Noel Gallagher On Oasis, Beady Eye And Joining Kasabian

"That,” says Noel Gallagher, thrusting his index finger accusingly in the direction of a stray banana skin, “would not last 10 f*cking seconds on my tour bus.”

It’s not that the former Oasis man has an irrational fear of slapstick comedy. He’s just — ShortList is startled to discover — something of a neat freak. His aversion to mess isn’t the only surprising revelation that emerges during the afternoon we spend with the older Gallagher brother. Sat with our Dictaphone perched precariously on his kneecap following an exclusive ShortList photoshoot, Noel is cheerfully letting fly on every subject under the sun, from his new solo project, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, to his distaste for politicians and his late-night lightsaber duels…

You’ve said recently that you’re apprehensive about performing live as a solo artist. Why is that?

I know I can do it — I’m just anxious about what people will expect. It’s inevitably going to be compared to Oasis and I don’t mind that, but Oasis had two frontmen, me and Liam, and now there’s just one. And I’m not really a frontman — I’m a backing vocalist. At Oasis gigs, I would sing one in every six songs — to give Liam’s voice a rest, the poor flower — and that was always a nice change. I just hope people are prepared for me singing for an hour and a half. But I’m trying to get it out of everyone’s heads that I left the band to ‘go solo’. That’s not my preferred explanation for why I’m doing this.

What is your preferred explanation?

I’ve got f*ck all better to do. Seriously, I don’t see it as a career. I’ve never wanted to be a solo artist — I’d still rather be in a band. But you can’t start another band after you’ve been in Oasis. What’s the point? It’s just f*cking ludicrous. I’m doing this because I’m a songwriter and I make records. I’m not going out there to prove anything to anybody.

Liam told ShortList that when people hear your new material, “there’ll be one thing missing — me”. How do you respond to that?

If I was playing live and singing Rock’N’Roll Star and Some Might Say, then people would be thinking, “There’s something missing.” But I’m not — I’m only singing the songs I’m famous for singing. And if people do miss Liam, I’ll bring a little cardboard cut-out of him — a tiny, dwarf-sized one — put a spotlight on it and go, “There he is. Remember him?”

So an Oasis reunion is still the furthest thing from your mind right now?

Liam has said he’d never do it, so I don’t need to add anything more to that.

Have you been working on honing your ‘frontman’ skills?

Well, I’m rooted to the spot because I play guitar. So I won’t be busting any moves on the mic [laughs]. And I hate audience participation in any form. I cringe when I see these bands doing all that “Everybody over here get your hands up!” sh*t. F*ck off. I’m not arsed where I am or even why you lot [the audience] are here. I’ve made a record, you’ve come to see me play it live. The end. Now buy a T-shirt on the way out and f*ck off.

Did you get other bands trying to recruit you after Oasis split? There were rumours that Kasabian asked you to join…

No, that’s nonsense, and I would’ve joined that band in a heartbeat, by the way. But they never asked. I never really got calls off anyone. I never had Bono phoning me, saying, “I’ve always thought The Edge could do with some back-up.” [Laughs] So, if you’re reading this and you’re in a band that sells in excess of 15 to 20 million albums and you need a rhythm guitarist, then… [Coughs and points to himself]. I do interviews, the odd photoshoot, I’m a good laugh and I run a tight tour bus. There you go [laughs].

Have you seen Beady Eye perform live yet?

I’ve seen them on telly. I couldn’t walk into one of their gigs, though, could I? I’d just get f*cking hassled.

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Source: www.shortlist.com