Five of Noel Gallagher’s favourite songwriters
At the start of the 1990s, not many people expected someone like Noel Gallagher to become the biggest rock star in the world. In the waning days of grunge, most fans were still immersed in a sense of irony and had nowhere to go once the movement fizzled out. Once Gallagher arrived on the scene with Oasis, the entire music world changed on a dime.
Then again, Noel is the first to say that he couldn’t get to where he was without some of his favourite songwriters leading the way. Throughout his voice, Noel owes much to some of the greatest songsmiths in rock history, from his early days listening to British rock and roll in Manchester to the up-and-coming indie bands that made him want to start a group of his own.
Granted, not every act had the same impact as one would think. Despite Oasis’ rock and roll credentials, Noel always remained a fan of all styles of music, ranging from his reliance on Beatles records to being knocked out by The Stone Roses to praising shoegaze albums like Screamadelica when he was picked up by Alan McGee on Creation Records.
Regardless of where they came from, each artist etched themselves into Noel’s creative framework and gave him the drive to take his band all the way to the top of the world. The sounds might be all over the place, but each of them provides a little taste of what makes Noel tick when he’s not writing songs.
Noel Gallagher’s favourite songwriters:
John Lydon
It’s impossible to overstate the impact that punk had on music in the late ‘70s. After years of slogging through different progressive and hard rock genres, albums like Nevermind the Bollocks warped listeners’ minds in terms of what could be done with rock and roll. Although they might not have been the greatest musicians in the world, Noel talked about hearing the future in John Lydon’s words.
When talking about their influence, Noel mentioned being knocked out by the wordplay that Lydon used on songs like ‘Bodies’, telling Raised on Radio, “John was, what, 18 when he wrote ‘Anarchy in the UK’? I mean, that, still to this day, is staggering. For such a young lad, they’re unbelievable”. Noel would go on to take that honesty and ethos into Oasis, writing songs about lads on the street instead of anything too flowery.
Even years removed from the release of Nevermind the Bollocks, Noel went on to say that he still feels emotional whenever he listens back to it. Noel might have had the songwriting honesty from Lydon, but it took Liam’s snide delivery to bring Oasis to the top of the charts.
Paul Weller
Some of the greatest songwriters feel like they’re untouchable to most people. Even though they might breathe the same air as the listener, their sense of melody always seems like it’s coming from another planet. But when Noel Gallagher was cutting his teeth in Manchester, he never expected Paul Weller to become one of his closest friends as well.
When talking about Weller’s recent output, Noel was knocked out at how much Weller was able to stretch out in his solo career, discussing in Talking Weller, “He’s constantly seeing what works and it’s ‘take that bit and put that bit in’. I’m not sure he’s the type of guy that sits down with his guitar and writes a song in one. The stuff he’s been doing on his last few albums has been amazingly interesting”. As Oasis was on the rise, Weller also became friendly with Noel, eventually playing the guitar and singing backing vocals on ‘Champagne Supernova’.
In terms of songwriting, Weller’s approach to textures could be found in Noel’s songwriting in his solo career, writing tunes that had less to do with a lot of chords and instead set up grooves that were more in line with dance music. Weller might have his identity in and out of The Jam, but his songwriting helped Noel see what new experiences were out there outside of rock music.
Lee Mavers
For most aficionados of Britpop, The La’s’ debut record should be considered ground zero. Although they only had one album to their name, Lee Mavers’s style of songwriting, along with The Stone Roses’ debut, signalled a sea change for British music for the rest of the ‘90s. And although Noel might be high on his own work most of the time, he put Mavers down as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.
When speaking to Absolute Radio about some of the greatest acts of the ‘90s, Noel was in awe of Mavers’ approach to songwriting, saying, “He’s a magnificent songwriter. The sound of Liverpool in the ‘90s is that sound. He influenced all of us and all the bands that came after The La’s influenced a lot of other groups”. While the basic approach to songwriting resonated with Noel, it didn’t last very long.
After Mavers broke out singing songs like ‘There She Goes’, he laboured over the group’s next record before going into hermit-like seclusion, never resurfacing with a new La’s project ever again. Despite their lack of output, the sound of that snide songwriting set Noel on a journey to discover what songwriting meant to him. There might not be that much to work with in Maver’s body of work, but in this case, one’s all he needs.
David Bowie
The amount of influence David Bowie had over rock music might be second only to Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Outside of his massive strides in different genres, Bowie was the true definition of an artist, using music as his canvas to paint pictures of surreal images in his audience’s mind. After losing Bowie in 2016 with his album Blackstar, Noel mentioned the massive influence that he had on his life.
When discussing his passing, Noel had regrets about not having the guts to say everything he wanted to say while he was here. Although he met Bowie in the ‘90s, Noel talked about all the things he wanted to say, mentioning: “I’m thinking of all the things I should’ve said to him. ‘Thanks for Mick Ronson’. He made some of the best music ever. I remember kind of staring at him and not having the balls to go over and say anything”. Noel would always bow down to Bowie’s influences, even announcing him as “the king” when presenting ‘The Starman’ a posthumous award for Blackstar.
Though Noel admitted getting into Bowie during the ‘80s period with Let’s Dance, his influence on his music carried through both Oasis and his solo years, from covering ‘Heroes’ live with Oasis to creating spacey sounds on albums like Who Built the Moon?. Above all else, Bowie gave most songwriters the same advice through his music: never stop exploring.
John Lennon/Paul McCartney
Any casual fan of Oasis or Noel Gallagher would probably expect The Beatles to be at the top of his favourites. From the first time they got up onstage, Oasis was always indebted to the work of the Fab Four, from the way they carried themselves to the psychedelic sounds on their first album Definitely Maybe. Whereas most rock stars tend to recognise each other’s talents, Noel admitted that John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in a league of their own.
When speaking to Matt Wilkinson, Noel admitted that his style of writing tunes was no different from what people like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards might have done or even Ray Davies of The Kinks. In terms of output, though, he still thinks no one touches Lennon and McCartney, recalling, “If people say, ‘So what is it about the Beatles?’ It’s just they’ve done it more. Their songs are more culturally significant, and they did more of them, and they’re just, yeah, they’re a level above”.
It’s not exactly hard to spot some of the influences from The Beatles in Oasis songs either, from knicking the song titles for lyrics across their classic tunes to covering ‘I Am The Walrus’ to making their own version of psychedelia on tracks like ‘Go Let It Out’. As much as Noel might try to emulate his favourite band, he still admits that he will probably never come close, saying, “McCartney and [John] Lennon are in it… After that you’re kind of like, everybody’s probably on a par after that, I would say”.
