Now Liam Gallagher leads a healthy life, but don't worry: "I haven't turned into fucking Sting, and I don't do any fucking yoga", he tells us.
He's quiet, available and serene. He willingly lends himself to the ritual of the interview and he thinks clearly about his merits and limits as an artist. It may sound amazing, for one who has always struggled with the press and always presented himself in a pleasantly arrogant manner. But this is Liam in 2019: his solo career and his new family have done him good.
Why Me? Why Not. (to be released on September 20th) will confirm the good things he told us about As You Were, the first record in his name. Of course, it's always Liam: he misses Oasis, he throws out catchphrases about everything and everyone, often seasoned with a "foookin" or a "shit". But while his brother devotes himself to the "cosmic pop", he explains why he can never get away from his music, and how he can be a rocker even without staying out late and going to run early in the morning.
Interview by Gianni Sibilla
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Let's start with the title of the album: can you explain it to us?
It is inspired by John Lennon, from two of his paintings. Twenty years ago I went to an exhibition of paintings by John Lennon curated by Yoko Ono in Munich, I saw this picture of him with the writing "Why me?" and I bought it. A few years later I met Yoko Ono in New York, and she told me that he had painted another one at the same time, and promised to send it to me. I found it on my way home: there was John Lennon on a cloud with two cats, and the title was "Why not". So I thought that one day that phrase would come in handy.
It might sound like an arrogant title.
People might think it's cocky, it's in my style. But it is only a declaration of positivity. And we are no longer in 1975, when mile-long titles were made ...
The songs were again written with Greg Kurstin and Andrew Wyatt, as in As You Were.
I had some ideas, and I thought that this record had to be better than the last. I know my limits, I know that I am not a songwriter, and I know that in order to do better, I had to get someone to help me. I sent him the demos, they kept the good pieces and completed the rest. The approach is the same, but we took a little more time, without working too much or too little. We thought about when to open the oven because the food was cooked properly.
Admitting that you know your limits is a tough statement for a rock star ...
No, it's really easy, it serves to get rid of the bullshit. I'm not Noel Gallagher or Paul McCartney. But I know that as a singer nobody can give me lessons. If I can concentrate on a killer interpretation, the result is better. I'm not an egomaniac, although I know it can seem so.
Your brother, meanwhile, has abandoned rock while you are carrying on. What is the state of rock in your opinion? Is it still current?Rock is coming back, guitars are coming back. I don't think I'm the last rock artist, but I'm the best. I do the job that Elvis invented: I didn't invented the wheel, but I try to bring people back to rock, I try to satisfy my audience. I want to entertain those who bust their ass to pay to come to my gigs. Then if it sells or not, who cares? If you want to sell, make copies, like Ed Sheeran and shit like that ...
What do you think of your brother's pop shift?
Noel has never been a rocker. He writes songs, but although he may think he is a good singer, he is not. He is not capable of making a beautiful vocal interpretation, he does not have that ability, so he dilutes everything to feel at ease while singing. He's not comfortable with rock 'n' roll. Maybe he has aged, maybe his wife likes the music or he doesn't like to see people jumping at gigs. But that's what he does now, and I have no desire to change my musical genre.
What has changed in these two years, after the experience with Beady Eye?
I have better songs because I work with great authors. Even in Beady Eye there were good songwriters, working with them after Oasis helped me to gain confidence. Then the gigs are another story: you can have a bad night, but I think 90% of what I do is excellent.
Since you are out as a solo artist, you seem more comfortable. Has personal life also influenced you?
I have a nice family, I feel healthy. My mother is still alive. The lawyers went to fuck themselves after my ex-wife took my houses and even the dogs. I built a new life, a new phase after those with Oasis and that with Beady Eye. Debbie put me back on track: without her I'd still be drinking and being a dick in a pub.
Now you have even become a morning person, as we read. It's true?
It's true. I no longer have the body to stand up late drinking and telling bullshit, or to hold a 4-day hangover. I can't. So I get up early, before the chaos starts, I take a walk or go for a run, I take a little time. But I haven't turned into fucking Sting, and I don't do any fucking yoga ...
Your son plays in a song on this record. Has he got a career in sight?
He's really good, he's been playing drums since he was six and he's got a Keith Moon thing. But he doesn't want to be a drummer because he knows they are the ones that are not considered by girls.
Do you think this direction you're in will continue?Why not? Don't worry, I'm not going to do a reggae or disco record or something ... I want songs that sound natural to me, taking one step at a time, seeing what happens.
But you have said many times that you would like Oasis to return. What's the point of it?
The fact is that I prefer to be in a band and I love those guys, despite all the shit we pulled on ourselves. Oasis was an important thing. I'm happy with what I do, I'm not saying that I would like Oasis back at any cost. I don't want to reform Oasis, but I wish they had never split.
Ten years after 28 August 2009, when the band broke up: why do you think that story is over?
I have the feeling of being overwhelmed, of being thrown under the bus. Many fans think the reason was me, but Oasis broke up because of everyone, even though Noel told it differently. If Noel had wanted to finish the Oasis story, he could have said it directly instead of dragging me into this, by saying that it was because he could no longer work with me. If we both admitted that we are two assholes, the world would be a better place. He thinks he's better than me, but I've shown that he's like me. He's not my boss or my father, and I'm not his. He owes me nothing and I owe him nothing. I wish he was happy, but I don't think he wants me to be happy.
The media, especially the English ones, have a field day with your statements.
In fact, it's not just Noel. It is the whole mess of some journalists, who are nice when they see me, then as soon as you turn around they write crap: that's why I stopped doing interviews with magazines. I might even let it go from time to time, but it's not possible. If they stopped, I would stop too. But if you write bullshit, I won't be there watching and I'll correct you.
Which is the Oasis line-up you prefer?The first. When Gem and Andy arrived we became more musical, we lost a bit of energy, we were more punk, in a way. But I am proud of my past, as much as I am proud of my present.
Some of your colleagues, on the other hand, seem to have a complex relationship with the past. When they become solo artists, for example, they stop playing their band's songs.Yes, it's sad, isn't it? In fact now they play in pubs ... People come to gigs to hear your songs, the ones they know. Not doing them would be a lack of respect. Fuck that! I will play those songs until the day of my death.
Source:
Rockol, Italytranslated by frjdoasis