Mancunian rockstar rest assured the fire in his heart isnโt outย and neither is the acid in his tongue.
Nothing is out of the firing range of his corrosive candour, from U.S. politics, to his fractious family relations, to his own golden-age output. โThere was clearly a bit from โ93 to โ97 where every song I wrote was f—ing amazing,โ he offers, โthen a bit from โ97 to 2000 where they were f—ing awful.โ Well, minutes before he planned to ambush Neil Young with a question of his own during a function at Youngโs office โ specifically, Gallagher wanted to ask why Young hired guitar prodigy Nils Lofgren for After the Gold Rush then had him play piano โ the Oasis troublemaker agreed to answer some of ours.
Youโre in the U.S. soon. Are you following the election?
I checked out Donald Trumpโs bets bits on YouTube. Itโs him and Clinton, innit? Which pretty much means Americaโs f—ed. โCause theyโve got enough s— on Clinton, havenโt they? Arenโt those two in it up to their armpits? Then youโve got the comedic genius that is Donald Trump. Is Canada preparing for an influx of refugees?
Weโre building a wall.
I donโt really take much notice of American politics. I resent the way you have to know about it. Who gives a s— who the president of America is? And I hate the way they say โleader of the free world,โ just because theyโve got the most rockets.
What did you think of the upcoming Oasis documentary (Supersonic)?
Somewhat predictably, itโs quite funny. I come out of it like a bit of a soothsayer really. I was saying weโd be the last of a dying breed; so it came to pass. The dawn of the digital age really put an end to rock stardom. (We treated) our position at the time โ the biggest band in the world โ with a great deal of contempt. That doesnโt happen now. Now, everybodyโs really grateful. To their audience, theyโre like: โYou guys! If it wasnโt for you . . . โ F— you guys. You didnโt even buy any f—ing records! Stop texting your ex-girlfriend. Enjoy โWonderwall.โ Youโre not our saviour. Buy a T-shirt and go home. That was the way we operated.
Artists worry more about self-promotion now.
Iโm 50 next year. I grew up mythologizing Led Zeppelin and (wondering) what they might be up to. Whereas now everybody knows what Kasabian are up to right now. Thereโs probably a live blog going on somewhere. Everybody knows what Chris Martin had for breakfast. And if they donโt know, they could find out.
Iโm guessing you donโt use a streaming service?
I donโt stream music. If I want it, Iโll buy it. I donโt need access to 3 billion s— tunes. Someone tried to sell me Spotify once and I was like, โWhy would I want the entire f—ing catalogue of the Kaiser Chiefs? Why would I want access to that? Why would I want a load of f—ing live gigs by the Foo Fighters?โ I wouldnโt have it in the house, so why would I want it on my phone?
You joked recently that your next record would be โproperly ignoredโ in America.
Well, I put records out in America and I go there, and itโs like, seriously, did it get f—ing released? I just hope one day I get nominated for a Grammy just out of sympathy. Someone will say: โRemember that guy who used to be in Oasis? Should we nominate him? We donโt have to give him one. Just let him come to the ceremony with his wife.โ I met a guy from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in America and he asked if I had any stuff they could (exhibit). Are you f—ing kidding me? It would probably be the f—ing least observed exhibit of all time. Listen, barely anyone in New York is interested in Oasis. In wherever they are? Cincinnati? Pittsburgh?
Cleveland.
Cleveland! I guarantee you nobody gives a f— about Oasis or me. This record, honestly, itโll probably be over by the time the press release has been written. Thatโs good though. That means I donโt have to spend six months a year (in the U.S.) getting fat. If youโre in any way weak-willed, youโre just going to come back a fat, drunk drug addict.
Your brother (Liam) recently ranted angrily about you on Twitter. What caused that?
Thatโs so unlike him. I guess it was about him staying relevant. If youโre him, what else is there to tweet about? How his spring/summer collections are doing for his clothing firm? Iโm not sure that warrants a tweet. Should he ever climb out of the โwhere are they nowโ basket and grant you an interview, ask him. Iโm sure youโll get a typically f—ing surreal answer.
So youโre not speaking?
Weโve not been on speaking terms since 1996. I tolerated him up until he stopped being able to sing. When singing becomes shouting โ I switched off then. I was just amassing money.
So when you toured together since, you didnโt have anything to do with each other?
No, not at all. Iโve always been a loner anyway, even as a child. I prefer my own company. Iโm literally the only person who can put up with me.
What about your wife?
Sheโs not too keen. She blows hot and cold. Sheโs like: โLook, get nominated for a Grammy then come and see me.โ
Source: Thestar.com
