Bob Dylan: The icon Noel Gallagher called “the fucking king”
Although he can rarely be considered an open-book sort of person, Noel Gallagher has never shied away from discussing his musical taste. Often, the former Oasis songwriter has been less than complimentary about some of his fellow musicians, lamenting everybody from Lewis Capaldi to Kaiser Chiefs. To his credit, though, the Mancunian has heaped praise onto various songwriting figures over the years, showing a clear adoration for the pioneering people who laid the foundation from which he built the Britpop revolution.
You do not have to dig too deep into Gallagher’s extensive discography to discover his most prominent influences. From the very early days of Oasis, the guitarist has always been open about the unparalleled influence delivered to him by The Beatles. Throughout his career, Gallagher has regularly drawn from the music and impact of the Fab Four in his own work, going so far as to cover a multitude of Beatles tracks throughout his career, ‘I Am The Walrus’, perhaps being the most prominent example.
While The Beatles certainly have a lot to answer for, when it comes to the work of Gallagher and Oasis, they are not the only ones to have impacted the songwriter. If you look back at Gallagher’s discography, he has drawn upon everybody from Nirvana to Plastic Bertrand at one point or another. There are, however, some musicians who impact virtually everybody who follows them, and Bob Dylan is one such figure.
Changing the landscape of songwriting indefinitely, Dylan penned a plethora of the 20th century’s most iconic and endearing songs. Using his early interest in folk and blues music to reflect the politically turbulent period of the 1960s, the Minnesota-born musician has always been dedicated to originality and innovation. Dylan has managed to remain so relevant within the musical world due partly to his consistent ability to subvert expectations and follow his own path.
This quality certainly endeared Dylan to the Oasis guitarist, who has similarly tried to follow his own path within the music industry. At the heart of Dylan’s appeal, of course, is his stunning lyricism. The only songwriter ever to receive a Nobel Prize for literature, Dylan is in a league of his own when it comes to creating works that are both complex and, often, universal in their appeal.
Although Gallagher’s body of work does not resemble the folk-orientated sounds of Bob Dylan, the Mancunian naturally appreciates the ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ songwriter. Interviewed in 2023, he reflected, “Bob Dylan, fucking hell, I don’t know what you say about him. He’s just, he’s far out.” Gallagher being left speechless is a pretty rare occurrence, speaking to the ultimate power of Bob Dylan.
Expectedly, Gallagher quickly rectified his inability to speak, explaining Dylan’s appeal as a fellow songwriter. “The thing about Dylan songs is when you hear them, you think, ‘Wow’, but when you play them, they’re the simplest songs.” Crafting groundbreaking compositions from seemingly simple tunes has been Dylan’s bread and butter since his very early days, following the age-old traditions of folk music. “They’re such a joy to play,” Gallagher added. “He’s the fucking king.”
Gallagher’s appreciation of Bob Dylan is a good indicator of how the folk hero manages to appeal to such a broad audience. The raucous Britpop stylings of Oasis could not be further from the introspective genius of a record like Self-Portrait, for instance, yet Dylan’s pioneering genius means that Gallagher cannot deny his vital importance as a songwriter and social commentator.
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