OASIS guitarist Noel Gallagher talks about rivalry in the industry and his love of Australia.
You've said not only are Oasis better live than U2 and Coldplay, but they know it ...
They know that we s*** over them. Of course they know. We have two guitarists in our band. They have only two between them. End of story. They know. Me, Chris Martin (Coldplay) and Bono (U2) have a friendly rivalry, not that we're in some celebrity f*** club, but I do talk to the pair of them on a regular basis.
Is it an unspoken thing, that they just know?
Yeah. They know we're the bollocks. They were on their hands and knees begging us to play Live8. Sorry, it's not a big enough show for us.
It's the end of the year. In hindsight, what did you think of Coldplay's X&Y?
Of their three albums, it's definitely not the best. I love the opening track, Square One. The first single (Speed of Sound) grew on me more and more. Talk's OK. They're kind of in the same position we are ...
X&Y is their Be Here Now. Discuss.
No, no. It's not that bad. Parachutes will be their Definitely Maybe. A Rush of Blood ... will be their Morning Glory. I'm a mate of Chris, I wouldn't compare X&Y to Be Here Now. Theirs will sell about 25 million.
Their position is similar to the one you were in, though. How do you follow up two big albums?
It's a difficult position. I know he was a bit freaked out at the beginning of this year. It's where they go next that's important to them. If you become a group of that size, everyone has their Rattle and Hum. Ours is Be Here Now; theirs will go down as X&Y. It's what you do afterwards. U2 fell away but came back. We fell away and came back. It seems to be a trend - bands disappear and come back. He's a good enough songwriter to carry it off. But they'll have an albatross around their necks called Parachutes for the rest of their lives. It's a masterpiece.
While you're being a rock critic, as a Beatles obsessive, what did you think of Paul McCartney's new record?
There are a few songs I like. Jenny Wren is great, (Riding to) Vanity Fair is great. Fine Line the single is all right. English Tea is atrocious and he does it to you every time. But it kind of lives up to the hype and justifies him being on the road next year. I'd give it a solid 7 out of 10.
In the UK this year Pete Doherty of Babyshambles has taken over Oasis's role as bad boy of rock ...
He's a sweet kid, I've met him a few times. He's not the genius everyone makes him out to be. In fact, far from a genius if his new (Babyshambles) album's anything to go by. He'll go down in history as a Morrissey and Marr or Lennon and McCartney type character. Him and Carl (Barat, the Libertines) were great for each other. Apart they'll probably be shocking. There's a lot of hypocrisy in the British press about drugs. The people who write the stories are usually off their heads on cocaine anyway.
It's been a big year for Oasis. You've had two UK No.1 singles (Lyla, The Importance of Being Idle) and a No.2 (Let There Be Love) ...
It kind of cements our position as a bonafide great singles band, up there with the Kinks and the Smiths.
So what about an Oasis best-of? Is that on the cards for next year?
We've come to the end of our contract with Sony. We won't sign with them again. I'm worried they'll cash in and release a best-of. I've always said we'd never do one until we'd split. I think they're going to force our hand. I really wouldn't want to do one, but if they put one out we'll have to get involved otherwise it'll be s***. I hope we don't do one. It's all a scam. You should put one out only when you're finished - in chronological order. But I have a feeling they'll do the dirty on us.
You've been doing some good PR talking up the new Jet album ...
I'm a convert. I never liked them. I didn't dislike them, I just thought, Jet, they're all right. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to see them. But I had friends say, "Seriously, go see them". And I saw them one night and they were pretty good. I like AC/DC but I'm not a fan of that kind of music. But scratch below the surface with Jet and it's more punk. Some of the faster songs are really good.
After the Be Here Now shows you redeemed yourself on your last tour of Australia two years ago ...
Yeah, when we came the first time the band didn't do itself any favours.
They weren't your best shows ...
They were f***ing rubbish. But we had a great time. That's probably why they were so rubbish. I love Australia. I'd move to Australia if it wasn't so far away. If you were in Europe, if you were where Spain is, I'd live here. It's like America. Not that I like America. It's like America weather-wise, but it's not full of fat idiots.
When you play in Australia you attract a lot of British backpackers, which seems to annoy you.
OK, the British like to travel, we all like to travel. But you don't have to carry a Union Jack with you. I've been to see You Am I in London and I've never seen people waving Australian flags over there. I get a bit embarrassed when I see British people in Australia because they just act so ... English. They always have their tops off and are shouting at the tops of their voices. They annoy me. They all wear flip flops. I've got a problem with geezers in flip flops at gigs.
Your brother Liam wears shorts on stage now ...
It's f***ing out of order! It's embarrassing, a man of his age ...
It's not rock, is it?
Nor roll. It's neither rock nor roll.
# Don't Believe the Truth (Sony BMG) out now.
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