Live4ever’s Interview With Rock’s Greatest Frontman ‘Liam Gallagher’ – Part II

(Interview continued from Part I)

So News of the World got it all wrong we now know. They claimed you chose a fan site web-mistress as your new bass player. Pretty funny stuff huh?

Yeah, it’s funny. I think that’s what the press is though, you can’t take it seriously.

To actually go as far as printing that headline? That a blog writer would become your bass player.

She could be, if she was good and I met her. I’m not sexist mate, if she’s a good bass player and she’s cool, she could make it in our band but we’ve got one now and he’s a geezer so it don’t matter.

Would his name be Jeff? (Jeff Wootton)

Certainly is man. He’s playing with the Gorillaz, isn’t he?

Apparently, he’s been recruited to play some gigs, right?

Yeah, he’s a top musician man. He’s not going to be playing on their album. Just live. But we’ll see how it goes, you know what I mean? Jeff’s an ambitious kid. He’s only 24 and he’s a fully-fledged musician, but he might at some point go – ‘you know what? I want to go do my own thing’, but we need a bass player and he looks cool. And he can play bass.

When you were putting the new band together, did you just pick up the phone and call Jeff? Or was it an open audition?

I just picked the phone up. I just rang Jeff and I said, what are you doin’? And he said nothin’. Do you wanna come down and have a little rehearsal with us, and within 2 songs of them jammin’, with Chris Sharrock and everyone, we just went down to the pub after that. We said right, you’re it coz you’re cool. We weren’t gonna over cook it or freak the lad out and go play this song, play that song. You know what I mean? He didn’t jump around, he looked cool, he played his bass and that was it.

I’m not gonna waste my time or loads of kids’ time gettin’ people in and out and holdin’ auditions and all that. I’m not like that. It was all there straight away, you look cool, you got the gig man.

A couple of years ago, there were a couple of photos floating around of you and Twiggy Ramirez (Jeordie White) hanging out in LA…

Yeah, he’s a top lad, man.

…doing some recording on a laptop or something similar

Nah, not me!

Well, you had an acoustic guitar and Twiggy had some headphones on and it looked like there was a little recording device. You were in his living room maybe?

Really?! Alright, cool! Well, someone must have taken that picture without our permission. I never seen it. I like Twiggy, he’s cool man. We certainly weren’t recording. We were just playin’ one night. But I like him, he’s a top man.

Alright. So, the new album. It’s coming out next year?

Next year. It’s lookin’ that way because we got Oasis singles, all 27 of them, comin’ out in June. So, we’ll be recordin’ our album then, or will have finished recordin’ it. So, I’d like to have a single out in October, followed by 2 FANTASTIC B-sides and then have Christmas off, put another single out at the end of January, maybe another one in March and then get the album out in June of next year.

I’m certainly not puttin’ the album out first, not in this day and age. It’ll be like what we used to do in the Oasis days – single, two B-sides, single, two B-sides, single, two B-sides, then the album and if that goes, another single, B-side, no remixes, none of that bollocks, brand new fuckin’ songs – Musicians man, we write songs, we don’t fuckin’ mix ’em up.

So, that’s what we’re gonna be doin’. And when that album’s out, put another single out like what we did with ‘Whatever’… follow the blueprint like how Oasis did it.

Liam, where does the liking for B-sides come from? You’re [Oasis] famous for it.

You gotta have B-sides man. If you can write one record, you can write another two. Do you know what I mean?

Why put the songs out on B-sides then? Why that format? Why not just put out another album?

Why have B-sides? Because that’s old school. That’s the way I wanna do it. I want people to buy our singles.

So, old school like vinyl? The single on one side and on the other, the B-side?

Exactly yeah, that’s the way I wanna do it. I don’t wanna change that. I don’t wanna change the way this music… crap, is goin’

So, what about the vinyl? It seems a lot of bands are releasing their music on vinyl recently. Take The White Stripes and everything Third Man Records release.

Vinyl, totally yeah. Well, that’s what Oasis did man. And then we stopped. But that’s what we do man. B-sides all the way.

So, we can expect that from you lads?

Yeah, without a doubt man.

You were quoted as saying it’s going to be more melody driven?

It’s more melodic and it’s more musical, than Oasis, without a doubt. Because what we’ve been learning over the last 18 years of being in that band is, how to do it and I know how to do it this time. You’ll just have to wait and see. I could talk about it until the cows come home. He’s [Steve] heard them – and to me, they’re more melodic. We’ve searched every corner of that tune and there’s not one melody that gets away. If there’s a melody there to be brought out, it’s been brought out.

Are we going to see you pick up an acoustic guitar?

Nah – only to wrap ’round someones head. LAUGHIN’ …I won’t be playin’ it on stage and that.

No, no…

Eh, do you mean in the studio?

Yeah.

Nah man!

You don’t have a ‘Songbird’ for the new album?

Oh yeah, I have yeah. It’s a beaut and it’s shorter than ‘Songbird’ and all. But like I said, it’s hooked with melody all over the shop. Everything that’s rammed into it will blow your mind. But I play a little bit, just to get the feel and the guys come and take over, Andy and Gem. They’re musicians, you know what I mean? I sort of give them the idea, you know? Whether I want it to be bangin’ and I don’t want it to be played light or anything.

But I won’t be playin’ it live.

Dig out your souls in the streets, the documentary that was shot here. When that idea was first presented to you, did you think – what the fuck, or what?

Yeah. A load of pissed up fuckin’ junkies playin’ our music! This is going to be interesting. But it turns out just coz you’re a busker, you’re not a pissed up junkie. So, I was wrong.

When did you warm up to it? At the factory in Brooklyn?

Yeah, when I went to see it. I thought, well that’s interesting – like I don’t wanna slag ’em off, but there was a lot of like, fuckin’ hell that’s wild. But I suppose that’s the beauty of it, you know what I mean? I liked it, they’re into it.

There’s some great video of you standing next to a girl called Dagmar, you probably remember her, she had insect wings on?

Yeah, I remember her.

When you heard her cover of ‘Shock Of The Lightening’, what did you think?

Some of it was crazy, but it was good man. It was interesting. I just didn’t like me sittin’ around, like my judgement, like all Simon Cowell saying hmm, yeah that’s great – Fuck off man! I wanted to get in and get outta there as fast as I could. I just didn’t like everyone checkin’ me out – like what did you think of this then? I really didn’t give a fuck to be honest, but it was alright.

There’s a scene where you’re up on the roof, looking out over Brooklyn, sort of pointing toward Manhattan and it really showed that you love New York.

Yeah, I love it. I don’t know what it is about it. I just like – ‘it’. Do you know what I mean? I don’t like it because of, a restaurant or whatever. I mean I like the park a lot. I just like it. I’ve got no mates here, so that’s a good thing because I don’t want my social life to be gettin’ hammered with it. I’m not comin’ here to make trendy friends or anything like that. I’m comin’ here just to chill.

We talked about the whole music scene being shit right now.

I think it is, but that’s just what I think

Do you even buy albums anymore? I mean, if you had to buy an album right now, what would you lay down money for? The classics? Or anything new at all?

The classics man. Nothin’ past 1972 man.

Liam, I have a difficult time believing you – that everything is shit right now.

Listen, I don’t get inspired by any new bands, right yeah? So, why buy anything? He [Steve] knows, I don’t go around buying new music. I hear it on the radio and I watch it on MTV when it’s on and if it’s good enough it’ll come and find me. I don’t have to go and find it. And, I buy the music magazines week in, week out and I see what’s goin’ on.

But that’s fuckin’ right man, everything is shit – in my world. I’m not gonna spend time watchin’ some stupid little band, that A. Don’t look good, that B. Haven’t got any tunes, and C. They want a career outta music. I’m not in it for a career, I’m here to touch people.

Not to have a little one hit wonder. And a lot of these bands if they’ve got a good deal goin’, they’ll lick someones ass. Everyone in England at the moment, all these “rock stars” in England, they can fuckin’ turn like that, they’re little pussy’s man. You know what I mean? They all lick people’s asses because they need their little song on the radio. That didn’t happen with Oasis man. We did they way we did it. And we never licked anyone’s ass. So, that’s why I don’t like a lot of these bands. And plus, I don’t like them because their music’s shit. Or once you get into knowin’ them, they make me wanna vomit, half of these kids in bands today…. Go on… Why don’t you believe that?

You’re a passionate music fan. I am also…

I like good music.

I like good music too, but I know what I felt listening to ‘Definitely Maybe’, and I know I feel the same way when I listen to a lot of music nowadays…

What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say I like Bloc Party? Do you want me to say I like… I don’t even know who the new bands are. Do you want me to say I like Fire Flies? Or Arcade… or fuckin’ Bombay Bicycle – they can fuck off with that name for a start!

LAUGHTER

So, I’m not gonna pick up Bombay Bicycle’s record coz of the stupid fuckin’ name they’ve got – So, go on…

Well, this is it. I wanted you to explain why you feel the way you do

Listen, I’m not into any new music, except for Kasabian. They’re alright. And that’s it.

I wanna be able to walk out and hear a top band – who’ve got the look, who’ve got everything. I want that. But it ain’t happenin’. But I’m not gonna go home and cut me wrists about it. I could give a fuck if there’s any good music out there coz I’m busy doin’ my music and that’s all I care about.

It’s personal taste then, isn’t it?

It’s personal taste. I’m not gonna go like a band coz the NME is tellin’ me to like it, or Q magazine or whatever. I’m busy doin’ my own music. That’s the thing, if they’re not doin’ it for ye, go do it yourself. I’m too caught up in my own music to be worrying about these new bands’ music.

So, you just got voted ‘Top Frontman Ever’ by Q magazine today?

No shit.

That’s pretty amazing, right? – to be up there with Elvis, Mick Jagger…

It is, if you take those things seriously. I’d rather be voted the best than the worst, I suppose. So, for the day at least, I’ll be happy about it, but it doesn’t mean anything to me really. I’m glad people voted and all that I suppose, if there’s a thing to be voted for. But I could’ve fuckin’ told them that ages ago!

LAUGHTER.

I have been telling them that for the last 10 years, so it’s nothin’ new to me!

Well, Congratulations!

Nice one!

Maybe we’ll switch gears a little and talk about football?

Prediction: England V USA? Do you think England’s going to have an easy time?

England will batter the USA!

Batter?!

Yeah. The USA have got a long way to go. England are too tactful and that, the USA will get a bit giddy. I think they’ll beat ’em.

Yeah?

Yeah man.

Is it going to be a high score?

I don’t know what score it’ll be but I think they’ll beat ’em.

Do you know any of the US players? Donovan? Tim Howard?

Yeah, Donovan he plays for Everton. Howard, the goalie – I know a few of ’em yeah.

Do you feel bad for what happened to Beckham?

Feel bad for him?! I don’t feel bad for him, no. He’s hardly gonna be on the fuckin’ dole, is he? He’s got enough money to go take his mind off it, you what I mean? It’s David Beckham, he’s gonna sit on an island somewhere and chill, won’t he?!

It’d be nice to see your team in a Pretty Green kit.

Who? The England team?

Yeah

It would be. I’d be over the moon.

Let’s wrap it up now. 30 seconds to get a bit cheeky?!

Go for it. You can take as long as you want, go on – I’m not in a rush.

You just released a Pretty Green ‘City Blue’ cashmere sweater. Any plans for a Red Devil’s version?

No. (Pauses and thinks for a second…)

Go on, for the other half

No way. It’s already out there mate, in disguise – it’s called fuckin’ toilet paper!!

LAUGHTER!!!

Are you a United fan?

Yeah man!

You can tell by your reaction. Listen, you’re a good team mate. Rooney’s on fire and that and Alex Ferguson is a top manager. (Pauses for a second…)

But it’s like Marmite, you either like it or you don’t – And I fuckin’ hate it!