Cast No Shadow recorded by "noels_left_eyebrow" from the Masterplan forum.

Channel 4 today released preliminary schedules which included the UK TV premiere of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'. It's due to air on Sunday 19th November at 11:50pm until 1:10am. Taking into account advertisment breaks, this means the film is about an hour long. Repeats of the 2005 Manchester concert, and the 2004 documentary 'There We Were... Now Here We Are: The Making Of Oasis are also scheduled on Channel 4 later that week. These are taken from preliminary schedules, so these dates and times are subject to change.

There is also a stack of other interviews and general news to get through and put on the site which I'll try to get done over the weekend.

Finally, I'd like to plug my new Oasis interview archive site at http://oasisinterviews.blogspot.com/ . It's in it's very early days at the moment, and there is a lot of put on there, but hopefully it'll be an excellent library and resource site for Oasis fans.

KOKO News

2006-11-03T03:56:00.000+01:00

From the NME (yeah, I know I said I'd get something on here before them - blame my mobile phone for that broken promise).

Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller joined forces onstage at a charity gig in London tonight (November 2).

Gallagher, watched by his brother and bandmate Liam and backed by a two bandmates including Oasis bandmate Gem Archer, was joined by his buddy onstage at KOKO, at a show in aid of drugs charity Focus.

Together they performed Weller's 2005 hit single 'Come On/Let's Go' and 'Thick As Thieves', a classic by Weller's old band The Jam, from their 1979 album 'Setting Sons'.

Noel also covered his heroes' The Beatles' 1967 classic 'Strawberry Fields Forever'.

Earlier comedian Russell Brand had acted as MC, introducing opening act The Holloways, and then Dirty Pretty Things, standing in for Kasabian. Their guitarist Serge Pizzorno is suffering from laryngitis, or as Noel put it onstage later when dedicating 'Cast No Shadow' to his pal, "something pretentious like that".

DPT were joined by a guest of their own, The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, who sang with Carl Barat on the singles 'Deadwood' and 'Bang Bang You're Dead' as well as his own group's 1997 hit 'North Country Boy'.

Gallagher, who was playing acoustically (with Archer on electric guitar), played a set including the Oasis classics 'Wonderwall', 'Don't Look Back In Anger' and 'Slide Away', and rarely performed B-sides such as 'Fade Away', 'Listen Up' and set opener '(It's Good) To Be Free'.

Noel's full set was:
'(It's Good) To Be Free'
'Talk Tonight'
'Fade Away'
'Cast No Shadow'
'The Importance Of Being Idle'
'Come On/Let's Go' (with Paul Weller)
'Thick As Thieves' (with Paul Weller)
'Wonderwall''Half The World Away'
'Slide Away'
'Strawberry Fields Forever'
'Don't Look Back In Anger'
'Married With Children'
'Listen Up'

I know for a fact that all but the last 3 songs were recorded by a fan in the audience (Oooh, I wonder who), and that the gig was being bootlegged by at least one other person. Look out for some download links here tomorrow.

Oh Koko!

2006-11-02T15:23:00.000+01:00

Noel is due to play his long-awaited set at KOKO in Camden tonight. Just to remind people that the last we heard BBC 6 Music had been refused permission to broadcast Noel's set, but it's still worth tuning in, in case there has been a late change of mind by Oasis' management. The broadcast starts at 10pm.

NME.com will be putting up a report of the nights proceedings later on tonight - but I'm hoping to get something on this site before them, so keep checking back from around 10pm.

Short Liam interview for Swiss website

2006-11-02T03:40:00.000+01:00

Liam yesterday gave an interview to Swiss website students.ch. You can read it below.

http://www.students.ch/events/page_news_article.php?id=3419

Students.ch: Hi Liam, how are you?
Liam: Thanks man, I’m sitting in my office in London.

First of all, congratulations to your Q Award.
Yeah man.

Is doing promo for this record different than for the other albums?
Well, not really. We’re not doing a lot of promo for this one. The music speaks for itself. We’re pretty proud of that record.

So you don’t feel kind of urged to do this interview?
No man.

Are you happy with how the album came out?
Yes, I’m pretty proud, it’s an important one. And all the songs are important. But it’s a pity that 'Rockin’ Chair' is not on it.

Please tell me about how you compiled the album.
Well, Noel came up with a list and it was pretty much decided. I wanted to put 'Rockin’ Chair' on it but I didn’t want to argue. They’re all important anyway. And they’re all great. My favourite? Maybe 'Songbird' because it is my song. (laughs)

Is there a hidden track?
Nah, I don’t think so but I don’t know anyway.

What does the title mean for you? 'Stop The Clocks'?
It’s the end of a certain Oasis era and the time for a new beginning and also time to move on. It’s the last album with SonyBMG.

What about the cover by Peter Blake?
For me, it’s just a cover. Nice colours and nice stuff in it.

You never wanted to release a best-of album until Oasis would call it a day.
Of course, I’d rather be going to the studio and be talking to you about a new record. It’s better than to talk about old songs. It’s easy to put out a best-of. The label would have it done anyway so we thought we might join them instead of them releasing a singles collection.

So you don’t think that you’re going to sign a deal with a major label again?
That’s what we’re talking about right now. I don’t give a damn shit about all that business stuff. For me it’s music. At least, it will be the same people and management.

Are some Oasis shows in the pipeline?
Nah, Noel’s gonna do some acoustic shows. Andy and Gem will join him, Zak is back with The Who and I’m chilling with my children and my missus. I don’t like Oasis acoustic. I’m more into the rock’n’roll way of Oasis. I’d rather be at the shows as a guest.

You’ve written some great tunes and we’d like to hear more of them. Do you have any solo record plans?
No man. I’m Oasis. (laughs) Good title for your interview.

What does songwriting mean to you?
I’m doing it for fun, there’s not a lot of pressure. I’m kind of new and I’m still happy singing the others’ songs. I’m just sitting down and strumming some chords on my guitar. It happens as it happens.

Will there ever be a song that is written by you and sung by Noel?
I’d like to think so, that would be cool. A Gallagher/Gallagher song.

Is there anybody you’d like to collaborate with?
No.

You were on a huge tour until March. Any spectacular shows?
Oh, Manchester was amazing and also the Madison Square Garden. And some little shows as well.

Do you remember the gig in Switzerland?
That was in that small place. I didn’t like it, it was too noisy and strange.

Next year, you’re receiving the Outstanding Achievement Price at the Brit Awards.
It’s always nice to be getting an award but we’re doing this for 15 or 17 years, I can’t remember. We’re quite relaxed. We got top tunes and we don’t give a shit about awards. It’s great to have some free booze and to have a good time, though.

What bands do you like?
Kasabian, they’re good lads and yes, the Arctic Monkeys are cool as well. There are loads of bands out there but there are hardly any that are good.

What are your plans for next year?
I don’t know. I’m waiting until the big man is calling for a new record. (laughs) And maybe I’ll be buying some new clothes.

Football?
Nah, rubbish. It’s not really interesting at the moment.

Liam, thanks for the interview. Have a nice day.
Lovely, thanks man, take care, yeah man.

In a small bit of other news, Oasis will be doing an interview for next week's NME, to be released on Wednesday 8th November.

Noel MTV Interview + Q Awards footage

2006-11-01T23:09:00.000+01:00

Noel recently done an interview for MTV, of which clips were shown in a news report in September. Today, more excerpts from that interview were put onto the Overdrive player at www.mtv.co.uk . Also on there is a news report on the Q Awards which includes clips of Noel making an acceptance speech.

Tomorrow, Noel is due to play an acoustic set at the KOKO club in Camden, London. I have a contact who's going to try to post a setlist report on here soon after Noel finishes his set. So check back here from around 10:30pm - 12:00am tomorrow night to find out what Noel played.

Oasis / Noel win at the Q Awards

2006-10-30T17:12:00.000+01:00

The 2006 Q Awards took place earlier today in London and Oasis walked off with the 'Best Act In The World' award. Noel also got presented with the 'Classic Songwriter' gong.

Noel later gave an interview to BBC Radio 1. Which you can download here. Any more interviews will get added to this article if and when I find them so keep checking back for more.

Downloads:

BBC Radio 1 - Newsbeat report on the awards
Q Radio - Noel acceptance speeches and interview
Sky News - Very short Noel interview on the timing of the awards

Noel interview for Yahoo Music

Noel KOKO show information

2006-10-30T03:55:00.000+01:00

Right, a bit of good and bad news regarding this show on the 2nd November.

The bad news is that Noel's record company won't let BBC 6 Music broadcast any of Noel's set during their highlights broadcast on Thursday night. Obviously someone in the Oasis camp still has their head firmly shoved up their arse. God, it's like the Be Here Now promotional campaign all over again.

The good news is that this hints at some new material being played, as a broadcast ban has been in place before when Oasis perform new material (starting with Radio 1 not being allowed to brodcast 'It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)' and 'My Big Mough' at the August 1996 Knebworth show, Sky being banned from broadcasting 'The Hindu Times' and 'Hung In A Bad Place' during their October 2001 Glasgow broadcast, and with the BBC being refused permission to broadcast 'A Bell Will Ring' and 'The Meaning Of Soul' during Oasis' Glastonbury 2004).

Brand also mentioned that Noel's set will be "an hour long", which should lead to at least a dozen songs being played, barring any crappy collaborations.

Miscellaneous bits + pieces

2006-10-28T11:48:00.000+01:00

Just a few small bits of news here not really worthwhile creating a new post over for each one.

First of all, the live version of 'Some Might Say' which will be released on the 'Stop The Clocks' EP, which Oasisinet refers to as "venue unknown", was in fact recorded live at the Club Citta, Kawasaki, Japan on the 22nd August 1995.

Liam was on Virgin Radio's breakfast show on Friday morning, slightly the worse for wear. Here's the story from The Sun. And when you've finished reading that, you can listen to Liam by going to the Virgin Radio website.

LIAM GALLAGHER caused havoc at Virgin Radio yesterday as he phoned in drunk about a dozen times — desperate to get on air.

Liam and pal Scully wanted to take part in the Who’s Calling Christian? spot on CHRISTIAN O’CONNELL’s breakfast show where listeners get celebs to ring in with the prospect of winning £10,000 for a charity of their choice.

But Liam was so hammered station bosses were unsure it was him — until he and Scully sent a cheeky mobile phone snap of themselves.

A Virgin source said: “Liam went berserk when asked to prove his identity. He swore, hung up, then kept ringing back every few minutes and cursing some more.

“He jokingly barked at Christian: ‘I’m gonna come down there and rip yer f***ing head off.’” When Liam did get on air, he also treated listeners to four-letter words.

Christian told me: “Liam said he’d been drinking all night.”

As mentioned by this site a few days ago, Noel made a small contribution to the BBC Radio 2 Burt Bacharach documentary, that aired on Friday night. You can listen to the documentary again at the BBC Radio 2 website for the next 7 days.

The Sun are giving away tickets to exclusive UK screenings of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'. To enter, all you have to do is send in a question to the band for a forthcoming interview. To enter the competition, go to The Sun's website.

New Noel interviews + AOL acoustic set

2006-10-28T01:29:00.000+01:00

OK, first, and most importantly of all, On the 19th September in New York, Noel done an interview and an acoustic set for AOL. He played '(It's Good) To Be Free', 'Whatever' and 'Slide Away'.

You can listen to and download all of this at http://music.aol.com/artists/the-interface/noel-gallagher

Noel also done a short interview with Chart Attack.com at http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/10/2710.cfm

After 12 years of rock 'n' roll stardom, Oasis have officially announced that, after compiling their Stop The Clocks greatest hits album (due out November 21), they're taking a break.

Since emerging in 1994 with the release of their Definitely Maybe debut, the band have maintained a profile unmatched by any of their former Brit-pop rivals. Guitarist Noel Gallagher says that Oasis' longevity has more to do with the universal quality of the band's music than their ambition or tenacity.

"I think a lot of bands from 1994, particularly the English bands, were so British that you couldn't get it if you weren't British, you know what I mean?" Gallagher says. "The irony and the painful fucking trendiness of it all.

"Whereas Oasis, it's universal, man. Like 'Cigarettes And Alcohol' means the same to people in Brooklyn as it does in Burnage. The sentiments of those songs are the kind of feelings that young kids get every day. I guess all those bands from 1994 were just trying too hard. And I don't ever attempt anything unless I can make it look effortless."

So, what will Gallagher do while Oasis take their much-needed break? Don't expect any animated side-projects or self-indulgent solo albums. Gallagher plans to spend his time just hanging out and not doing much of anything at all.

"I have to get coaxed back into doing work," he says. "I don't aggressively pursue my muse.

"I'm not one that always has to be creating — if I'm not writing songs, I'm painting, and if I'm not painting I'm fucking trying to make a bottle out of a fucking table leg. I'm not into all of that. In that sense, I'm not very creative at all. You get some idiots that if they have more than a day off they start throwing fucking paint around the living room. I don't give a fuck about the creative process. I'll do it when I get around to it."

When Gallagher will "get around to it" remains to be seen. To most savvy music fans, "hiatus" can usually be translated as "we're breaking up, but we want to keep our options open just in case there's some money to be made in the future." In typical Gallagher style, Noel is staying cunningly cryptic about Oasis' future. While he consistently speaks of Oasis in the present tense, he won't speculate when — or even if — there will be another album of new Oasis songs.

"It would be wrong for me to say yes," he says when asked if the band will ever go into the studio again. "But I'd be lying if I said no.

"It could be a long time. To be honest, we've got 11 songs left over from the last album and, of that 11, seven are really good. And of that seven, four are really great. We've really got the starting point for a new album, so we could go and start a record and get half it done next week. So, there's not really any rush."

Gallagher pauses. "And if you believe that, you'll believe quite literally anything."

26th October Oasisinet Stopclock update / More Noel solo shows / Noel UK TV + Radio appearances

2006-10-26T11:16:00.000+01:00

New content of the Stopclock today includes a clip of the live version of Some Might Say from 1995 that will be released on the 'Stop The Clocks' EP. There is also a live video of 'Fade Away' from the Chicago Metro on the 15th October 1994 which will be included on the bonus DVD available with the Special Edition of the 'Stop The Clocks' album. Last of all is a clip of Noel and Liam talking about 'Wonderwall' taken from the 'Lock The Box' EPK which will also be included on the 'STC' Special Edition.

In other news, Noel is confirmed to be doing an acoustic set (along with "Friends" - Gem is to be one) at The Music Hall in Toronto on the 7th November. The show also includes a screening of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'. Tickets are available from Saturday 28th October. See http://danforthmusichall.ca/ for more details. A similar Los Angeles show is also set for the 9th, with tickets being given away exclusively to members of the Oasisinet mailing list.

Noel's going be on TV and Radio in the UK over the next couple of weeks, but in things unconnected with the new Oasis stuff. He'll be talking about the hit British sitcom 'The Royle Family', which returns with a new episode earlier that evening, in a programme entitled 'We Love The Royle Family' on BBC1 on Sunday 29th October at 10:15pm. As you will know, the theme song of the show is 'Half The World Away' and Noel also recorded a special version of Slade's 1973 classic 'Merry Xmas Everybody' for the 2000 Christmas Special of the show. Noel's also going to be contributing to the 4-part BBC Radio 2 documentary series 'What The World Needs Now - The Burt Bacharach Story', starting on Friday 27th October at 7:00pm. Although when BBC Radio 2 broadcast a similar programme a few weeks back, the clip of Noel talking was no more than 5 seconds long, so it won't necessarily be a lengthy contribution by Noel. Finally, Noel will contribute to a Paul Weller documentary on BBC2 on Sunday 9th November at 9:00pm.

Finally, the Japanese release date for the 'Stop The Clocks' EP has been put back from the 25th October to the 8th November.

Sunday action with Noel Gallagher and Russell Brand

2006-10-22T12:20:00.000+01:00

The latest episode in this long running series was on today with Noel talking about his appearance on Parkinson earlier in the week. The programme is due to air on the 26th November on ITV1.

Download Noel chatting away on Russell Brand's show here
http://www.savefile.com/files/184328

'The Masterplan' TV debut / Creators' interview / Oasis forthcoming Bee Gees cover

2006-10-21T20:00:00.000+01:00

Just a reminder to UK readers that the network premiere of the new 'The Masterplan' promo video is on at 9:05pm tonight on TOTP2 on BBC2. This is a change to the original schedule of 8pm so check your settings. Ben Jones, one of the creators of the video, gave an interview to BBC Radio Manchester recently, and you can read that below where he talks about the making of the video.

Former Bee Gee Robin Gibb gave an interview to BBC Radio Oxford recently, saying that a tribute album to his brother Maurice is in the works at the moment. He revealed that along with covers by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton, Oasis would be contributing to it with a cover of 'Lonely Days' from their 1970 album '2 Years On'. No release date is known at the moment.

Ben Jones interview - BBC Radio Manchester

Q: What do LS Lowry and Oasis have in common? A: They cast no shadow (Take a look at a Lowry). Here’s another: a cartoon Gallagher pair are the new matchstick figures in Lowry's paintings. The result could be a music video classic:

Ben Jones can't wait to see Top of the Pops this Saturday. Why? Because the new video he has created for Oasis’ The Masterplan is getting its first TV airing.

"It’s just great!" he says. "I mean, to have a video on Top of the Pops, it’s just one of things you think: ‘that would be fantastic!"

Working with his partner Greg for production company Partizan, Ben has created a fascinating film in which a cartoon version of the Gallaghers wander through Lowry’s paintings of industrial Manchester and, along the way, tell the true story of Oasis.

Oasis fans, look out for: the house on Sandicroft Street where they were born; Noel’s first ever Man City game; Liam’s much-talked about swagger; the gasworks where Noel wrote the songs for Definitely Maybe after breaking his leg; Johnny Roadhouse Music (where they bought their first guitars) and Sifters, where the Burnage boys used to buy their records.

While lovers of LS Lowry can enjoy paintings and characters including Man Lying on A Wall, Fairground in Daisy Nook and Going to the Match - all given a modern twist. Ben Jones explains all:

It’s a great idea. What was the plan for The Masterplan?
"Well, we were told that we couldn’t actually use the band themselves because they were in the middle of recording so we’d have to come up with another idea. eg use old footage, because they’ve done Masterplan a number of times; do a film that didn’t include them in it (which they’ve done in the past); or something else. Basically, we didn’t like any of the other routes, so we thought: how about animation? So particularly given the Yellow Submarine that was done for the Beatles, we thought: maybe there’s something in this."

Why set it in a Lowry landscape?
"To me the song is very much about Oasis’ past and the soul of the band. And to us, the soul of the band is Manchester. Lowry is the obvious connection back to Manchester for us. We had no idea how it would animate but we thought it could look really good. So we went away, bought lots of books, and built up a narrative story of the band based on Lowry paintings. And that was all within a 24-hour period because we only got 24 hours to come up with an idea! Then we approached the band with it .. and they came back and said: 'We love it. Can you make it work?' "

How much help did you have from the Lowry?
"To be perfectly honest, we couldn’t have done this without them. They have been fantastic! They’ve been very open-minded about the use of Lowry imagery, very forward thinking, I would say, because they realised that: here was a chance for a lot of the Lowry work to go to a completely new audience. And huge exposure really because a video by Oasis was always going to be on in a lot of places. And I think because it was Oasis, and because it was Manchester, it just fitted really really well."

Who came up with the references to Oasis and Lowry?
"It was always our idea to layer the video with lots and lots of Lowry references, Oasis references and Manchester references. Because there’s no official biography of the band, we ended up with a huge list of stuff which we went to Noel with and said: here’s a list of facts which we could potentially put into the video. Things like Sandicroft Street, which you see in the video, which is a street where they were born; you’ve got Hacienda in there, the G-Mex and so on…. We always said to them is, what we want to do is to use huge chunks of Lowry paintings but add little bits on to give it a modern twist."

Was it difficult animating Lowry figures?
"We had to really try and interpret exactly how Lowry characters would move because we had no idea. But I think we tried to keep all the figures as basic as we possibly could in that fantastic Lowry style. If you look at it, there’s not a lot in there that have shadows. We purposely did that. Some things needed it like moving vehicles.. But a lot of the characters and the band don’t have shadows when they’re walking along the street. I think if we had done it would have probably looked very different. Lowry never painted in that way."

And what did Liam and Noel say when they saw it?
"Well, it’s interesting. The first thing we did was to animate Liam and Noel - and in particular Liam’s swagger! So we did a lot of drawings and showed them and said: look this is how you’ll walk, this is what you’ll look like on stage. And then we did the backgrounds, and moved them from one scene to another. So they kind of saw it bit by bit. Eventually we showed them what was nearly a finished version.. and they absolutely loved it. They just said: ‘This is fantastic! This is exactly what we wanted.’ And we were over the moon."

Friday's Oasisinet Stopclock Update

2006-10-20T19:49:00.000+01:00

More content added today to the Oasisinet Stopclock. First, two video files, one of Liam meeting Girls Aloud (as previously seen on the 'Let There Be Love' DVD single) and the second is the new promo video for 'The Masterplan'. The other, intriguing thing there is what looks to be an embedded audio file (1 of 2). At the moment, the link doesn't seem to be working. It could be one of the tracksfrom 'Stop The Clocks' or it's EP, a live track from the 'Don't Believe The Truth' world tour, as found on the 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' film or, at best, the new song that's on the 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' trailer.

As soon as the audio file is up and running, I'll have details of it here.

New Noel interview for The Wave Magazine

2006-10-20T03:28:00.000+01:00

In addition to Noel's interview for insidebayarea.com, published here on the 13th, The Wave Magazine (also based in California) today published more bits from what looks to be the same interview.

thewavemag.com

On the surface, all might seem quiet on the usually blustery Oasis front. The multi-platinum English outfit hasn’t recorded any new material since last year’s Don’t Believe The Truth, and has no plans to re-enter the studio any time soon. Dig deeper, however, and you’ll find their hive is actually buzzing with activity. Band Svengali Noel Gallagher just left London for rustic Buckinghamshire; joined his pals Kasabian onstage for a couple of numbers at an NME-sponsored bash; tracked two Beatles covers for an upcoming John Lennon tribute program (one with the Stereophonics, another with Johnny Marr and Cornershop); and just viewed the final cut of Lord Don’t Slow Me Down, an Oasis tour documentary hitting overseas theaters this fall. Somehow, he and his frontman/kid brother, Liam, also found the time to hand-pick 18 Oasis classics for upcoming Stop The Clocks anthology for Columbia, which kicks off with the long overdue release of early B-side single “Acquiesce,” one of the band’s best-loved standards. It also includes the recent Noel-sung smash, “The Importance of Being Idle,” although its composer is anything but these days.

Sipping afternoon tea in his new countryside mansion, Gallagher paused long enough to chat.

The Wave: So what’s the film’s story?
Noel Gallagher: I don’t know whether there is a story. I think that the guy who was making the film, Baillie Walsh, thought that his story would unfold across the nine months he filmed us. But I don’t think one ever did. The bulk of it is the American tour with us, Kasabian, and Jet, and then there are bits in England, bits in Japan, so it’s kinda broadly based all around the world. We weren’t in any hurry to let the cameras in to see what actually goes on backstage, and I think a bit of mystery in a band’s life is pretty much a good thing. But everybody was kinda on their best behavior. I think Baillie was expecting the drinking-champagne-out-of-cowboy-boots-at-seven-o’clock-in-the-morning-while-swinging-from-a-chandelier kinda thing. But he got onboard 10 years too late for that. So it’s the story of a band who are... errr... just kinda comfortable with where they are. I’ve seen the film once, and I thought it was great, beautifully shot. But, as for what it all means? Who the fuck knows? I don’t.

TW: Oddly enough, “All Around The World” is not on the collection. And thanks to those endless AT&T commercials, it’s probably now your most famous song – at least, in the States, where you hear it every five minutes.
NG: The reason it’s not on the anthology is that it’s just too fucking long – we couldn’t really find a place for it anywhere. But the reason that that came about for the advert was, we got an offer, and blah, blah, blah, my manager’s going on about it, and it was something that I’ve never kinda considered before, and there was a lot of cash involved. But I was like, “Nah, it’s not really my bag.” But Liam, bless him, said, “Look – that song’s 10 years old, right? We never fucking play it. It’s not one of the big famous songs, so why don’t you just fucking cash in on it?” And I was like, “Well, fine. Fair enough.”

And I said, “How much is it again?” [when] the figure came back, it wasn’t a very difficult decision after that. And, of course, living here, we don’t get to see the advert ’cause it wasn’t shown in England. But I was in Mexico and I’ve been in New York quite recently, and I hear it twice a day, every day, when I’m in the States.

TW: It’s great that “Acquiesce” is finally getting a shot at the charts. It never really got a fair shake.
NG: It was the same as “The Masterplan.” I was kinda sent into the studio to write a B-side, and that’s what I wrote. And when I wrote ’em, people were going, “Oooh – they’re a bit too good for B-sides!” And I was like, “Look – you fucking put me in the studio; that’s what I’ve written. And if you don’t fucking like it, don’t put me in the studio.” There was a two- or three-year period where everything I wrote was just fantastic. And, of course, if all the B-sides for the singles off Morning Glory would’ve been what became the Be Here Now album, I think we would’ve gone on to be possibly one of the biggest bands of all time. Not that we’re not anyway. But I think we would’ve been as big as U2, because I had an idea in my head for Be Here Now – it was to be the most bombastic, fucking hugest-sounding record of all time. And I didn’t worry too much about the words or the arrangements. But the really interesting stuff from around that period is the B-sides – there’s a lot more inspired music on the B-sides than there is on Be Here Now itself, I think.

TW: You and your ex, Meg Matthews, were just in the news, denying custody-battle rumors about your daughter, Anais. How is Anais holding up under all this press scrutiny?
NG: Ah, she’s alright. She’s like any normal six-year-old – she’s a little too cheeky for her own good, but she’s alright. I see her on a regular basis. And she’s only six, but unfortunately she already likes Kylie Minogue, which is something that I’m not too pleased about. And actually, my girlfriend took her to see Kylie Minogue last year, before Kylie got ill. But Anais is into animals now – she’s obsessed with dogs, cats, sheep, horses, spiders, and all sorts.

TW: It seems like you got into being a dad much more than you ever imagined you would.
NG: Well, I never had any dreams to be. I mean, I love kids, but I don’t really dig being a parent, so I’m kinda learning as I go along about parenthood. Especially for a guy. It’s different for women, because they carry the child for nine months and all that. So they have nine months to prepare for a child being born, whereas guys get about 10 minutes. For the eight months, 20-some days, you’re thinking, “This is all gonna be some horrible mistake, and I’m gonna wake up in a minute, and I’m still gonna be a single guy, and there’s gonna be no kids involved!” So you get about 10 minutes to prepare for it. But I think it’s a challenge to be a cool parent. But I don’t know – my parents split when I was young and all that, so Anais is following in my footsteps in that respect. But I have good days and bad days, being a dad. But it’s one of those things – you’ve just gotta get on with it and take it day by day, week by week. And I do my best.

Liam BBC Radio 1 interview download

2006-10-20T00:43:00.000+01:00

Liam was on BBC Radio 1 on Thursday evening, chatting away to Colin Murray in a pre-recorded interview. It's a rare, lengthy interview by the man, around 30 minutes after editing out the songs, so download it.

http://www.savefile.com/files/175428

UK 'Stop The Clocks' launch nights

2006-10-19T17:17:00.000+01:00

Oasisinet have announced a series of 'Stop The Clocks' launch nights at venues across the UK in November. Events have been confirmed in Leeds, Brighton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Sheffield, Liverpool, Norwich, Portsmouth and Glasgow. The launch nights include playbacks of the album, competitions to win exclusive Oasis merchandise and lots more. More information is available at Oasisinet.

Liam on Radio 1 / Cigs & Alc demo / Noel interview / 2007 BRIT Awards

2006-10-19T12:01:00.000+01:00

Just a reminder that Liam will be on BBC Radio 1 tonight, talking to Colin Murray. The show starts at 10pm in the UK. Hopefully the interview will be live as, Liam being Liam, anything could happen. You can listen to Radio 1 live online by clicking the following link. A Real Audio player is required.

BBC Radio 1 - Listen Live

Also on BBC Radio 1 earlier today, Jo Whiley played the demo of 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' that's going to be released on the 'Stop The Clocks' EP. Unfortunately, it's the same demo version that was released on an NME cover tape in February 1994 and which has been easily available on bootlegs since then.

Whiley also announced that Oasis will be given the Outstanding Contribution To Music award at the 2007 BRIT Awards on Wednesday 14th February, 2007. The band will be there in person to pick up the award and perform live. BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson said, “Oasis set the standard for many of the young rock bands who are currently enjoying success in the UK charts. As the BRIT Awards goes live for the first time in nearly two decades, it is appropriate that we should honour one of the most exciting live acts the UK has produced.”

Finallly, excerpts of a Noel interview have been appearing in the Australian press today, mainly because Noel's been slagging off the Australian football team. You can read these excerpts of the interview at the link below. If I can get hold of the full interview, done for the Australian Associated Press, then I'll put it all on this site.

Sydney Morning Herald

'Stop The Clocks' EP cover

2006-10-19T01:25:00.000+01:00

The official Oasis store, along with a few other online retailers, have the cover for the new EP up. As you can see, it's virtually the same as the promos, but with the Oasis logo on the other side of the picture.

We'll hopefully be getting information on whether the Cigarettes & Alcohol demo is the same as the one released on an NME cover tape in February 1994 and perhaps of the location of the live version of Some Might Say, when the EP is first released in Japan next Thursday.

Bonehead comments on 'Stop The Clocks' best-of

2006-10-18T11:47:00.000+01:00

Bonehead had a few words to say to the Manchester Evening News about the new Oasis compilation.

Manchester Evening News

Meanwhile, The Diary couldn't resist asking Bonehead his thoughts on the release of the Oasis "Best of" album next month. It has caused some debate among fans about the tracks selected - including early B-sides and album tracks at the expense of more recent hit singles.

Bonehead said: "It's something we said we'd never do, but good luck to them.

"I'm on 14 out of the 18 tracks they've put on the compilation, so I'm happy. I think it's a pretty good selection."

But he added: "I got a bit worried when I heard they'd re-recorded Acquiesce as a single, and thought 'oh no they're going to re-record the whole lot', but thankfully that hasn't happened."

'The Masterplan' new promo video / New Stop Clock content

2006-10-13T22:03:00.000+01:00

Two updates on Oasisinet today. The first was a surprise announcement of a new promo video for 'The Masterplan'. This is the "LS Lowry-style video exclusive" that the TOTP2 synopsis alluded to, and Oasisinet have confirmed that the TV premiere will be on TOTP2 on BBC2 on Saturday 21st October at 8pm. You can also view the video below.

Also on Oasisinet was new content added to the Stop Clock. The new promo video for 'Acquiesce' is now on there, as is another clip from 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down', although people who saw the preview on the 'Let There Be Love' single will have seen the clip before. Also included is an online game of 'Frustration' (also known as 'Trouble') which some of the band were seen playing in an earlier clip. Finally, another part of the 'Lock The Box' EPK, this time focusing on 'Champagne Supernova' with Liam and Noel giving their thoughts on the song.

Noel interview for insidebayarea.com

2006-10-13T11:56:00.000+01:00

Amongst other things is the revelation that Noel has recorded two Beatles covers for a forthcoming BBC John Lennon tribute programme with Cornershop & Johnny Marr and Stereophonics. Oddly enough, Noel and those artists also featured in a Channel 4 John Lennon tribute programme in 2000, so it's either a big coincidence, or the author of the article has got confused with something Noel had said about that 2000 performance.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/bayarealiving/ci_4486464

FOR OASIS, NOW'S A GOOD TIME TO STOP THE CLOCK

IF YOU PAID close attention to "Don't Believe the Truth" — last year's subtly scathing effort from Mancunian supergroup Oasis — the truth itself was obvious: Bandleader Noel Gallagher had had enough of his adopted hometown of London.

If one more obsessive fan approached him with a camera phone begging for a quick snapshot, he grumbled at the time, he would gladly dropkick said cellular straight up the street. So it's no surprise that the star has finally made his disdain official. "I've just moved out of London and back into the English countryside," Gallagher reveals. "I just moved into my new Buckinghamshire mansion."

The guitarist's bratty kid brother, Oasis frontman Liam, has just ditched his old digs, as well. "So he's living in a flat full of cardboard boxes at the moment," Noel chuckles, phoning from home. "Right now, he's in the pub'round the corner from my house, just drinking on his own. How sad is that?"

In reality, the Gallaghers were merely enjoying their post-world-tour down time, with no plans whatsoever of entering a recording studio in the near future.

But Oasis is still maintaining a high profile this fall. There's the long-overdue single release of its early B-side "Acquiesce" (which ships to radio this week), a new best-of anthology "Stop the Clocks" on Columbia and a full-length concert documentary hitting theaters, the aptly-titled "Lord Don't Slow Me Down."

Not to mention, of course, the current heavy TV/radio rotation of early chestnut "All Around the World," as heard in that steady stream of AT&T ads.

So how, exactly, does an artist of Noel Gallagher's stature suddenly change residence? Yard sales are simply out of the question when you want to jettison your belongings, he sighs.

But he hit on a unique solution. Over a laborious three-day period, he says, "I actually put all my junk and clothes and stuff I didn't need into black bin bags, we call'em, or refuse sacks. And then I called the local Oxfam, a charity shop, and I got someone else to be here when they arrived. Because if the guys had seen it was me, it would've all ended up in Sotheby's. So I gave it all to charity and nobody knows," he laughs.

"It's all out there somewhere — people are walking around in my old clothes, eating off my old plates, enjoying all the old bits that I don't need."

As he cleaned house, Gallagher stumbled on a few items he just couldn't part with. "Like loads of unmarked cassettes and CDs that didn't have any writing on'em. I'd stick them in, and a couple of'em were just me, sitting in my front room, playing acoustic guitar, just working out songs. And some of'em were songs that I've yet to record which I'd forgotten about, and that was quite special, just listening to all of those one night."

Gallagher wasn't finished rummaging. Carefully, he and his sibling combed the Oasis catalog to select the 18 classics for "Stop the Clocks."

They arrived at an interesting mix of U.S. hits ("Wonderwall," "Live Forever"), U.K. smashes ("Lyla," "Some Might Say," "Don't Look Back in Anger") and pet B-sides ("Talk Tonight," "The Masterplan," alongside the crowd-pleasing show staple "Acquiesce").

"All the choices for the album are quite obvious, so it's put together for the fans," says Gallagher. As a composer, he's most proud of his vintage "Slide Away" and "Truth's" recent "The Importance Being Idle," he says. "Simply because nobody writes songs like that anymore. I mean, 'Idle' is a song about being lazy, but it's very Kinks, very swinging'60s. And I love 'Slide Away,' because it should've been a single and never was, so it's the one song that hasn't been overplayed to death. I find big hit singles these days are all incredibly commercial. Even bands who claim to be punk like Green Day are anything but."

As Gallagher tells it, there was a three-year period shortly after the band's "Definitely Maybe" 1994 debut "where everything I wrote was fantastic."

"Acquiesce" and "The Masterplan" hail from that productive period. But if Oasis had saved those precious B-sides to release instead of its third coolly received "Be Here Now" album, he reckons, "We would've gone on to be possibly one of the biggest bands of all time. Uhhh, not that we're not anyway. But I think we would've been as big as U2."

Oasis — thanks to its media-fueled rivalry with fellow English outfit Blur — went on to launch, then practically define, the Britpop movement. Unlike Blur's chameleonesque Damon Albarn, though, Noel Gallagher never altered his trademark sound — pealing cathedral guitars propped by huge flying-buttress riffs and Liam's snippy, Lennon-inspired sneer. And persistence paid off.

The group would suffer several lineup changes, but go on to sell over 50 million records.

"All Around the World" was one of the few career coups that failed to make the "Clocks" cut. "Only because it was just too damned long and we couldn't find a place for it anywhere," Gallagher says. But thanks to AT&T, the track now receives more airplay than any other Oasis standard.

When he first heard of the offer, Gallagher quickly nixed the idea. "But Liam, bless him, said, 'Look — that song's 10 years old, we never play it, so why don't you just cash in on it?' And I said, 'How much is it again?' and the figure came back, and it wasn't a very difficult decision after that. But the advert has no presence in England at all. It's not shown anywhere. But you go to the States, and you're bombarded with our song, or the 10 seconds of it that comes on."

Oasis might be resting on its laurels this holiday season, but Gallagher himself is far from idle.

He just joined his pals Kasabian (also featured in Baillie Walsh's "Lord" flick, which follows the groups, plus Aussie upstarts Jet, on a nine-month tour) onstage at an NME-sponsored bash.

He also taped two Beatles covers for an upcoming BBC tribute to John Lennon, one with Stereophonics, another with Cornershop and Johnny Marr; as well as tracked a few new home demos, with 6-year-old daughter Anais singing along on a few. "She's got a fantastic voice — seriously!" dad enthuses. "But unfortunately, she does like Kylie Minogue, which is something that I'm not too pleased about."

Rich is the examined life, as they say. And reflecting on his illustrious career, Gallagher says, has been a quite pleasant experience indeed.

With, of course, a few minor glitches in the memory circuit.

For example, one time in Thailand in 1998. Gallagher laughs, "When we were out at some bar, and there was this incessant HI-NRG dance music playing in a bar across the street. And I was thinking 'Wait a minute! I'm sure that's a version of "Some Might Say"! So we went across the street and up to the DJ, and it was a HI-NRG disco version of our song, completely illegal, recorded by some Thai person.

"The DJ had no idea who I was. But I said 'Gimme that CD!' even though there were lots of British people in the bar going mad when he played it. And Liam and I were like, that doesn't sound like Oasis, that sounds atrocious! And that — not AT & T — is easily the weirdest place I've ever heard one of our songs."

HMV UK exclusive 'Stop The Clocks' bonus DVD

2006-10-13T01:39:00.000+01:00

HMV UK have revealed on their website that a "special, limited edition Oasis DVD, which includes rare live footage of the band in action", exclusive to HMV, will be available with the first batch of copies of the 'Stop The Clocks' album. This is not to be confused with the official bonus DVD, also available in a limited edition form. It's as yet unknown as to whether this HMV bonus DVD will be available with copies purchased in store, so to guarantee one, you can pre-order your 'Stop The Clocks' album from www.hmv.co.uk

Forthcoming UK TV and Radio info

2006-10-12T21:51:00.000+01:00

Noel is due to appear on Russell Brand's BBC 6 Music show this Sunday the 15th at 10am, to present him with some toys that he brought for him. Regular listeners to that show will know that Noel phoned in from the toy shop as he was deciding what to buy at the time.

Liam has been confirmed as appearing on Colin Murray's evening show on BBC Radio 1 on Thursday 19th October at 10pm.

The synopsis for Top Of The Pops 2 on BBC2 at 9:05pm on Saturday 21st October mentions a "RS Lowry-style video exclusive from Oasis." It's unknown as yet as to what this could be.

Some (hopefully all) of Noel's appearance at the KOKO club in Camden as part of the Focus charity show will be broadcast on BBC 6 Music. Forthcoming schedules show a 2-hour highlights programme starting at 10pm on the night of the show, Thursday 2nd November.

'Stop The Clocks' Japanese content details

2006-10-12T11:23:00.000+01:00

Sony Japan have announced final details on their 'Stop The Clocks' releases. Both the standard 2-disc and limited edition 3-disc versions will have 2 bonus tracks, 'Roll With It' and 'Let There Be Love', at the end of Disc 2, after 'Don't Look Back In Anger'. The bonus DVD content has also been confirmed with something called 'Lock The Box' (which is most probably the 40-minute EPK containing an interview with Liam and Noel), 'Champagne Supernova' from Knebworth in August 1996, 'Fade Away' live at the Chicago Metro in October 1994, and a picture gallery.

Sony Japan also confirmed that the 'Stop The Clocks' EP will have the same tracklisting as the UK release.

More 'Stop The Clocks' promo pictures

2006-10-10T12:56:00.000+01:00

Here are pictures of a couple more 'Stop The Clocks' promotional material. These are available to purchase from www.mistersifter.com.

'The Masterplan' / 'Acquiesce' (RKIDSCD37P2)

There is also another very similar promo in a slightly different colour then the above promo CD with the tracks the other way around – this version is more limited. (RKIDSCD37P1)

'Stop The Clocks' interview CD

If anyone could furnish me with an mp3 of the interview to put up on this site, then I would be very gratetful.

Noel Gallagher - BBC 6Music - 8th October 2006

2006-10-08T14:18:00.000+01:00

Another appearance from Noel on Brand's show earlier today. The usual nonsense talked. Noel revealed that Kasabian will be appearing at the benefit show at KOKO on 2nd November. Paul Weller is also a possibility.

Download here

Also, Noel should be appearing on the same show again next week, this time in the studio to give Brand some toys he brought for him in a previous appearance weeks ago.

New content added to the Oasisinet Stopclock

2006-10-05T13:22:00.000+01:00

From the 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' film, part of a live version of 'Rock 'n' Roll Star' was added to the Oasisinet Stopclock today. The performance features random images of the band on tour. The full length trailer (which can be seen elsewhere on this site) was also added.

New 'Acquiesce' promo video premieres today

2006-10-05T12:47:00.000+01:00

Oasis have made a brand new promo video to accompany 'Acquiesce', and the video had its worldwide online premiere on Yahoo.com today. The video was shot on location in London and Japan and features a range of Oasis look-a-likes. The video also got its first UK TV showing today at 11pm on ITV2.

'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' - Full length preview clips

2006-10-04T23:54:00.000+01:00

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the three new clips of 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' which have been posted to Oasisinet in the last few weeks.

'Dance If You Wanna Dance'
Liam Gallagher in secret hidden camera action! See the Oasis singer do things you'd never thought you'd see him do!

'Frustrating Oasis'
A nice rock 'n' roll game of... Frustration!

'Oasis And The Dwarfs'
Liam gets a small 33rd birthday surprise...

Forthcoming Liam BBC Radio 1 appearance

2006-10-03T23:30:00.000+01:00

Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray, who amongst other things wrote the official promotional blurb for 'Don't Believe The Truth' as well as interviewing the band for the 'DBTT' and 'Stop The Clocks' EPK's, revealed on his show on Monday evening that Liam will appear on the show on Thursday 19th October at 10pm. Of course, Liam being Liam, this appearance is subject to cancellation at any time (like his last scheduled Radio 1 appearance).

Oasis interview in UNCUT

2006-10-03T15:53:00.000+01:00

The new (November 2006) issue of UNCUT features an 11-page feature and interview with the band about the songs on 'Stop The Clocks'. Noel gives the bulk of the answers, Liam chips in with bits and bobs, and Andy and Gem have their own mini-interviews.

Highlights include Liam revealing he's got a new song called 'Guess I'm Out Of Time', and Noel revealing the original title of 'Wonderwall' was 'Wishing Stone'.

Noel interview with Russell Brand

2006-10-01T15:17:00.000+01:00

Noel was on Russell Brand's BBC 6 Music show today (for about the 10th time), talking about the usual random things, revealing that he done a very drunken interview last week with Paul Weller for Esquire Magazine and talking about the inspiration behind 'The Masterplan'.

Download the interview here:
http://www.savefile.com/files/122693

Pictures of the various 'Stop The Clocks' promo material

2006-09-30T15:03:00.000+01:00

Pictures are coming in of the promotional material for 'Stop The Clocks'.

First of all are promos of the Lynchmob Beats Mix '95 of 'Champagne Supernova', first released back then as the b-side to the UK 12" promo of 'Cum On Feel The Noize'.

White Label 12" promo (RKID36TPX)

Standard 12" promo (RKID36TP)

CD promo (RKIDSCD35P)

And here are pictures of the Australian 'Stop The Clocks' CD album promo, with a unique cover. (88697007572)

'Stop The Clocks' additional content

2006-09-30T01:28:00.000+01:00

First reports are coming in of what will be packaged with the various sets of 'Stop The Clocks'. The standard set will have a 28-page booklet, with presumably background information on all of the songs on the album. The bonus DVD, bundled with a limited edition set, will contain the full 35-40 minute EPK (of which clips are gradually appearing on the Oasisinet Stopclock), which includes an interview with Noel and Liam about the songs on the record. A couple of performances from Knebworth in August 1996 (possibly 'Champagne Supernova') and from the Chicago Metro in October 1994 (possibly 'Fade Away' or 'Slide Away') will be included. The full trailer for 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' will also be included, along with a 32-page booklet incased in a gatefold digipak with a slipcase to preserve the set.

FULL 'LORD DON'T SLOW ME DOWN' TRAILER + NEW SONG CLIP

2006-09-29T16:59:00.000+01:00

The full trailer for 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' leaked onto the Internet earlier today and was found by the user 'The Fame' on the Masterplan forum. The best bit is a 1:01 clip of a new song, sung by Noel.

Here's an mp3 of the clip of the new song.
http://www.savefile.com/files/117836

The lyrics go:

I'm tired, and I'm sick
I got a habit that I just can't kick
I feel hungover and I'm all in love
Let the lights go down, I'm gonna shoot 'em all
S'alright, don't be afraid
You gotta keep dreaming in the bed you made
And if it tastes like shit
Well it beats sleepin' rough on the floor

Acquiesce video premiere delayed

2006-09-29T01:31:00.000+01:00

The TV debut of the new promo video for Acquiesce, which was originally scheduled to air on ITV2 in the early hours of this Saturday morning, has been put back to Thursday 5th October at 11pm, still on ITV2.

Two new clips from 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'

2006-09-28T23:58:00.000+01:00

Two new clips from the new Oasis film appeared today on the 'Stopclock' on Oasisinet. One features some of the band in a competitive game of Frustration, the other one was filmed during Liam's 33rd birthday party.

Noel interview for Billboard.com

2006-09-27T21:03:00.000+01:00

Noel interviewed by Billboard. Noel also discusses "plans" for the next record.

Billboard.com

The greatest hits set "Stop the Clocks," coming Nov. 21 via Epic, will have to satisfy the appetites of Oasis fans for awhile, according to guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher. The band is also without a label, having fulfilled its worldwide deal with Sony Music.

"There's no plans to do anything," Gallagher says of future Oasis recording. "Saying that, there's no plans not to do anything, either. We're not like other bands in that respect. We're masters of our own destiny and take these things one album at a time. The last time we sat down and planned an album, it turned into 'Don't Believe the Truth,' and that took three years to record."

Those sessions, however, yielded plenty of songs; Gallagher notes that of 11 leftover tracks, "there's seven that are good and four that are really great, so we could put an album out tomorrow if we wanted."

But don't count on it. Instead, Oasis plan to focus on "Stop the Clocks" -- named after an unreleased Gallagher song -- which features 18 hits and favorites from Oasis' 12 years of recording, including the B-sides "Acquiesce" and "Half the World Away." Gallagher says he was approached about including some new songs on the album as well, but that he opted not to "because it takes the focus away from what you're actually trying to say with a retrospective."

Gallagher promises that a boxed set and other unreleased and archival material will one day come out of the Oasis vaults. He also says Oasis won't be resigning with Sony, and the band is currently weighing its options for the future.

"I'd like to do something on our own, but it's a bit of a big step," he says. "It depends on what works best for all of us, really. [Oasis vocalist] Liam (Gallagher) will want the big advance of $900 million and be drinking champagne for the rest of his life. I, on the other hand, would rather put the records out and keep all the money. So I don't know which way we'll go."

Noel interview with the NME

2006-09-27T11:05:00.000+01:00

Noel appeared in this weeks NME to talk about the album, and what tracks "should have made it, but didn't". Also an interview with Sir Peter Blake, designer of the cover art, talking about what inspired it's content.

Bonehead on BBC Radio Manchester

2006-09-25T21:57:00.000+01:00

Bonehead appeared on Terry Christian's show today to talk Oasis, The Rain and his new band. No mention of the new Oasis stuff, but it's a good enough interview to put on here. He also might be on Christian's show on Saturday night (on the same station) and Christian says he'll try to dig out an old 'The Rain' song he has called 'We're Having A Rave On The Roof'. See The Oasis Times for more details on this upcoming show.

Download Bonehead's interview here

'Stop The Clocks' EP announced

2006-09-25T15:42:00.000+01:00

Oasis have announced the release of the 'Stop The Clocks' EP in the UK on the 13th November. The EP is led by 'Acquiesce', for many the finest Oasis song never to be a single, and book-ended by 'The Masterplan'. Also included on the EP are what Oasisinet claims are never before heard recordings of a demo version of 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' (although a demo was released on an NME cover cassette in February 1994 - which you can download from my demos page) and a live version of 'Some Might Say' from 1995, that were unearthed during the mastering of the forthcoming Best Of album. The EP is available only as a one-off collectors edition CD and Double gatefold 7” including an exclusive sheet of stickers:

1. 'Acquiesce'
2. 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' (demo version)
3. 'Some Might Say' (live in 1995, venue unknown)
4. 'The Masterplan'

Noel talks to NME.com

2006-09-12T23:59:00.000+01:00

Noel done an interview tonight to NME.com backstage at KOKO in London, where he guested with Kasabian on a couple of tracks as part of NME.com's 10th Anniversary celebrations.

Noel + Liam interview for MTV UK

2006-09-12T23:48:00.000+01:00

Possibly recorded backstage at KOKO, London as part of the NME.com 10th Anniversary bash where Noel played with Kasabian.