For the past 12 years the Gallagher brothers, of megaband Oasis, have been rock n'rolls bad boys. While Liam is Oasis' profane lead singer, it is Noel's songs that have turned the band into multi millionaires. Now Noel is touring solo, singing the Oasis hits and pedalling a new greatest hits collection.

Noel may have always dreamed of being a rock and roll star, but the usually confident Oasis patriarch freely admits even he is surprised with how well he has done."I couldn't play the guitar standing up until I was like 21, I didn't come out of the womb, you know, windmilling like Pete Townsend, I was a late developer in that respect," Oasis told Close Up while in Sydney recently. Oasis have always been much more than just the music.

The brothers Gallagher are two of the most controversial rock stars in the world - they swear non-stop, drink heavily and cause offence wherever they go.Oasis put the sex and drugs back into rock and roll"You owe it to the people who work in s*** jobs because. If you're working in a factory or in a shop or a construction worker you want to believe there are rock stars in the world shagging loads of women and taking loads of drugs. Being in the band is the single greatest thing in the world," says Noel.Gallagher is known for talking it up and over the years has had public feuds with everyone from Elton John to Robbie Williams.

One of his most recent outbursts even saw him predict Williams will take it his own life at some stage. "Those things are all said very tongue in cheek, you know what I mean but Robbie generally starts all this nonsense...it was all quiet on the western front for about a year, see it all be quiet now until he starts mouthing off about something."Then there were comments that British soldiers who have fought in Iraq should stop moaning about getting compensation for injuries they have suffered in the war. "I was in the states doing an interview and you heard these stories about soldiers, not British soldiers, soldiers in general, suing their respective governments because they got shot in the ass by an Iraqi or something...and the point I was trying to make was, call me old fashioned, but if you don't like getting shot at don't join the army," says Noel.His own brother isn't even safe from his rants. "At my kindest I would describe him as unpredictable at my meanest I would describe him as a f***ing idiot."But it seems all is fair in love and war as far as the Gallagher brothers go."He doesn't like me at all, but that's fine I can understand why he wouldn't like me, I can be a bit of a smug bastard."

The last and only time Oasis came to New Zealand, back in 1998, the brothers fought on stage during a concert. That followed a tour of Australia where Liam was arrested for headbutting a fan, while the band was kicked off a plane for being drunk.By the time they got to New Zealand they were in disarray. "I remember it not going so well. I don't really remember much about it, it was was f***ing awful as I shudder to think about it know...that whole period was bad,bad, bad." While Oasis have got no plans to come back to New Zealand, Noel has got some Kiwi friends. He counts Neil Finn as one of them and is a huge fan of Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over is one of his favourite songs."I love that song, that song is incredible a great, great song and they're really nice guys those fellas," he says of the iconic Kiwi band.

Noel Gallagher is nearly 40, but he is happy to say he is pretty much still carrying on like he's 21"I smoke and drink probably a bit too much than I should. But drugs I think are for young people to dabble with, I think once you get to a certain age it's a bit sad to carry on taking drugs for the rest of your life, I haven't done any since 1998." Four years prior to that Oasis told the world they wanted to be the best band of all time. Noel can't quite remember that and thinks he may have been misquoted. "I've achieved more than enough for my personal satisfaction, more than I thought I was ever capable of doing I've had more than enough fun out of this game."

Oasis' album Stop The Clocks - an 18 track retrospective of the bands recording career - is out now and has had rave reviews.

Source: www.tvnz.co.nz

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