The supergroup Noel Gallagher was never impressed with
Say what you like about Noel Gallagher, but the man can give an interview. Legitimately, I think the Oasis main man’s turn of phrase and candour have done more to shift their post-Morning Glory albums than any of their actual singles. I mean, what’s more memorable, his description of Liam Gallagher as “a man with a fork in a world of soup” or, like… ‘Let There Be Love’. It’s no contest, right?
However, beneath all the bravado and skewering wit, there’s something else about his persona that doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough but maybe just as important as anything else. A boiling, seething defensiveness. For all he wants to come across as this aloof rockstar miles above everyone else, everyone’s favourite Parker from Thunderbirds look-a-like has all the grace under the pressure of a cornered pit bull. Never more so than when his musical authority is questioned.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in a pretty magnificent interview Gallagher gave to Hot Press’ Stuart Clark in 1997. Make no mistake, there’s a lot of aggro here, especially since the interview itself is a fond reminder of a time when interviewers could push back against their subjects even slightly and still keep their jobs. Even when that subject was the brains behind the biggest band in Britain.
Noel’s already in a mard as his brother’s just decided not to turn up for a massive gig in Dublin, so the stage is set for a classic bout. After whining about writer’s block and taking a few potshots at Embrace, Noel starts talking about the prospect of taking a year off. First off, he dates the interview wonderfully by saying he might “go into Virgin and buy seven billion videos” since he is, in his words, “loaded now”. Something that anyone with a perfectly solid, functioning ego loves reminding people.
Then, he goes into the prospect of collaborating with other artists. In fairness to the chief, no matter how accurate it is to criticise his musical conservatism, he has always been more willing to brand out musically than you’d assume. This is a man who has collaborated multiple times with The Chemical Brothers and, in this very interview, alludes to a collaboration with Goldie that would surface in 1998 as the single ‘Temper Temper’. Sure, his style of “remixing” tends to revolve around taking techno tracks and adding more distorted guitars and live drums, but the intention is there.
However, Clark can’t resist bringing up Liam’s recent collaboration with The Seahorses though, John Squire’s first project after leaving The Stone Roses, a band Noel might still have a little shrine to somewhere in Supernova Heights. Asked what he thought of their collaboration, Noel says, “He’s someone I wouldn’t mind working with, but, yeah, our kid got in there first and did a pretty good job of it. Except for the singles, I don’t think Do It Yourself’s a great record, but how are you supposed to follow The Stone Roses?”
That is a fair question. Ever the catty little snob, though, Noel follows this up with an all-timer of a backhanded compliment to the other Roses brainchild: “The one I’m really looking forward to and want to be a classic is the Ian Brown album, but the people I know who’ve heard the single say it’s shit. There’s a geezer I’d love to hook up with, Ian Brown.”
It’s very telling that the moment anyone brings up his little brother getting one over on him, Noel immediately undercuts the whole project. He may be right, but he’s still saying it’s nothing compared to what they did before. All the same, he’d still like to work with them, the benevolent ruler that he is. Sometimes, the most devastating thing you can be is indifferent, and I think few people know that more than Noel Gallagher.
