Inside the mind of Noel Gallagher
Richard Godwin

Quite aside from 'Wonderwall' and all the songs he wrote for Oasis, Noel Gallagher is surely one of the most gifted ranters of his generation. Middle age, marriage, fatherhood and a successful solo career may have mellowed him, but still, when the 44-year-old songwriter is in full flow, it's the vituperative equivalent of the guitar solo from 'Live Forever'.

'Margaret Thatcher?' he spits, face creasing, eyebrows arching. 'I don't know what they're glorifying in that film. I f***ing hated her. We should celebrate when she dies. Serious. We're already talking between a few of my friends of doing a "Thatcher is Dead" gig.'

He won't reveal who else might be involved but does say they are 'prominent' musicians. 'She ruled the country with an iron fist. She started that thing that's been prevalent since, where politicians really only give a s*** about London. People say the Queen brings so much business to this country. No, no, no, she brings business to this city. How does the Queen benefit the people of Manchester, or Newcastle, or Leeds?'

Well, I'm glad we cleared that up. A recent interview in the Mail on Sunday painted Gallagher as a 'True Blue Conservative', after he said he preferred the music in Thatcher's day. Warming to his theme, he turns to the subject of David Cameron ('Let's be honest, he's just making it up as he goes along'), Nick Clegg ('No one gives a f*** what he thinks'), and Ed Miliband ('Nor him'). Oh, and modern music: 'I can't buy into bands nowadays, cos they're f***ing idiots. I read interviews and none of them have got anything to say. You're required to have a f***ing opinion.'

Gallagher takes this requirement very seriously, even if his opinions do usually end up a) contradicting each other and b) getting him into trouble. But looking lean, energetic, and unfussily dressed in a Paul Smith striped blazer, he seems happy. He may not like doing photo shoots - 'I'll never understand why 167 images have to be taken of one scowling middle-aged man' - but he has made the transition to solo artist gracefully since Oasis split in 2009.

His debut album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, has done far better than anyone expected, going straight to number one late last year and hanging around the top ten for months after its release. It finds him branching out in ways many former Oasis fans gave up hoping he ever would: moving suspiciously close to disco on the single 'AKA… What a Life'; lobbing in a trombone solo on 'Dream On'. His tour has already been upgraded from theatres to arenas. 'If I'd have sat down on the first day of recording and wrote a script of how I'd have liked it to go… it's gone better than that,' he says.

His second album, likely to be released next year, is a collaboration with the psychedelic
duo Amorphous Androgynous. He is clearly revelling in his freedom. 'Oasis was a big cruise liner and now I'm like a Sunseeker speedboat. When you're out in LA, someone asks you to write a song for a film, and you can just do it,' he says. He can work at his own pace - fast - now. He can also put a trumpet solo on a song without first having to counsel his brother Liam.

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via L4e / source: ThisIsLondo.co.uk

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