“I was mesmerised”: The album that blew Noel Gallagher’s mind
There’s no denying that Oasis, at their peak, held immense cultural significance, particularly in the UK, where they were seen as one of the leading forces in the Britpop movement. However, the band’s two central figures, brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, have also been known for their inflated self-opinions, frequently elevating their egos to almost ludicrous levels.
Regularly reporting themselves to have been the biggest band in the world, there were, in fact, several other acts that could probably have claimed that title for themselves in the 1990s and 2000s when the Gallagher brothers were at their most active. Their sparring partners in the Battle of Britpop, such as Blur and the more adventurous alternative in Radiohead, can reasonably claim that they were just as big, if not bigger, than Oasis at points.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Nirvana had a stranglehold on rock music in the early part of the decade, and their popularity was still massive even after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain in 1994. When Dave Grohl formed Foo Fighters after Nirvana ceased to exist, they arguably took their place as one of the most significant bands in the world, and whether you like them or not, Red Hot Chili Peppers could also have taken the title of most significant at the time.
That being said, Oasis were still massive in the ‘90s, and you have to admire the chutzpah that the Gallaghers had when it came to talking about their own prowess. Their first two records, Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, were hugely successful and reached number one in the album charts in multiple countries worldwide, and they received platinum certification in several countries.
As much as they liked to claim how untouchable they were, they were also still quite open about having looked up to other acts that came before them. In a 1997 interview with Alternative Press, shortly after the release of their disappointing third album, Be Here Now, Noel Gallagher was questioned what it was like to have risen in stature to the point that they had outgrown many of their idols, and his response was predictably self-aggrandising.
“I’ve had that with every pop star I’ve met,” Noel began before admitting that some of these acts he used to look up to were still hugely important to him. “I had that with the Sex Pistols,” he continued, “Where I was mesmerised with the mythical figure of Johnny Rotten.”
Having first heard the punk icons’ first and only album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols at the age of 11, Gallagher said that it was “just about the most mindblowing experience I’ll ever have,” but then began to subtly boast about how he has gone on to befriend frontman Johnny Rotten, aka John Lydon, in more recent years, and that to him he is “just John from North London.”
This isn’t the only example of a notable artist that Gallagher seemed to think of as “just an ordinary human being” who happened to not quite live up to his own stature. “David Bowie was not a ‘Starman’,” Gallagher protested. “He’s not some alien. He’s just Davey Jones from Battersea Park.”
However, the most shocking claim of all that Gallagher chose to come out with was against one of the greatest heroes of his native Manchester. “When I was queueing for concerts of The Smiths in 1983, I was a fan,” he admitted. “But I didn’t get to meet Johnny Marr until after I became Noel Gallagher of Oasis, biggest band in the world.”
You might beg to differ, but Oasis were, and still are, pretty big. But “biggest band in the world”? You have to question what planet Noel was on to think of David Bowie as being beneath him. At least among all of the praise he has for himself, he can still acknowledge he had his mind altered by another artist, even if he was still a child at the time.
