Noel Gallagher - Adelaide Now - 23rd November 2006

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20809025-5006343,00.html

Noel Gallagher isn't backward in sharing his opinions about, well, everything. Here's what's been on his mind.


We're talking about the new best-of Stop the Clocks. Have you got a favourite Oasis song?
Not really a favourite, no. If I was to pick one I was to listen to right this very second it would be either The Importance of Being Idle or Supersonic.


Have you got a song then that you think is the best song you've written?
You can't . . . I don't think you can really say that. Fifty million people would say Wonderwall, I would say Live Forever but then again Liam would say something else. It's all opinion and conjecture, isn't it.


When you write a song like Wonderwall or Supersonic do you have that feeling once you get to the end of it, `Yeah, that's pretty good'?
I did with Live Forever. Supersonic was done in such a rush I still . . . when I listen to that song now I still think it's amazing. The Importance of Being Idle, when I finished that I thought it was amazing. I went out and celebrated that night.


You can feel it?
I've written many, many great songs, obviously but I've also written a few stinkers, you know what I mean so when the good ones come along I know. Some of the songs take you by suprise. Some songs you write and you think, "Hmm, that's alright'" and then loads of people go, "Wow, that's amazing." Like Lyla for instance, I thought, `well that's pretty good and then when people heard it they were going, `F***ing hell that's incredible' and I'm like, `Really?'... of course it is, I wrote it.


But that must be part of the fun as well. To take albums on the road and see which songs people really respond to live?
That's all part of the creative process. I've written some things that I thought were monumental and then people have heard it and gone, "Gnah, that's alright". You never quite know. But there certain songs that come along where you go, `F***in' hell. That is fantastic.'


Was it always frustrating that Acquiesce never got onto an album?
Not really. Frustrating for other people. Not me. I never understood what people were, "Oh this should have been a single." Well, why wasn't it then? I don't remember people at the time clambering for it to be a single. It's a great song and all that, but it's not like it's been brushed under the carpet and forgotten about. The cream always rises to the top.


Because a lot of the talk at the minute is going to be about the best-of, is it difficult or interesting for you to start thinking about the early days all over again?
You know it's not difficult because everytime we put an album out people always compare it to Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory so it seems to be I've been talking about the past forever. It's like same sh**, different day for me.


Does it feel then that the best-of might get rid of a bit of that then? Once the best-of is out you will be able to start again.
I don't know. Oasis and particularly Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory had such an impact on people around the world that maybe I wouldn't want people to stop talking about that. I don't know.


The best-of is the end of your contract with Sony BMG. So now you're looking for another record company?
My manager deals with all that kind of thing. We don't have to deal with any of that sh**. Far too complicated for me. I remember looking at a record contract once and it just looked like what I imagine the script for Lord of the Rings would have looked like. I was reading it, going, "What does...? What? What the...? What does that word mean?" It was like one of those scenes from Star Wars where an android is reading out the technical difficulties on one of the space ships in the desert. And you're just like, "I don't know what that means." I thought this is all about making records, isn't it? It's all forthwith and hereforth and I hereby degree that those forsooth, "What?"


So people just need to tell you when to start writing songs and when to book into the studio.
I'm a huge rockstar, point me in the way of the drum riser. That'll do me.


I read an interview where you said the 90 seconds where you walk from the backstage of a stadium to the stage are the best moments you can get.
Walking from the wings to your microphone is an incredible high, and it's an incredible re-affirmation of what you do. It's such a communal... people have said to me, "Well, is it better than drugs?". Well, it is because drugs is a selfish personal thing. If you're taking drugs with a whole lot of people, you can all take the same drug but it effects you in different ways. But when you experience something like that, this very communal thing with 60,000 or 70,000 people it's quite special. It's not something to be taken lightly. If you're going into it thinking it's a f***ing walk in the park...

The more you do it, the more you learn how to handle it. To me, I never used to get nervous, do you know what I mean? I was always a little on edge before going onstage. But now I just love it. It's almost like you can conduct an orchestra when you're up there.

What a lot of people don't understand, when they're starting up, they go, "Oh, I'd be petrified to get up there" and I always say to them, "The thing about it is ... all the people looking at you, they want you to be there. You should never go out on a stage and feel I'm not worthy to be in this stadium. The state of mind you've always got to be in is I'm bigger than this stadium and these people want me to be bigger than this stadium. So even if I don't feel like I'm bigger than this stadium I've got to act like I'm bigger than this stadium or let somebody else do it. I've never understood these wimpy rockstars who get stage fright. Go and get another job then.


When you can command an audience of that size elsewhere in the world, why come to Australia when the reality is you'll only play to 5000-10,000 people when you could be playing to 60,000 elsewhere?
That's a good question ... the weather?

The first time we came to Australia we didn't have a very good time at all, we were in the wrong place mentally and we were all heavily into drugs. It was a f***in' crazy time. We were having a great time but the music and all that suffered so we didn't go back for a while. I guess ever since then ... well, let's put it this way. You speak English. We've kind of got the same cultural references. I can order room service pretty easy in Australia. It gets a bit difficult in Japan. You say, `No, I asked for sugar, man. Not lobster.' That kind of thing.

Australia traditionally has loved its music, it's rock'n'roll. Who wouldn't want to go there? My very good friend Paul Weller, I keep saying to him, "Everytime I go there, man, they keep asking me when you're going to go there.' And he's like, `Well, it's a bit far isn't it?" And I'm like, "Well, f***ing hell, it's a bit far. They do have airplanes now you know. No-one's requiring you to drive there."


Are you worried about the reception you're going to get next time you come down here after your comments about the Socceroos?
What did I say?


I believe you said, you wanted to "kick Tim Cahill in the bollocks" and that the Socceroos had a "sh*t name."
That's rubbish. Socceroos. That's f****n' nonsense. And explain to me this ... you know Tim Cahill? Everytime he scores a goal he goes and boxes the corner flag, that's ridiculous.


He's being the Boxing Kangaroo.
F***ing boxing Socceroo. What a tit.


It's no different to British players DJing when they score goals.
Yes it is. Well, they're idiots as well. Listen... can you print this? All footballers are f***ing idiots. Start from that rationale. They're all idiots. All of them. They're moronic. They can't dress, they're into shit music, they've got sh*t hairdos, they've got ugly wives and they've got stupid kids.


That's alright then, if you're bagging all footballers.
Oh, totally. I do think Australians are that good at cricket and rugby, what are you playing football for?

You'll never win the world cup. That's for sure. But then neither will England so I don't know what I'm going on about.

England are shit and all. And don't get me wrong, I went to the World Cup in summer and all those English footballers are f***in' knobheads.


Are you going to come out here to catch some of the Ashes?
No, cause I'm kind of busy doing the promotion for this.

It'll be interesting, very, very interesting. You ... you lot have to win it really, don't you? Cause it was bad last time. Old f***ing Glenn McGrath saying you were going to whip us five-nil but it didn't quite turn out like that, did it.

I'm looking forward to that and the Rugby World Cup. It's going to be good man. Do you think you'll win the Rugby World Cup?


I'm from the Southern States so we don't really play Rugby down here.
Oh really, Do you play boomerangs and all that lot?


We play Australian Rules Football.
* See, now that's f***in' insane. That is insane.


It's a great spectator sport.
It's stupid. Men in really tight shorts and vests, c'mon.


Have you been to a live game?
Are you insane? How would I have been to an Australian Rules ... do you know why it's called Australian Rules?


Because we only play it in Australia.
Because you only f***ing play it in Australia.


What about when you've been out here on tour?
Listen, I'm too busy getting drunk and talking about the Beatles.


You can do that at the football
Nooooo. I'm not having that. That's wrong. That's like saying Sumo wrestling, ain't it brilliant... if you're Japanese it is. It bears no relation to the rest of the planet. It's like baseball. What a load of sh** that is. Each to their own I guess.


No plans to tour here any time soon, then?
I guess when we put a new record out whenever that'll be. It'll be on the map.


Have you started thinking about a new record?
Not really. We only really got back off that tour, it only finished in March. And I don't really need to be hanging out with my brother. Once every three years and only for one year at a time.


You also have another brother Paul, what does he do?
He gets on my nerves, is what he does.


You're the oldest?
No, I'm the middle. Our Paul, what does our Paul do? He keeps the Oasis archive. If you asked him where were the band playing on the 29th of August 1992? He could tell you in an instant. He could even tell you what clothes I was wearing. He's an encyclopedia of all that irrelevant bullsh**. Good lad though.


Thanks for your time, Noel. I think you need to check out a bit of Australian Rules Football next time you're in Australia.
And you need to get a life, love. See you in a bit.