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The Good Rebel – The Story of the Boy from Burnage
Absolute Radio is to dedicate an evening of programming to Noel Gallagher to celebrate the former Oasis man’s influence and musical achievements.
Noel Gallagher Night will be broadcast from 7pm on Sunday, March 4 and include an exclusive live set recorded at his recent sold-out gig at The O2 Arena in London.
The night will also take in a new documentary called The Good Rebel – The Story of the Boy from Burnage, narrated by Absolute Radio 90s presenter Pete Mitchell who talks to Gallagher, fans and key names in the star’s career.
The documentary will also be repeated on Absolute Radio 90s on March 5 at 9pm and on Absolute Radio 00s on March 14, starting at 6pm.
Absolute’s Gallagher night follows the release last year of the singer-songwriter’s first solo album, the Sour Marsh-issued Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which debuted at number one in the UK and has to date sold around 540,000 copies domestically, according to the Official Charts Company.
Aussie Country Music , Tuna Hurling and Dung Beetles
From Noel Gallagher's 'Tales from the middle of nowhere' tour diary
Yes…
Well… So? I've become addicted to watching the Aussie news. It's beyond hilarious.
Honestly, it's like a spoof show "AUSSIE NEWS (MATE)". Someone should do that, it'd be mega. I'd watch it anyway.
After the ludicrous episode with the PM's shoe these are just a couple of things that I've caught in between gigs and promo…
THE AUSSIE COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS!!! Yes, indeed. They've invented a new musical genre. Aussie Country. So I'm watching the news and they go to the Aussie Country Awards (The Golden Guitars) where they're interviewing some of the winners of the said Golden Guitars… They were singing like Country, y'all, but talking Aussie (mate). Dressed like proper honest-to-goodness cowboys. 40 gallon hats, leather waistcoats and the boots, but using words like "ripper" and "beaudy"… Very odd, no??
Now the other thing was maybe the weirdest thing I've ever seen on national television news. So much so that when I got down to the Big Day Out site I had to ask a few of the natives for confirmation of what I thought I'd just seen. And they confirmed it like it was the most natural thing in the world, which of course it is to these people. THE ANNUAL TUNA-RAMA FESTIVAL!!!! A festival that celebrates all things wonderful about tuna… TUNA??? That's right, tuna… The tuna fish.
Now, there was the (un)usual local news b-roll fodder; interviewing mums, grannies and kids… All having a ripper of a day eating tuna sandwiches and tuna salad and... Well, that was it one would've thought? But no… At the climax of the festival they play a little game called tuna-hurling… TUNA-HURLING!!!! That's right, I watched (checking frantically if I'd been spiked) as big burly Bruces and little burly Shielas and even a granny took a foot long tuna fish… a real fucking tuna fish and swung it round like an Olympic athlete throwing the hammer up a pre-marked out track?!!?
And they covered it on the news like it was just a load of drunk people in a field throwing a dead fish around for fun… Which, of course, it was.
The scary thing is those were just two of the things I caught. (There was another story with a guy graphically describing how he'd been trying to get two different kinds of dung beetles to mate to make one super dung fucking ninja warrior but, we won't go into that…)
What else is going on while I'm away from the TV?? I might have to start getting this shit recorded and shipped to England once a month, it's essential viewing.
Anyway, enough of that brilliant nonsense.
The gig was good. We were indoors in a tent. It was very, very hot. Seemed to be a bit of a fancy dress vibe down the front. I saw a pirate and a cowboy. We didn't play very well. No one seemed to mind though.
Kasabian were having one of their legendary parties at some club or other down town. Last men standing were me and Serge at 5am. A good shift. As we left it was starting to get light… and fuck me if it didn't start to ever-so-slightly rain… I didn't know whether to laugh or cry so I did neither… I passed out.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds confirm another date in Mexico City
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have confirmed a second date at Mexico City's Teatro Metropolitan. The additional date on the 10th April comes one day before the sold out gig at the same venue.
Tickets for the concert go on sale at 10am (local time) on Wednesday 8th February through:
- Ticketmaster.com.mx - All Ticketmaster locations - Teatro Metropolitan box office - Charge by phone: 5510.1035 or 5510.3964
Noel Gallagher Picks Up 4 Nominations at NME Awards
They'll battle likes of Kasabian, Odd Future and Azealia Banks for gongs at next month's ceremony.
Arctic Monkeys, Noel Gallagher, Lana Del Rey, The Vaccines and Odd Future are among the acts nominated for gongs at this year's NME Awards.
The nominations were announced exclusively on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show earlier tonight (January 30) – see below for the full list and head to NME.COM/awardsvote now to cast your vote. The winners will be announced at the ceremony at O2 Academy Brixton on February 29.
Arctic Monkeys – who've scored seven nominations in total – will go head-to-head with Kasabian, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Horrors and Muse for the Best British Band award. The Best New Band category, meanwhile, will be contested by Lana Del Rey, Tribes, The Vaccines, Wu Lyf and Foster The People.
Kasabian, Florence And The Machine, Muse are up for three gongs each, while The Horrors, Hurts and The Vaccines are among the acts nominated for two awards.
Noel Gallagher – who's due to pick up our prestigious Godlike Genius Award on the night – is up for another four gongs, including Best Album for 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' and Best Solo Artist.
Meanwhile, Odd Future will take on the likes of Foo Fighters and The Strokes for Best International Band, while Azealia Banks' '212' is up for Dancefloor Anthem alongside tracks by Katy B and Justice.
Want to come along? Tickets for the NME Awards 2012 go onsale at 9am this Wednesday (February 1) from NME.COM/tickets.
The nominations for the NME Awards 2012 are:
Best British Band (supported by Sonos)
Arctic Monkeys
Bombay Bicycle Club
The Horrors
Kasabian
Muse
(Last year's winner: Muse)
Best International Band (supported by T4)
Arcade Fire
Foo Fighters
Justice
Odd Future
The Strokes
(Last year's winner: My Chemical Romance)
Best Solo Artist (supported by Rekorderlig)
Adele
Florence + The Machine
Frank Turner
Laura Marling
Miles Kane
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
(Last year's winner: Laura Marling)
Best New Band (supported by Boxfresh)
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Tribes
The Vaccines
Wu Lyf
(Last year's winner: Hurts)
Best Live Band (supported by Carling)
Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
Muse
Pulp
Two Door Cinema Club
Best Album (supported by HMV)
Arctic Monkeys - 'Suck It And See'
The Horrors - 'Skying'
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds'
PJ Harvey - 'Let England Shake'
The Vaccines - 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?'
(Last year's winner: Arcade Fire – 'The Suburbs')
Best Track (supported by Fender)
Arctic Monkeys - 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala'
Bombay Bicycle Club - 'Shuffle'
Florence + The Machine - 'Shake It Out'
Hurts – 'Sunday'
Lana Del Rey - 'Video Games'
(Last year's winner: Foals – 'Spanish Sahara')
Dancefloor Anthem (supported by NME Radio)
Azealia Banks - '212'
Foster The People - 'Pumped Up Kicks'
Justice - 'Civilization'
Katy B - 'Broken Record'
Metronomy - 'The Bay'
(Last year's winner: Professor Green – 'Jungle')
Best Video (supported by NMEVideo.com)
Arctic Monkeys - 'Suck It And See'
Beyonce - 'Countdown'
Hurts - 'Sunday'
Lana Del Rey - 'Video Games'
Tyler, The Creator - 'Yonkers'
(Last year's winner: My Chemical Romance – 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)'.
Best TV Show
'Dr Who'
'Fresh Meat'
'Misfits'
'Never Mind The Buzzcocks'
'This Is England '88'
(Last year's winner: Skins)
Best Festival
Bestival
Glastonbury
Reading & Leeds
T In The Park
V Festival
(Last year's winner: Glastonbury)
Best Film
'Black Swan'
'Drive'
'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2'
'The Inbetweeners Movie'
'Submarine'
(Last year's winner: Inception)
Best Music Film
'Back And Forth' - Foo Fighters
'Living In The Material World' - George Harrison
'Talihina Sky' - Kings Of Leon
'There Are No Innocent Bystanders' - The Libertines
'Upside Down - The Creation Records Story'
(New award)
Greatest Music Moment Of The Year
Brian May joins My Chemical Romance onstage at Reading Festival
Kasabian see in 2012 with their epic London O2 Arena show
Noel Gallagher launches his solo career with press conference
Pulp steal the show at Glastonbury with secret set
The Stone Roses reunite
(New award)
Best Re-issue
Manic Street Preachers - 'National Treasures'
Nirvana - 'Nevermind'
Primal Scream - 'Screamadelica'
The Rolling Stones - 'Some Girls'
The Smiths - 'Complete Re-issues'
(New award)
Best Book
Jared Leto - 'Notes From The Outernet'
Jarvis Cocker - 'Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics'
Malcolm X - 'A Life Of Reinvention'
Noel Fielding - 'The Scribblings Of A Madcap Shambleton'
Shaun Ryder - 'Twisting My Melon'
(Last year's winner: John Lydon – Mr Rotten's Scrapbook)
Hero Of The Year
Alex Turner
Dave Grohl
Matt Bellamy
Noel Fielding
Noel Gallagher
(Last year's winner: Lady Gaga)
Villain Of The Year
David Cameron
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Liam Gallagher
Nick Clegg
(Last year's winner: David Cameron)
Worst Album
Coldplay - 'Mylo Xyloto'
Justin Bieber - 'Under The Mistletoe'
Lady Gaga - 'Born This Way'
One Direction - 'Up All Night'
Viva Brother - 'Famous First Words'
(Last year's winner: Justin Bieber – 'My World')
Worst Band
Beady Eye
Coldplay
Muse
One Direction
Viva Brother
(Last year's winner: Jonas Brothers)
Best Album Artwork
Arctic Monkeys - 'Suck It And See'
Bombay Bicycle Club - 'A Different Kind Of Fix'
Bjork - 'Biophilia'
Friendly Fires - 'Pala'
Jay-Z and Kanye West - 'Watch The Throne'
(Last year's winner: Klaxons – 'Surfing The Void')
Best Band Blog Or Twitter
@Example
Frank-Turner.com/blog
@KanyeWest
@LadyGaga
@Theohurts
(New award)
Best Small Festival
Field Day
Hop Farm
Kendal Calling
Latitude
RockNess
(Last year's winner: RockNess)
Most Dedicated Fans
30 Seconds To Mars
Arctic Monkeys
Hurts
Muse
My Chemical Romance
(New award)
Hottest Male
Andy Biersack, Black Veil Brides
Dominic Howard, Muse
Gerard Way, My Chemical Romance
Jared Leto, 30 Seconds To Mars
Matt Bellamy, Muse
(Last year's winner: Matt Bellamy)
Hottest Female
Amy Lee, Evanescence
Florence Welch, Florence + The Machine
Hayley Williams, Paramore
Katy Perry
Marina Diamandis, Marina And The Diamonds
(Last year's winner: Alison Mosshart)
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have confirmed a date in San Diego performing at the City's Balboa Theatre on 17th April.
Tickets for the show go on sale Friday 3rd February at 10am (local time) through:
- Ticketmaster.com
- All Ticketmaster locations
- San Diego Theatre box office
- Charge by phone: 619.570.1100
This additional date is part of the forthcoming USA tour during March and April where Noel will be performing tracks from his number one debut solo album 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' as well as a selection of Oasis classics. Support on all shows (ex Coachella) comes from Nashville band Mona. Dates confirmed for the tour so far:
28/03/12 - WASHINGTON, Warner Theatre - TICKETS AVAILABLE
29/03/12 - COLUMBUS, LC Pavilion - TICKETS AVAILABLE
31/03/12 - DETROIT, Royal Oak Music Theatre - TICKETS AVAILABLE
01/04/12 - CHICAGO, The Riviera - TICKETS AVAILABLE
03/04/12 - MILWAUKEE, Pabst Theater - TICKETS AVAILABLE
04/04/12 - INDIANAPOLIS, Egyptian Room - TICKETS AVAILABLE
06/04/12 - ATLANTA, Tabernacle - TICKETS AVAILABLE
11/04/12 - MEXICO CITY, Teatro Metropolitan - SOLD OUT
14/04/12 - COACHELLA, Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - SOLD OUT
20/04/12 - LAS VEGAS, The Pearl Theater - TICKETS AVAILABLE
21/04/12 - COACHELLA, Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival - SOLD OUT
Via L4e / For ticket information visit www.noelgallagher.com
Liam and Noel Gallagher's bands Nominated for XFM New Music Award
Records released in the past year by the likes of Miles Kane, Beady Eye and Noel Gallagher have been nominated for XFM’s New Music Award 2012 which aims to find the best British debut album of the past twelve months.
A panel of judges which includes Peter Hook, The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess and The Sun’s showbiz editor Gordon Smart, will pick their winner from a shortlist which also features James Blake, Chapel Club, Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran amongst others.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the HMV Ritz in Manchester on February 8th.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds announce new single
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will release new single 'Dream On' on March 12th through Sour Mash Records. The B-side will be 'Shoot A Hole Into The Sun', the first track to be released from the sessions Noel has recorded with the Amorphous Androgynous.
The single will be available to buy on 7", CD and download. The digital download will also be available as a bundle including the video, which both Noel and Director Mike Bruce consider the best and most fun yet they have ever worked on filming together.
'Dream On' is taken from the eponymous debut album released last Autumn which has already sold over 550,000 copies to date, earning the singer songwriter a BRIT award nomination for Best British Male this year. Noel has also been announced as the winner of NME’s prestigious Godlike Genius Award for 2012. Also Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are in the running for XFM's New Music Award to find the best new British Artists of 2011. For more details, head on over to XFM's website, HERE!
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will embark on an extensive UK arena tour this year augmented by a three-piece brass section and the choirs Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hertfordshire Chorus. The tour starts at the Manchester MEN on February 13th, taking in 14 cities throughout UK & Ireland.
Whilst on tour Noel has been writing his award-winning tour diary 'Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere (Vol.2): Return Of The Dread-I'. Fans can read the tour diary at the website's 'Inbox' HERE!
Full details of the arena tour dates below:
13/02/12 – MANCHESTER, MEN Arena - SOLD OUT 14/02/12 – ABERDEEN, P&J Arena - SOLD OUT 16/02/12 – BELFAST, Odyssey Arena - TICKETS AVAILABLE 17/02/12 – DUBLIN, The O2 - SOLD OUT 19/02/12 – SHEFFIELD, Motorpoint Arena - TICKETS AVAILABLE 23/02/12 – NEWCASTLE, Metro Radio Arena - SOLD OUT 24/02/12 – GLASGOW, SECC Hall 4 - SOLD OUT 26/02/12 – LONDON,The O2 - SOLD OUT 01/03/12 – BIRMINGHAM, NIA - SOLD OUT
Other dates confirmed for the UK this year:
17/07/12 – EDINBURGH, Edinburgh Castle - SOLD OUT 04/09/12 – BOURNEMOUTH, BIC - TICKETS AVAILABLE 06/09/12 – LIVERPOOL, Echo Arena - TICKETS AVAILABLE 09/09/12 – CARDIFF, Motorpoint Arena - TICKETS AVAILABLE 10/09/12 – NOTTINGHAM, Capital FM Arena - TICKETS AVAILABLE
Biffy Clyro Wish They Were More Outspoken Like Liam Gallagher
.....Biffy Clyro, the globe-trotting band have become Scotland’s hottest rock band in recent years, but James isn’t getting cocky about the success.
“Er, pass,” James answered when asked if they are Scotland’s top rock export. “It’s awkward to talk about. It’s a nice thing to hear, but it’s not something we think about or ever dreamed about really. I wish we were more outspoken like Liam Gallagher. I love his patter.
“He is actually a really nice guy. We bumped into Liam and Noel when we were in Los Angeles a few years back. We were in the same studio and went to see The Duke Spirit.
“Alan McGee was there and a big bunch of us together. We all went down to a reggae bar.
“Liam knew our songs and sang three of them then Noel got on stage and started singing. They were all pretty drunk at the time.”
He added: “Playing in places that are unknown always makes for a different experience. Abroad, the concerts are more like organised chaos than we are used to here.
Noel: "Maybe I'll just be the guitarist in a band one day"
Noel Gallagher has hinted that he could stop fronting his own solo project to become "just the guitarist in a band one day".
According to STV, the former Oasis chief said that although he had enjoyed being a frontman since releasing his debut solo LP 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' in October last year, he hadn't ruled out stepping away from the limelight in the future.
He said: I thought I would hate me being the frontman and I have to say I thought people would expect more, but I haven't got any moves. As much as I miss being in a band like Oasis, the compromise would be too much. Maybe I'll just be the guitarist in a band one day.
Gallagher also revealed that he had been encouraged to pursue a solo career by his wife Sara Macdonald because he had started to annoy her, adding: "I had a lot of time to work out what I was going to do; my first thought was do nothing. It was great until my then girlfriend, now wife, asked me after about 11 months what I was going to do.
"I said, 'I suppose I could make an album' and she asked if that could be tomorrow. Women! It's either: 'You're never here' or 'You're always under my feet.'"
Earlier this week (January 23), it was announced that Noel Gallagher will be presented with the Godlike Genius Award at this year's NME Awards. Gallagher, who will pick up the gong at the ceremony on February 29 at London's O2 Academy Brixton, said of his win: "I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade. I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God."
Meanwhile, a special collectors' issue dedicated to Noel Gallagher is coming next month. Produced by the teams behind NME and sister title Uncut, the magazine will feature Gallagher's greatest interviews, unseen photos and a competition to win albums signed by the man himself. The issue will be available on newsstands and digitally from February 2 - click here to pre-order your copy.
From Noel Gallagher's 'Tales from the Middle of Nowhere' tour diary.
Yes…
So, been out of the game for a couple of days AGAIN!!
Here goes… What day is it today? …Friday? Saturday? Fuck knows.
The last time we spoke I was in Sydney, right? Just getting ready for The Big Day Out?
Well… Woke up that morning and guess what? That's right, it was pissing down… I mean what IS the point of Australia while it's raining? There is no point. I'm staggered by the weather. "Oh, fuck off!" to the sky, said I.
'Twas a big day for the Aussies. Australia Day. It's a day where they celebrate all things Australian… Whatever that means. Still part of the blimmin' Empire, if you ask me, innit? Sydney Harbour was full of boats and ships. Spectacular. There was cannons going off and even a fly past by the Aussie air force (mate!)... IN THE RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was a bit of a scene with the Aussie PM (some ginger Sheila). She got a bit roughed up by some protesters and had to be bundled into a car that looked like a taxi. Thing is, she lost one of her shoes!! Like Cinderella!! The news went in heavy on the protesters… (What a scandal… No… Not sandal… They didn't make it clear what style of shoe it was!!!)
By the time I got down to the festival site to continue my battle of wits with the Aussie media (mate), Kasabian had been and gone!! Heard they were good though.
My gig was really bloody good (mate). Had a pair of ladies knickers thrown on stage and a top hat!! I do hope they came from the same person!!
Legged it early the next day and arrived here in Melbourne (mate). And guess what? No… You're wrong see, because it's bloody boiling (mate). Yes sir!! The sun has got his hat on, and it's got little corks dangling round the rim!!
They still have that Jerry Springer on TV down here. Forgot how psychedelic that programme is. There was a threesome on it called… "Sha-toya" and "Jo-neesa" and a guy whose name was "Country". Mega. I laughed until it wasn't funny anymore.
So then I stopped and turned on the news. Turns out the big story building was about "the shoe".
"Where is the PM's shoe?" They asked.
"Who's got the shoe?" They pleaded.
"We must find the shoe!!".
Had a bit of a mooch around and about (didn't find the shoe). Not much going on here, but by the time I got back to the hotel THE SHOE HAD BEEN FOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was a brilliant Monty Python-esque moment were they went live to the actual shoe being handed over to the authorities by what looked like a protester…
"There you go Cinders, you shall go to the ball," I thought.
Except she didn't. She went to the tennis. To see Andy Murray lose… AGAIN!!!
ONWARDS.
GD.
PS: Dunno what all the fuss was about. The shoe was bobbins. A black suede wedge?? Not this season...(mate).
From Noel Gallagher's 'Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere' tour diary.
Yes well... Been out of the game for a couple of days. Not sure if I can remember all of what's been happening. We shall see...
So... Where were we up to? The Gold Coast, I believe. That Big Day Out gig was pretty good, as I remember. It fucking pissed down though! Like a proper Biblical downpour. Fuck that!! Come to Australia, they said... It's their summer, they said... What a load of old bollocks.
I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!
There are many similarities between this place and old England, festival weather being one of them... What a fucking swizz. I even got my shoes muddy watching Kasabian... An outrage!!!!!!!!
Legged it straight off stage back to the hotel to watch Man City - Tottenham. We made hard work of it, but we got there in the end. Super Mario rolled in the winner with about 10 seconds left. What a druid that kid is.
So then... I had my own show here in Sydney a couple of nights ago. A truly great gig. The best one of the entire tour, no doubt about it!! They do like a sing-song down here. They was loud and proud... Gotta say though, it's a night that will live long in the memory for another reason. That being the night I got my first bra thrown onstage!! I was so proud, and the young lady should be too, if you know what I mean? Made me feel a bit like Tom Jones!!!!!
Met up with some old comrades from my well spent youth at the Hacienda. Tall tales were told and shit was talked into the small hours. Not sure what time 'time' was called, but I do know it was pissing down when we left!!
Woke up yesterday with a naughty hangover. Felt like a dead shit. It was still raining. What the fuck? Didn't do much. Stared out the window watching the rain. Reminded me of being on the dole back home in Manchester in the '80s.
It's Chinese New Year. The Year of the Dragon. My eldest son will be pleased. He LOVES dragons!
Went for a Chinese last night at a place called Marigold... Marigold?? What an odd name for a Chinese restaurant, no?? Anyway, as we were waiting for a table, that band UB40 walked in... Well I say UB40, it was deffo the singer cause I spoke to him. Not sure who the rest of them were, they deffo weren't the same firm that was on Top of the Pops in the '80s. Then about 5 mins later, in walks that singer and top dreadnought Billy Ocean!!! Caribbean Queen, and all that? No? Google him. Top food. Maybe some of the best I've ever had, and I've had a lot.
Woke up this morning... STILL FUCKING RAINING. Got another day off.
Noel Gallagher: I didn't Really Learn To Sing Until 2005
Somewhat out of character for a Mancunian, Noel Gallagher is praying for rain. He's about to play the Big Day Out on the Gold Coast and figures that a sudden downpour, of which there have been several during the day, will send thousands of punters towards the shelter of his covered stage on the BDO site.
Rain ensues and, for whatever reason, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds pull good numbers and enjoy a warm response on what is their first gig on Australian soil, while hip-hop superstar Kanye West entertains the rain-soaked masses across the paddock.
That Gallagher, 44, should be nervous about pulling a crowd in Australia or anywhere else is a little surprising given his status. Rarely has that been a problem in the 19 years since he and his brother Liam emerged from Manchester and made their band Oasis one of the most successful on the planet.
That came to an end in August 2009, when, after a few failed attempts during its tempestuous tenure, Oasis finally broke up, Noel walking off stage in Paris vowing never to return. It was a bitter end to a sibling rivalry that over the years provoked as many headlines as the band's music.
The brothers still aren't talking, although Noel has no problem explaining his feelings about the break-up of the band that brought them untold wealth and fame.
"It wasn't relief," he says of the split; "actually it was a pain in the arse. It's like trying to learn a new skill when you're 43. Who wants to do that? We were all set in that band for life.
"But things happen for a reason. Being in a band is a compromise on so many levels and it's a great compromise because of what you accomplish in terms of size and scale, but they are compromises all the same and I'm not willing to do that any more."
This first solo project -- the Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds album released last October and a world tour that continues for most of this year -- is Gallagher taking control of his future, although by most people's accounts he was uncompromising, as chief songwriter and elder brother, in guiding Oasis's career.
Musically High Flying Birds isn't a huge departure from the anthemic pop of Oasis's Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger. There's still the familiar strain of the Beatles' influence on new songs The Death of You and Me, If I Had a Gun and AKA . . . What a Life!
But Gallagher points out that he took his time after Oasis plotting how to rise from the ashes under his own name. And he was quite prepared for it not to work.
"My first thought when I left Oasis was that 'I'm going to do f . .k all'," he says. "Everybody else would have put a band together and been out on the road again within six months."
Instead Gallagher laid up for a year, aside from a couple of charity performances at London's Royal Albert Hall and a guest spot on stage with his mate Paul Weller.
"When I was going into it I didn't announce what I was doing," he says of his return. "Not that I was doing it in secret, but I wasn't putting it out there that I was embarking on a musical journey. I just thought 'I'll make the record and if it's shit I'll can it and just disappear'."
Since its release the album has sold more than half a million copies in Britain alone, second only to Coldplay in album sales there last year. Reviews of the live performances have been favourable as well, including of the Gold Coast performance on Sunday and in Sydney the following night.
While songwriting is nothing new to him, being a frontman after years of mostly playing guitar and watching "our kid" do his petulant pout centre stage has been a steep learning curve.
"I didn't really learn to sing until 2005," he says. "People refer to me now as a singer-songwriter. I prefer to think of myself as a songwriter-singer. I don't think I'm a great singer or a great guitarist. In fact, I don't think I'm great at anything, but I am a good songwriter, good at lots of little things that make up who I am. So I'm great at being me. It's a good job, really."
Songwriting is definitely one of Gallagher's strongest suits. Flying solo post-Oasis produced 36 songs, only 10 of which made the album. Thirteen more will surface on another album project recorded with psychedelic outfit Amorphous Androgynous, to be released early next year.
"It's always been the same for me," he says. "I tend to have a lot of songs that are in various states and then when I get on the road I can finish them off.
"I write a lot of songs at irregular intervals. I don't have a set time for writing or a set room or anything like that, but I do tend to have a lot of material lying around. There's not a lot happening right now though, songwise."
While Gallagher dips freely into the Oasis catalogue in his new guise, there are some of his songs from that era to which he will never return. He mentions Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rock 'n' Roll Star, both from the band's debut album Definitely Maybe, which he says are too aligned with his brother's rock 'n' roll voice.
"Liam would want to do those songs, I would think," he says, "but I couldn't sing those songs. I couldn't do them justice. The only songs that I sing now from my back catalogue are the ones that I can do justice to.
"I'd love to be able to do a gig and get a crowd going, like Kasabian (English rockers also on the BDO bill), singing rock 'n' roll music, but I can't sing rock 'n' roll music. I don't have that kind of voice so I do other things. To get a crowd bouncing you have to have that kind of voice. My main aim is to get them to sing."
Judging by his performance, Gallagher is selling himself short a little here, but no matter what style he's using, he's happy with his new lot as the singer in the band.
"It has made me cut down on my partying, which I am not best pleased about," he says, not completely seriously. "Singing is good," he says. "It's like the feeling you get from taking drugs. It's addictive. I like it."
Singing is not the only reason there's not much room for the party lifestyle in the Gallagher household. He has three children, two with his wife, Sara MacDonald, and one from his earlier marriage to Meg Matthews. The most music he gets to listen to around the house these days is Lady Gaga, with the kids "running around the table going nuts". But he's still a music fan. It's just that his tastes haven't progressed much beyond the 1960s.
"I'm still an avid collector of 60s music," he says. "I haven't finished with the 60s yet to get on to the 70s, never mind contemporary music. I like the odd tune. Foster the People (also on the BDO bill) have a couple of good tunes and Kasabian, but I don't follow the new trends. I'm not interested in them."
Gallagher has no long-term plan for High Flying Birds or indeed for his career. After the Oasis experience he's a little older and wiser and less immersed in the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
"My plan was to make a record because my wife insisted I got out of the house and stopped annoying her," he says. "That's the truth.
"I'm not sure what I'll do next, but that's the great thing about not being in a big rock band. I can do whatever I want. I'll let you know, though."
The Big Day Out continues today in Sydney, followed by Melbourne on Sunday, Adelaide February 3 and Perth February 5.
Radiohead‘s eighth studio record ‘The King Of Limbs‘ has been confirmed as the biggest selling album on vinyl format in the UK last year.
Back in October, figures were released which showed a 40% boost in vinyl sales during 2011 when compared to 2010, with Radiohead also on top at that time ahead of Adele‘s ‘21‘.
Since then, Noel Gallagher‘s solo debut ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds‘ has moved into second place, pushing Adele down to no.3, while PJ Harvey‘s much-praised ‘Let England Shake‘ is at number 4.
Beady Eye have the two top selling vinyl singles in the UK of the past twelve months, with their debut single proper ‘The Roller‘ in first place and second promo ‘Millionaire‘ at no.2. They also have the fourth highest selling vinyl single of 2011 thanks to ‘The Beat Goes On‘.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Bird's Confirmed To Play Benicassim
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are confirmed to play this year's Benicassim Festival on the east coast of Spain. The festival will take place over the weekend of 12th-15th July. Other bands confirmed for the festival include The Stone Roses, Florence And The Machine and The Vaccines.
Tickets are available to buy now through the festivals website HERE!
Noel Gallagher will receive the Godlike Genius prize at this year’s NME Awards, the publication has announced.
“I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade,” Gallagher has said on receiving the prize. “I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God.”
While NME editor Krissi Murison has paid tribute to Gallagher’s longevity: “For the best part of two decades, the voice of one man has dominated the pages of NME more than any other. That man is Noel Gallagher. Opinionated, intelligent, passionate and always hilarious – Noel walks and talks it better than any other musician out there, and it’s just one of the reasons why the British public loves him so dearly.”
“That he keeps pushing boundaries as a solo artist proves that there’s a long way to go in the story of one of the most talented musicians Britain has ever produced.”
After spearheading Oasis‘ rapid rise to world-wide superstardom in the mid-90s, Noel Gallagher left the band in August 2009 following a final row with brother Liam in Paris. Last October, his debut solo album ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds‘ was released, and proved to be an undoubted success. It was recently confirmed as the second highest selling UK album in the rock genre of 2011, after shifting close to half a million copies.
Previous winners of the NME Godlike Genius award include Paul Weller, Manic Street Preachers and last year’s winner Dave Grohl.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Confirm First Vegas Show
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are confirmed to play The Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas on 20th April. The gig will mark Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' debut show in 'Sin City'.
There will be a fan pre-sale available to all North American registered members of NoelGallagher.com from Wednesday at 10am (local time). If you're not already a member of the website you can sign up HERE! The pre-sale password will be mailed out Tuesday evening.
Tickets go on general sale from 12pm (local time) on Friday 27th January through:
- Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations
- The Pearl Concert Theater box office
- Charge by phone: 702.942.7777
The gig at The Pearl Theater, Las Vegas falls between Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' appearances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festivals on the 14th and 21st April.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Bird's Announce Extra Musicians For UK & Irish Tour
www.NoelGallagher.com announce that Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will be augmented on the forthcoming tour of the UK and Ireland by a three-piece brass section and the choirs Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hertfordshire Chorus.
Also announced is Reverend And The Makers for support at Manchester, Aberdeen, Sheffield, Glasgow, London and Birmingham.
Full details of the tour:
13/02/12 - MANCHESTER, MEN Arena - SOLD OUT 14/02/12 - ABERDEEN, P&J Arena - SOLD OUT 16/02/12 - BELFAST, Odyssey Arena - SOLD OUT 17/02/12 - DUBLIN, The O2 - SOLD OUT 19/02/12 - SHEFFIELD, Motorpoint Arena - GET TICKETS 23/02/12 - NEWCASTLE, Metro Radio Arena - SOLD OUT 24/02/12 - GLASGOW, SECC Hall 4 - SOLD OUT 26/02/12 - LONDON, The O2 - SOLD OUT 01/03/12 - BIRMINGHAM, NIA - SOLD OUT
From Noel Gallagher's 'Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere' tour diary.
Yes…
Well the gig in Auckland was well good. It was my first ever festival and I'd forgotten how much I like them. (Well, not my first EVER, but you know what I mean.)
Got down the site early to see them rock'n'roll soldiers Kasabian. They were somewhat predictably very fuckin' good indeed. Immaculately turned out. Well stylish!!!
The morning after, whilst in a mad rush packing / eating breakfast, I had a brilliantly funny scene with a hotel employee in my room. I won't go into it here 'cos it won't look good in print, but it was classic Laurel & Hardy gear. I'll tell you next time I see you.
Met some woman at the airport yesterday who comes over asking would I do a photo with her husband… "Aww, go on," she says. "It'll make his day… His mates are always taking the piss out of him 'cos he looks like you!!!!!" Charming, eh? How does one refuse that request?
I sat next to a priest on the plane!!!!!!!!!! Dunno why that warrant's a mention, but it does. A real fuckin' priest. He had the full rig out on and all… Mega!!!!!
Bar one petty criminal birthday boy customs and immigration was negotiated expertly. Arrived here on the Gold Coast late yesterday evening (I said Gold Coast, not golf course!!).
This hotel is a nightmare. It's a proper blimmin' holiday resort. Full of fat people in towels. Hell on earth.
Noel Gallagher: People Like Me Don't Become Rock Stars
Noel Gallagher laughs loudly. He's quite amused by the idea that High Flying Birds, the name he has given his solo project since quitting Oasis two years ago, might be a metaphor - something about feeling "untethered" or "free".
The truth is much more prosaic. "Do you want the actual truth?" he says. Well, yes, we are in the business of reporting the truth.
"I was going out, I was passing a theatre one night, Shepherd's Bush Empire, you would have been there, it's full of Australians.
"And I can't remember whose name was up in lights, but I thought to myself, can I see my name up in lights? And I decided that I couldn't.
"It was like, Noel Gallagher, it's hardly Ziggy Stardust is it?"
Perhaps Noel Gallagher is more of a name suited to a brickie's labourer from Manchester than the key songwriter of one of the biggest bands of the past 20 years. Still, it's not the sort of self-effacing answer that you'd expect from one of rock 'n' roll's famously big egos.
But that's not the end of the story. Gallagher never thought anything of the experience until weeks later when he was listening to Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on the radio (that's before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined). "I thought, 'Oh, wouldn't it be good if I was called Noel Gallagher's something'." Later he heard the Jefferson Airplane song High Flying Bird and everything fell into place.
Now Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, with one album under their wing, are in Australia for The Big Day Out, kicking off today on the Gold Coast.
As a key member of Oasis, he's used to writing great tunes and performing for a lively crowd. But this time there will be one major difference. He'll be standing front and centre of the stage, a spot usually occupied by his brother Liam.
"I thought I'd be a lot less comfortable with it than I am," he says. "I'm here to perform an album of songs that I wrote and I can do that well. (But) if anyone's coming along to see anything else like juggling, or disco dancing, or fire-eating, or wisecracks, or all that Mick Jagger stuff, then don't bother. If you're coming along to sing and clap really loud and reassure me of my brilliance, then we're all going to have a great night out."
Phew. Gallagher's sense of humour and ego are firmly in check. It's a welcome return of the sharp-tongued troubadour since he left Oasis abruptly one night in Paris in 2009. Noel simply had had enough of his younger brother's behaviour and walked. Their disagreements and brotherly banter are legendary, but now only their lawyers are speaking.
After Noel walked, the rest of the band regrouped to form Beady Eye, releasing their debut album last year. Noel is still in touch with other band members and plans to see them after his tour.
Some might ask not why did Noel leave Oasis, but how did he stay for so long? "Why did it take so long? Because I enjoyed it. I loved it in that group," he says.
"You don't leave a band lightly just on a whim. Because once you leave there's no going back. I knew that once I left, the band would die. I didn't want to be the person who killed it but I had to be. Circumstances became out of control."
High Flying Birds is the kind of record you'd hope to hear from Noel Gallagher.
But wait until you hear the next record. While working on his debut, the prolific 44-year-old had another in the works, which he describes as space jazz, vaudeville and kraut rock.
You'll have to wait a while because Noel's still waiting for his collaborators, the Amorphous Androgynous, to be finished with it.
"It was all supposed to be finished before my tour. Hopefully it will be out at the start of 2013. But saying that, those f---ing Mayans told us the world is going to end at the end of the year, so who knows, it may never see the light of day."
The past year has been a big one for Gallagher. Not only did he release an album, his partner, former publicist Sara MacDonald, gave birth to his third child, he moved house, and in June he finally tied the knot with Sara.
The pair have been together for 11 years. "She's a great girl. She's my best friend," Gallagher says candidly. "I've never been on a night out without Sara. She's one of maybe six people in the world that I would have to have there on a night out - not for any other reason than she's a right good laugh, and because I don't have to explain to her what went on when I come in in the morning."
Sara announced she was pregnant with their son the night Noel started working on the new album.
"And he's a beauty, he's a good lad," his dad says.
So how was moving house? Gallagher says he "took the coward's way out" and went to LA to work on his album while his wife and a friend did the hard work.
When he came home
"it was like Extreme Makeover".
"Apart from the fact there was none of my gear anywhere. So I went round and rubbed myself on the furniture like a little cat."
Another new thing for Noel is that the self-confessed Luddite finally got a computer. But, he says, the salespeople could see him coming a mile off and sold him a machine he could "design a weapons program on".
It was Mr Job's iPad that changed his life. "Someone said, why don't you get an iPad? And I said, what's one of those? And since I got the iPad I don't even turn the computer on. It's revolutionised my life."
But he steers clear of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
"My wife's on Facebook and she's got friends. I've got enough friends, thank you very much. I've got six or seven, and I'm trying to get rid of one of those."
Gallagher doesn't need to say pithy things online - he can just say them out loud and a quote-hungry press will be quick to report them.
He agrees that many of today's youth are obsessed with celebrity for its own sake. Everybody wants their 15 minutes.
Growing up in the working-class suburbs of Manchester, the eldest Gallagher never dreamed of becoming famous. He was never one, as he noted at the start of this interview, to imagine his name up in lights. Even when he was listening to the Beatles and lugging gear as a roadie for then-successful British band the Inspiral Carpets he never imagined he'd one day be in one of the biggest bands around. Then he joined his little brother's band and the rest is history.
"I was never a stand-in-front-of-the-mirror-with-a-tennis-racket kind of guy.
"People like me didn't become rock stars. It wasn't even a thought at the back of my mind.
"It was a gradual progression. There was a guitar at home, I don't know why but it was there and I learned to play one string at time. I learned to play House of the Rising Sun (by the Animals) and I learned to copy my idols on Top of the Pops. It wasn't like I came out of the womb and my first words were 'rock 'n' roll'."
Does he remember the first song he wrote?
"I know it would have been s---. I can recall it being a little bit like His Latest Flame by Elvis Presley. And it would have been about a girl. Aren't they all?"
How about the last song he wrote?
"I'm actually writing one this very second," he declares, "well, not as we're speaking but I had the guitar in my hand before you rang.
"But the last great song I wrote, you'll get to hear soon enough. It's pretty good, I've got to say.
"I'll tell you how good it is, right. After I'd written this stuff for this High Flying Birds album I thought, I don't ever think I'll ever write a song like What a Life or If I Had a Gun again, because they're just so good. And about four weeks later I did.
"And I gave myself a little pat on the back and a pay rise."
Ego - check. Ready to go. Rock 'n' roll.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds perform at the Big Day Out on the Gold Coast today.
Noel Gallagher has described Australian band, The Amity Affliction, as sounding ‘like a dead turd’. Gallagher is in Australia for the Big Day Out festival, performing tonight at the Gold Coast.
He entered the triple j tent backstage to conduct an interview while one of The Amity Affliction’s songs were playing on the station. Gallagher asked the triple j presenter ‘Whats this?, to which the presenter replied ‘The Amity Affliction a little bit of melody, little bit of screaming and some triggered kick drums’, ‘sounds like a dead turd’, Gallagher replied.
Gallagher also explained that he won’t be visiting Uluru while he’s out in Australia because he’s ‘too busy being brilliant’:
Its the fourth time I’ve been here, the first time I was here I don’t think I left any of the hotels because I was too drunk. I’ve not seen a great deal of Australia, I’ve seen the Sydney Harbor Bridge and all that. You don’t get time to go out to Ayers Rock and all that, I’m too busy being brilliant…You can’t multi task brilliance.
Video: Noel Gallagher Interview with 3 News New Zealand
Noel Gallagher is performing at New Zealand's last every Big Day Out with his solo act Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
The Mancunian's tempestuous relationship with brother Liam, which led to the eventual downfall of Oasis, is well-documented and he tells 3 News entertainment reporter David Farrier that he would advise his own sons to not form a band together.
Gallagher talks about not remembering anything about his last visit to New Zealand, the satisfaction of touring a solo record rather than travelling with a band and the transience of music.
"People take music way too seriously," he says. "If you make a record that doesn't sell, make another one and maybe that will.".
3news.co.nz are providing live updates from this year's final NZ Big Day Out.
3 News
From Noel Gallagher's 'Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere' tour diary.
Made it to New Zealand. Auckland, to be exact. It's summer time!!!
The sun's out. Loud and proud. Twas a fuckin' slog yesterday though. Sleep deprivation is a killer.
Some girl comes up to me at the airport in Japan. She was pregnant. She says to me, "Can you touch my stomach and bless my baby?" Sorry? "Please touch my stomach and bless my baby." Ok… there you go, kid… consider yourself blessed. Then she says… "Please can you name my baby?" What? "Please name my baby." What now?? Right now?? "Yes please." Ok… Is it a boy or a girl? "Oh, I don't know yet!!" Jeez... Meet me half way, eh??
Anyway, the flight was ok. Got some kip at least. The jet lag's not too bad when you get this far around the world. Feeling back to normal.
I haven't been to NZ since 1997. I have no recollection of it at all! My tour manager informed me I may have had an impromptu sing song round a piano in a hotel bar with that singer Joe Cocker!! I don't remember that at all!! Scary, eh?
Looking forwards to the gig tomorrow. My first festival of the year. Kasabian are on the bill so it should be a blast.
Noel Gallagher: Record Sales Don't Make it a Better Record .....
FOOTBALL fans are, by and large, optimists – and none more so than Noel Gallagher, the one-time guitarist and songwriter with Oasis.
At the time we spoke, the 44-year-old – now a chart-topping solo artist – was full of hope that his beloved Manchester City would win a clean sweep of trophies in 2012.
Fate – and Manchester United – intervened in the FA Cup, nevertheless the rest of his dream – that City win the Premier league, the Carling Cup and the Europa league – is very much alive.
“I hope the world doesn’t end – because they say it might,” he added. “It would be nice if they could delay the end until City have won the league.”
2011 was certainly a year in which Gallagher himself surpassed many expectations. Two years after abruptly quitting his own band moments before a concert in Paris, the 44-year-old emerged with a new musical guise, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and an album which garnered his best reviews since Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, at the highpoint of Britpop.
After 18 years consumed in band politics, Gallagher enjoyed the freedom of being his own boss. “In the studio, yes [it was creatively liberating],” he recalled, “because I could work at my own pace, which is important for me.” If he wanted to work three days in a row, he could; if he wanted a break he could take one. With Oasis, he had to be ever-present.
Easy
If he wanted a brass section, he did not have to “sell” the idea to anybody. “I found it easy,” he said, carefully considering the phrase again. “I’m not sure liberating is the right word.”
If that sounds diplomatic, it’s a tone he maintained whenever relations with Liam, his brother, and their former band were mentioned. (Impending legal action over comments each brother made to the Press may have be weighing on his mind.)
When I asked whether he thought people appreciate him more as a songwriter now there are fewer distractions, Gallagher answered bluntly: “I don’t know. You’d have to speak to people individually. I think if you were to show a person a picture of me and say, ‘Who is that?’, they would say, ‘It’s not Rod Stewart’. If you were to say, ‘Do you know what he does?’ They would say, ‘He’s the songwriter in Oasis’.”
Was there perhaps a difference in tone when you’re writing songs for yourself? “I know when I write a song now how it’s going to sound when I finish it in the studio,” he said. “If I Had a Gun is obviously a love song but I know what it’s about. When I’m singing I know what it means, I know who the person is, I can deliver its sentiment a little bit better. All the other songs I can deliver the lines with the story. I wrote it so I know what it means.
“I often thought Liam’s role in Oasis must have been difficult, singing somebody else’s songs. You can read the words and understand [literally] what they mean but you don’t instinctively understand them.”
The disparity in UK record sales between ...High Flying Birds and Different Gear, Still Speeding, the debut album by Liam’s band Beady Eye, was apparently no cause for triumphalism. “There’s nothing ironic about it; more people bought it,” Gallagher said simply. Having been away for several weeks on promotional trips, the fact that his own album had done so well had only just registered. “It’s great that I’ve sold nearly half a million records,” he said. “It’s not great that I’ve sold half a million more than anybody else.
“Record sales don’t make it a better record than anybody else’s. You look at some of the best albums of all time and they’ve sold s***. Some of the biggest albums are appalling.
“It’s great to sell records but I don’t have a rivalry with anyone else.”
What will perhaps be more intriguing will be seeing how this album fares compared to its already recorded follow-up, a collaboration with the proggy electronic duo Amorphous Androgynous. Gallagher wouldn’t divulge its title but did reveal: “I would give them a three-minute Kinks-esque song and the next time I would hear it it would be 11 and a half minutes long. I’d say, ‘Where’s the second verse gone?’ and they’d say, ‘We got rid of it, it was boring’. It was an eye-opener. Next time I will have a better understanding of what they do. The next record will be truly incredible.”
A tour of UK arenas awaits Gallagher next month. Having played a handful of shows last autumn, he’s gradually finding his feet as a frontman. “Six weeks before the tour started what I thought it was going to be was making me trepidatious – if that’s a word,” he laughed. “When I finally got to do it, I was, ‘F***ing hell, that was quite easy’.
“The only thing that’s really suffered is my partying. I’ve got to look after my voice. The days of drinking champagne from chandeliers at 4am have sadly gone. Other than that I don’t mind it at all.
“I don’t think I’m the greatest frontman of all time, I don’t think I’m the greatest singer of all time, I don’t think I’m the greatest guitarist of all time, but whatever that album is I can pull that off on stage.”
On the subject of that hard-partying past, Gallagher sounded sage. Having tired of drugs in 1998, he “regretfully” gave them up. “The giving up of gear itself was just, ‘Do you want to be a junkie any more?’ ‘No, I don’t, let’s stop taking drugs’,” he said. “What was more difficult was leaving a circle of friends. The next part of the war is you can’t be surrounded by people who do [drugs] any more – initially, at least.
Willpower
“I had to go for a long walk in the woods. It was easy, but then I was not doing smack and I was not alcoholic. They are the tricky ones. With anything else a bit of willpower will do it.
“Alcoholism and heroin are so powerful. You’re never fully freed from that. I’ve got friends who are still in [counselling] meetings who have been off heroin for 20 years.”
In hindsight, he rued how Oasis ended. “I only regret the night in Paris not playing the show. I should have done the gig then let everything simmer down. Things would have looked a little less apocalyptic six months down the line.
“Saying that, where we’ve all ended up...Liam thinks he’s in the best band in the world – good for him; I’m comfortable doing what I’m doing – good for me; the fans, instead of getting one Oasis album every three years, they get two...everyone’s a winner.”
Despite the wealth generated from 55 million album sales with Oasis, father-of-three Gallagher was not inclined to follow John Lennon’s example and become a house husband. “I did sit around the house for 10 months,” he said, “but the way women are these days they don’t want you there.
“I enjoyed it – it was nice to be there for the young ’uns [Gallagher and his wife Sara MacDonald have two sons, aged four and one; he also has an 11-year-old daughter from his previous marriage to Meg Matthews] but eventually you’ve got to get back to work because it’s what you do. While I’m still young enough and have got it in me I should make music because I’m going to be too old soon enough.”
Fatherhood had changed him, he admitted. “It’s little things. It changes your existence on a day-to-day basis. Most of it is for the good. It would be nice to pick up the wife and go on holiday at the drop of a hat but there are school holidays to think about.”
Anais, his daughter, was aggrieved that he didn’t take up Simon Cowell’s offer to become a judge on The X Factor. “If you had an 11-year-old daughter you would know what it was all about,” he said paternalistically. “They love that s***. The equivalent for us was we would’ve given anything for our dads to be on Top of the Pops. You were a millionaire if you were. There’s no leveling with that. But Little Mix has won, she’s pleased and that’s done with. She’s going to move on and be a well-rounded person.”
As for groups that had recently caught his ear, Gallagher said: “There’s a band from Northern Ireland called Cashier No.9, I like them. Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian – but they’re not new bands. I liked the Foster the People track Pumped Up Kicks...and Tame Impala, they’re an Australian psychedelic pop band who made an album called Innerspeaker. It’s very good.”
Shaving
As we were winding up, I asked if he was the kind of person who made New Year’s resolutions. “Yes and no,” he considered. “The last one that I made I stuck to. I got into the habit of not shaving every day, I could not be a**ed. Women have periods but they don’t understand if you have to shave every day. Then I thought, ‘F*** it, I’m going to do it every day’ and I have done it every day for the last two years.
“The next one,” he said wryly, perhaps remembering that legal dispute with his brother, “will be not to discuss certain things in interviews for a whole year.”
Looking ahead, Gallagher hoped “to have another album out by the end of next year and I hope to still enjoy it”.
It’ll be all the sweeter if Manchester City do win the Premier League.
From Noel Gallagher's Tales from the middle of Nowhere tour diary:
Yes…
Well, the gig went as well as could be expected for a band that ain't played for over a month. The old voice seems to have held up and all. I expect tonight to be a little bit better. Usually takes about 4-5 gigs to get back in the groove (not that we actually do groove!).
Anyway, the usual suspects were all present. The "NOEL OR DIE" sign was down the front. Last time I saw it it was just a bit of yellow tape stuck on a black piece of fabric. It's gone all posh now!! Like a proper banner... Well done!!!!
Now I don't know if you're aware of this but during gigs in Japan in between songs there is a deathly silence. Not sure why, but it's very disconcerting. At the end of any given song you get thunderous applause for about 10 seconds then... total silence.
But last night, what can only be described as a little girl, kept shouting out rather odd "statements". She sounded EXACTLY like my eldest young son which, in itself, was quite off-putting. And this is what she had to say, and the fact that she was saying it with a slightly creepy steely-eyed stare, made it all the more weird… get on this:
- NOEL, I LOVE YOU!! (Fair enough… what's not to love, eh?)
- I LOVE YOU, EVEN WHEN I'M AT SCHOOL!! (Ok?)
- CAN YOU KISS ME… PLEASE? (What, now? …Right now?)
- NOEL, YOU ARE MY IDEAL MAN!! (Ideal man?)
- CAN I MARRY YOU? (Erm… no.)
- I WANT YOUR PICK!!! (Sorry….)
She said PICK… my guitar pick, you filthy swine… I gave it to her after the show anyway, just to be nice and that (the pick!!). All in all a good night.
I'm off to Kiddyland now to do a bit of shopping. It's a toy store… it sells toys… not kids… I'm not Madonna!!!!
Noel Gallagher Shifted 492 000 Album Copies in 2011
Coldplay‘s fifth album ‘Mylo Xyloto‘ was by far the biggest selling rock album of 2011, with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in second place, figures released by the Official Chart Company show.
‘Mylo Xyloto’ shifted 908,000 units during the course of 2011, putting it comfortably ahead of Noel Gallagher‘s debut solo record which sold close to half a million copies.
Coldplay also enjoyed the highest selling rock single of the past year, with ‘Paradise‘ selling over 400,000 copies as it became the first UK number one of 2012.
Top 10 Selling Rock Albums: 1. Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto (908,000)
2. Noel Gallagher: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (492,000)
3. Florence + the Machine: Ceremonials (384,000)
4. Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (380,000)
5. Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More (373,000)
6. Elbow: Build A Rocket Boys! (327,000)
7. Kasabian: Velociraptor (279,000)
8. Snow Patrol: Fallen Empires (269,000)
9. Noah and the Whale: Last Night On Earth (261,000)
10. Arctic Monkeys: Suck It And See (223,000)
Top 10 Selling Rock Singles:
1. Coldplay: ‘Paradise’ (410,000)
2. Goo Goo Dolls: ‘Iris’ (264,000)
3. Birdy: ‘Skinny Love’ (259,000)
4. Coldplay: ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ (247,000)
5. Noah and the Whale: ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.’ (242,000)
6. James Morrison: ‘I Won’t Let You Go’ (228,000)
7. Foster The People: ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ (225,000)
8. Snow Patrol: ‘Chasing Cars’ (128,000)
9. Florence + the Machine: ‘Shake It Out’ (127,000)
10. The Calling: ‘Wherever You Will Go’ (125,000)
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Return To Japan In May
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds play the first dates of 2012 tonight with the debut shows in Japan, at Tokyo Dome City Hall on 16th and 17th January.
Following the great success of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' debut album and massive demand for tickets www.NoelGallagher.com is pleased to announce three more concerts in Japan to take place in May 2012, including a show at Tokyo’s legendary Budokan in Tokyo.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds confirm:
23/05/12: TOKYO, Budokan
24/05/12: NAGOYA, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater
26/05/12: OSAKA, Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium
Tickets go on general sale on Saturday 18th February through:
From Noel Gallagher's Tales from the Middle of Nowhere tour diary
Comrades… Let me start by wishing all of y'all a happy, happy new year.
I'm in the great city of Tokyo, in the great nation of Japan.
Got a couple of gigs here before I move on to Australia and New Zealand. Somewhat predictably it's freeeeeeeezing.
Did manage a little bit of kip last night which is always a nice bonus out here.
Looking forward to this 2012 business. If this year is half as good as last year then I might actually retire. What would be the point in carrying on??
And in any case, ain't the world supposed to end this year?? Fuck the Mayans, I say!!!
You currently find me watching the NFL play-offs. Mega game. 49'ers - Saints. Japanese commentary!! Very mad!!!
The Brit Awards 2012 have confirmed the acts booked to play live at next month’s industry bash, cementing rumours which have been circulating during recent weeks.
As expected, Noel Gallagher, who has received a nomination for British Male following the successful launch of his solo career, will perform live at the awards for the second time, after first appearing live with Oasis in 2007 when the band picked up the Outstanding Contribution gong.
Adele will also make a return to the event after her performance of ‘Someone Like You‘ at last year’s party proved to be the catalyst for her subsequent rise to trans-Atlantic superstardom during 2011. In addition, Coldplay, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran will also undertake live performances.
As previously reported, Blur will make a very rare live TV appearance when they pick up this year’s Outstanding Contribution at the ceremony which will be held at the O2 Arena, London on February 21st.
Noel Gallagher Nominated as Best British Male For Brit Awards
Noel Gallagher, Coldplay and Foo Fighters have all received nominations for the 2012 Brit Awards.
Noel Gallagher is recognised for a successful start to his solo career with a nomination for British Male, while Foo Fighters are up for International Group, and Coldplay are in the running for British Album and British Group.
Elsewhere, Laura Marling could win British Female for a second year in a row, but is likely to be beaten to the award this year by either Jessie J or Adele, who is also the strong favourite for British Album thanks to her massive selling ’21′.
As previously announced, Blur will receive the Outstanding Contribution prize and perform live at the ceremony, which is due to take place for a second time at the O2 Arena, London on February 21st.
Nominees:
British Album:
Adele – ’21′
Coldplay – ‘Mylo Xyloto’
Ed Sheeran – ‘+’
Florence & The Machine – ‘Ceremonials’
PJ Harvey – ‘Let England Shake’
British Single:
Adele – ‘Someone Like You’
Ed Sheeran – ‘The A Team’
Example – ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’
Jessie J – ‘Price Tag’
JLS – ‘She Makes Me Wanna’
Military Wives – ‘Wherever You Are’
Rizzle Kicks – ‘Heart Skips a Beat’
One Direction – ‘What Makes You Beautiful’
Pixie Lott – ‘All About Tonight’
The Wanted – ‘Glad You Came’
British Group:
Arctic Monkeys
Chase & Status
Coldplay
Elbow
Kasabian
International Group:
Fleet Foxes
Foo Fighters
jay Z & Kanye West
Lady Antebellum
Maroon 5
British Male:
James Blake
Noel Gallagher
Professor Green
James Morrison
Ed Sheeran
British Female:
Adele
Florence & The Machine
Jessie J
Kate Bush
Laura Marling
International Male:
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
David Guetta
Ryan Adams
International Female:
Beyonce
Bjork
Feist
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
British Breakthrough:
Anna Calvi
Ed Sheeran
Emeli Sande
Jessie J
The Vaccines
International Newcomer:
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Nicki Minaj
Outstanding Contribution:
Blur
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds confirmed for Coachella Festival
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have been confirmed for this year's Coachella Festival in California performing on 14th and 21st April. For full details of the line up head over to the festival's Facebook page here.
Noel Gallagher Misses The Days Britpop Ruled the Charts
Tabloid Alert
Noel Gallagher has hit out at today’s “talentless” pop stars... and claimed Oasis are as great as The Beatles.
The ex-Oasis star says today’s acts are rubbish and he misses the days when Britpop ruled the charts.
He also claims that Oasis can line up with pioneers like The Beatles and the Sex Pistols among the greats of British music.
Noel said: “The days of Oasis and Blur were the last great assault on the charts by alternative music. Christmas Top of the Pops was dreadful. Every song sounded like it came from the same field of music. There was a rap in there somewhere, everyone sang in a transatlantic soul voice and it was rubbish.
“The Britpop thing was vastly different. We were all great live bands, and that’s gone now
Noel Gallagher: " ...Maybe I'm Just an Arrogant Bastard"
While the fraternal circus that was Oasis is now behind him, Noel Gallagher has found there's still plenty of surprises on the road. "Well, the world is a vastly ever-changing place inhabited by f...wits," he says sagely down the line from Los Angeles.
"You deal with them more often than not. The world is a freaky place, I like it. If only people didn't carry guns, though."
He makes a good point. Only days previously a gunman had gone on a shooting rampage up the street from where Gallagher was staying. The aftermath was not what the singer/songwriter expected.
"F...ing hell, it was crazy. The weird thing is, about an hour later, it's like nothing's happened. People are just kind of like 'Did you hear that shooting before . . . oh yeah'. What do you mean, 'Oh yeah'. Seven people got f...ing shot in the street and some guy got his head blown off by the cops. And it was like nothing had happened. I mean, I like this country but really, what the f...?"
Gallagher is on the long and winding road touring in support of a new album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, his debut solo LP and first release since Oasis broke up in 2009. Almost to his surprise, it seems to be going very well.
"You wouldn't expect me to say anything other than it's been great," Gallagher says. "But I thought that I would be very frustrated and uneasy and awkward and a bag of nerves and very dissatisfied with it. I have to say that I'm taking to it like a duck to water. I find it very relaxing, walking onstage. I'm more at ease with this than I was with the Oasis thing, to be honest, because I know there's not somebody on the other side of the stage actively going out there ready to f… my s… up. I'm kind of just getting on with it; do you know what I mean?"
The High Flying Birds album came several months after the release of Beady Eye's Different Gear, Still Speeding, the debut album from brother Liam and the remains of Oasis.
Typically, the split with Liam was bitter, with threats of defamation suits floating around since. In terms of competition with his vocalist brother, it seems there isn't any on Noel Gallagher's part - his own album was released simply because he'd completed it.
"I don't really get that fussed about not being in the limelight. I've got enough faith in my own ability as a songwriter to just take my time and it was put out when it was ready.
"After Oasis finished people started asking me immediately what I was going to do next and I said 'Nothing, I'm not doing anything. I'm just gonna sit around my house, smoke some cigarettes, drink tea, watch some football. I'm gonna annoy the f... out of my wife, and I'll see where that takes us."
It has taken him to a pretty good place, though you can certainly tell from listening to High Flying Birds that Gallagher was the guy who wrote the songs in Oasis - both a compliment and a criticism of the album. He writes constantly, eschewing the notion of writing projects to order.
"I've written a fair few songs in my life and I've got a fair idea when something is good," Gallagher says.
"It didn't feel as though any of the songs I'd written or was recording were not working. I never thought 'People won't get it'. I don't know, maybe I'm just an arrogant bastard."
Nor did Gallagher have a problem writing songs that weren't being sung by Liam. Many guitarist/songwriters write with their lead singer in mind, but Gallagher has always been uncomfortable with that scenario.
"No, no, no, no," he stresses. "Even when I wrote songs for Oasis I never really wrote with Liam in mind. I wrote the song; I didn't write for the singer. I was writing a song. If he couldn't sing it, I would. That was it.
"To be honest, from the day I got into the studio I never really thought about Oasis. I only ever think about it when people mention it in interviews.
"When I'm onstage singing (Oasis songs) Talk Tonight or Don't Look Back in Anger...or even when people are putting Oasis CDs in front of me to sign, I'm never sitting there going (sullenly) 'Oh, what a great band it was. Those were happy days'," he says.
"That was then, this is now. We can't go back to then. So I'm just living in the now, really."
On tour Gallagher has played the majority of his solo album, along with songs from his old band, in roughly 50/50 proportion. As time rolls on, the fans remain loyal to the man and - more importantly to him - his songs.
"Well...I don't think it's blind loyalty. I don't think people like music just because they like who you are. I mean, I love Paul McCartney, but I'm not having the Frog Chorus," Gallagher laughs.
"You'd have to ask them individually, but it seems to me, from my lofty position on stage, that they are as equally accepting of the High Flying Birds' music as they are of the older stuff.
"The show is about the songs. I have to believe that or there's no point in me being there, because I've got f...-all to say and I've got no moves. If you've not really come to listen to the music then you're having a s... night out, to be honest."
Noel Gallagher: The Stone Roses are Sounding ‘Amazing’
Noel Gallagher has revealed those in the know are saying the ongoing rehearsals for The Stone Roses‘ forthcoming reunion tour are sounding ‘amazing’.
Gallagher was speaking to Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 this morning (January 5th) ahead of his own imminent UK arena tour, and said the people he has spoken to regarding the Roses’ reformation have been full of nothing but praise.
“I know they’ve been rehearsing and I’ve spoken to a couple of people who have been in rehearsal who have said it sounds amazing, but I’m just really made up for them that they finally did it,” he commented.
“It’s great to see John Squire and Ian Brown on stage already, and great that Mani will eventually shut up about not making any money. All he’s done for the last 15 years has been, ‘Did you know we got robbed in the Roses?’”
The Stone Roses are due to play three outdoor hometown gigs at Manchester’s Heaton Park next June.
Paul Weller talks Album , Noel Gallagher, Stone Roses and More
The NME caught up with Paul Weller at the 2011 Crisis gig, where he discussed his forthcoming record 'Sonik Kicks', working with Noel Gallagher and Graham Coxon, and his thoughts on the Stone Roses reuniting.
The Smokin’ Barrels to support Noel Gallagher at Newcastle Arena
The Smokin’ Barrels have been confirmed as the support act for Noel Gallagher‘s forthcoming sold out show at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena on February 23rd this year.
The high profile home-town gig marks more positive news for the hotly-tipped trio, and follows glowing praise from Noel Gallagher, who recently tipped the band for big things in The Sun newspaper.
“They’ve got something,” he told the paper. “They are a bit like Kasabian and a bit like Oasis. What’s not to like? They just need to put in a bit of hard graft.” The Newcastle date is a part of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds‘ maiden UK arena tour, which arrives just a few short months after the release of their self-titled debut album. The arena tour will open at the Manchester Evening News arena on February 13th, and is preceded by a clutch of Japanese dates, as well as a series of Big Day Out appearances across Australia.
The Smokin’ Barrels’ latest EP, ‘Mindless Self Indulgence‘, is due for release later this month.
