The influential band Noel Gallagher called “too intellectual”
Oasis always occupied a distinct niche. While their tendency to create psychedelic, Beatles-esque rock became more prominent towards the end of their career, in their heyday, the group crafted working-class anthems for the masses. Big chords, hooky vocal melodies, and resonant lyrics were their forte, and Noel and Liam Gallagher knew it. It was their meal ticket.
This anthemic music and the brothers’ propensity for living the traditional rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle made them revered by many. They captured the essence of 1990s Britain and rose to be the pioneers of the Britpop movement. Yet, for all their success, this position put them at loggerheads with their southern art-school counterparts and antithesis, Blur, dividing the nation. Every diehard fan has an ardent detractor.
Those from the same social background as Blur hated Oasis, as did those who were still deeply ensconced in the dark world of grunge and its offshoots. They weren’t for everyone, but when people loved them, they did so wholeheartedly.
From the onset, the Gallagher brothers were steadfastly dedicated to their music, and this brazen mindset fed not only into their sonics but also their attitude towards the work of other artists. While Blur attracted much of their ire, other prominent contemporaries were also at the mercy of the Burnage brothers and their postulations on rock music.
Despite them being celebrated for blending provocative Bowie-esque glam rock and dynamic riffs in the vein of Manchester’s The Smiths – two acts that Noel Gallagher has discussed his love of on several occasions – the Oasis guitarist was frank in his critique of Suede, a band credited with ushering in the Britpop movement, who are still going strong today.
He’s in no doubt that Suede write decent music. However, outlining what would make Oasis so resonant for so many people, he questioned whether a 16-year-old on benefits would understand their frontman Brett Anderson’s lyrics and the group’s arty style.
Gallagher discussed Suede when talking to NME in June 1994, and he made some pretty bold assertions considering the band’s iconic debut album, Definitely Maybe, was still two months off. He wasn’t yet the god-like genius that he would later be lauded as, but he was already drawing a line of demarcation between his group and the other fast-rising Britpop acts.
Gallagher explained his issue with Suede, saying that many people find them “too intellectual” and conflated them with the same space Blur were in. He claimed: “The thing about The Smiths is that Johnny Marr was a lad and you knew he was a rock’n’roller that’s why I got into them. And I think a lot of kids find Suede too intellectual, while with Blur they don’t understand all that stuff about sugary tea.”
In his typically bold style, Gallagher maintained that things were much more straightforward for Oasis and fellow Mancunians The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. They picked up guitars, made the songs, and banged; they were ready for consumption, with little time spent on artistic ruminations. Providing perhaps the most concise definition ever produced of Oasis, he concluded: “We’re not preaching about ye olde Englande or how it was in the ’60s. We’re not preaching about our sexuality, we’re not telling people how to act.”
Love them or loathe them; that was always the power of Oasis. It was rock music at its most unadulterated, unconcerned with the complexities of daily life. Being in the present and enjoying it was the motivation.
