Noel Gallagher won’t be watching the World Cup half-time show: “They’re not really football people who are performing”
Noel Gallagher is attending the World Cup final next month, but he seemingly won’t be watching the half-time show.
On the eve of the tournament getting underway in Mexico City, the Oasis guitarist gave his thoughts and predictions for the forthcoming festival of football, as well as confirming he has a ticket for the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19th.
For the first time in World Cup history, due to it being held in the US, it will attempt to replicate the Super Bowl with a half-time show.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin was tasked with curating the performance, which will see Madonna, BTS and Shakira take to the stage during the extended half-time break.
Upon being asked if he was going to be performing with them at the World Cup final, Gallagher jokingly replied to host Andy Goldstein, “I’m doing the half-time raffle for a leg of lamb.”
Then, when asked if he’s a fan of the proposed show, Gallagher replied, “No, I’m not. I don’t like changes in football. I’m looking forward to these new rules about corners and time-wasting, that might be a good thing for the game, but I don’t like the razzmatazz of football; it’s been functioning perfectly for hundreds of years.”
He then scathingly said of those participating in the half-time show, “They’re not really football people who are performing anyway, are they?”
In the same interview, Gallagher, who doesn’t support the England national team, also revealed he turned down the opportunity to perform on ‘(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World’ ahead of the World Cup in 1998, sharing, “Got asked to get involved in one, never been asked to write one. I think it was an England thing back in the ’90s, Ocean Colour Scene were involved, and Ian McCulloch, I’m not sure what the tune was, it got swamped by ‘Three Lions’ anyway. It’s not something I would write.”
Notably, the song, which was written by McCulloch and Johnny Marr, also featured the Spice Girls, as well as Space.
Elsewhere in Oasis’ world, the upcoming behind-the-scenes documentary of their reunion was recently confirmed to arrive in IMAX and cinemas on September 11th.
Speaking to BBC 5 Live last month about the film, Noel confessed, “I still haven’t seen it, me and our kid still haven’t seen it. They are still tweaking it, I think they want to get it to a point before they show me and Liam. Obviously, people have seen it and saying it’s quite an emotional journey. A lot of it is to do with fans and stuff.”
“I can’t wait to see it, because I can’t really remember that much about the tour because it was such a whirlwind,” he continued.
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