The singer Noel Gallagher called one of his “unsung heroes”
When Oasis burst onto the scene in the mid-1990s, they answered to no one but themselves.
They were acutely aware of how powerful their presence in British music was, and could feel themselves tapping into the zeitgeist. With that came the steadfast belief that they exceeded influence in many ways and leaned on only themselves to achieve greatness.
This confidence, and borderline arrogance, was all part of the charm, of course. It meant that in any given media appearance, the Gallagher brothers would likely take aim at a titan of music as opposed to credit them, when asked about who they admire.
There were plenty of insults that have made history. Jack White, was described as looking “like Zorro on doughnuts”, adding, “He’s supposed to be the poster boy for the alternative way of thinking… I’m not having that, that’s fucking wrong.”
While Phil Collins took a stray bullet when Noel Gallagher was asked about his politics. “Another reason to vote Labour is if the Conservatives get in,” he explained, adding, “Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here. And let’s face it, none of us wants that.”
All of this meant that earnest proclamations of adoration from the Gallagher brothers were few and far between. But when they did come, they were often saved for true music royalty. Their love of The Beatles was made relatively plain throughout their career, as was Noel Gallagher’s admiration for Johnny Marr.
In fact, it seemed as though the band saved their blushes for artists born in a small radius of North West England. Because, of course, Oasis were proud representatives of the North West, and its rich tapestry of artistic history, and they channelled that through both their music and loyalties.
But ultimately, some artists were so good that the brothers had to buck that trend. As time drew on, Noel Gallagher made his love for the likes of The Jam, The Who and one other famous London band, The Kinks, very plain.
He said, “The Kinks, like The Who, are one of those quintessentially great English singles bands, but I’ve listened to this album so many times, and I just fucking love it.”
So in late 2015, when the Davies brothers were spotted at various events together, and the rumour mill did what it should and peddled mania that the iconic British Invasion band were getting back together. Like many fans, it provoked an excited response from Noel Gallagher, who said, “If you could hold a record with the Kinks on the front cover, a new one, that’d be amazing. I’d love to go and see them. I’d love to. I mean, Dave Davis is one of my unsung heroes. I love him, he’s amazing.”
Maybe Gallagher’s admiration is rooted in his musical style, or maybe it’s in the fact that he knows exactly what it takes to be in a band with your brother. But unlike Davies, Gallagher recently scratched the itch that lingered amongst British music fans and proved to Davies exactly how exciting a reunion can be.
