A few weeks before the announcement that Oasis would bypass China on its Asia tour, CW chatted with frontman Liam Gallagher about everything from Mao to songwriting.


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Singer-Songwriter

CW: You’ve done more song writing on each successive album. How do you separate the roles of vocalist and song writer, and which means more to you these days?

Liam: Well, the singing is the most important thing ever. Being a singer for Oasis is the most important thing. Song writing is something I do in the house just as a hobby—just to clear the head—and you know, if people like it then it goes on an Oasis record. And if it doesn’t, then it stays as a hobby, you know what I mean? And I certainly don’t force people to put my music on. I’m not interested. I’m not mythered either way—whether it’s Oasis or not. But if people like the songs—Noel, some of the band members—and away it goes. It goes onto the record. We work at it. We try to make it cool. But if I never wrote another song, I wouldn’t mind it.

CW: Hehe. Right on.

Liam: My, my, my main thing is singing. It’s, I’m more worried about losing my voice than writing another song.

Role Models

CW: Oasis formed more than 15 years ago now. Are there any bands you look to as examples of how you’d want to develop in your second and perhaps third decade as a band?

Liam: Not really, I mean, I respect Neil Young cause he keeps putting music out, and The Rolling Stones keep going and stuff, but they don’t really put any music out. I suppose U2, I suppose U2, I suppose they’re the nearest ones that, have been going long and they keep putting music out and they seem to be active all the time. You know, every couple years, they’re doing things, whereas The Rolling Stones sort of just go on tours, and you know, don’t try and make any new music—so, not them.

CW: You, you just mentioned Neil Young. I think a few months back, Noel in an interview with The Guardian mentioned he had already began work on a follow-up to Dig Out Your Soul, which Noel likened to Neil Young’s Greenddale and The Kinks. Is that for real, and if so, could you tell me a little bit more about it?

Liam: I mean, we recorded quite a few songs for Dig Out Your Soul, a couple didn’t make it on to the album just cause, you know, we didn’t finish them in time and stuff, and they were sounding good. And then we’re always writing, you know what I mean? So, Noel’s always sort of in the studios, whether it’s for his solo record or whether he’s doing it for Oasis, who knows—you’d have to ask him man. I mean, me personally, once we’ve finished this tour I’d like to have a couple of months off, just to relax, and then, I’d like to get back into Abbey Road, man, I mean, you know, we’re not getting any younger, and if we’ve got the music, let’s make Oasis music…

CW: Right on…

Liam: Me personally, I haven’t got any time to be making solo records, you know. Life’s to short to be fucking about trying to be Robbie Williams or Rod Stewart or anything like that.

The Sound of It All

CW: [Laughs] I’m curious, what producers would you like to work with in the future and why?

Liam: Eh, I really don’t know much, any producers really. I’m not really mythered. People keep always going on about Rick Ruben and stuff, but, you know, I don’t, I don’t know what Dave Sardy, I don’t know what Rick Ruben would do that Dave Sardy doesn’t do. And plus, I don’t like working with big time producers like, and I don’t mean that in a bad way to Dave Sardy. Dave’s a great producer but, he knows that we have the final say, you know what I mean? So all these big time producers like Eno and all these fucking idiots that people work with today—it’s like, they wouldn’t last five minutes in the studio with Oasis.
CW: Do you think you guys might do that in the future? Just, eh, take the studio over and do it for yourselves?

Liam: Maybe, yeah, maybe do. We'd maybe do like a really downtown record, you know what I mean? Not so over produced or anything, you know what I mean? I think we’re getting to that stage at some point. I think Gem could produce, I think Gem could produce Oasis. But it’s a lot to do. It’s a big band, it’s a big album, but I think Gem could piss it, you know what I mean?

CW: That would be amazing.

Liam: Well I thinks so, save paying some other fucking clown to make you sound how you want to sound, I don’t understand it, you know what I mean? So, I think Gem could produce it, Gem and Noel but it depends whether they want to do it or not, I’m not, I’m easy.

Mao Who?

CW: Oasis is bigger than almost anything in China, and has defined so much of the music that’s come out of here for the past decade and a half. I’m curious, what do you think of the idea of 1.3 billion people learning English to the lyrics of "Love Like A Bomb"?

Liam: What, who’s done that?

CW: Hahaha, The Chinese nation.

Liam: What they like that, they like that song, do they?

CW: Well, all Oasis songs are pretty popular here, and, you know, people quote Oasis to me and always try to impress me with …

Liam: Of course man, well, that’s beautiful, you know what I mean? That’s what I’m in a band for, you know what I mean? To touch people on the other side of the world, you know what I mean? And also touch people who are stood right in front of you, but, yeah it’s cool man, I down with it mate.

CW: Is anything pulling you to China right now? Is there any special attraction?

Liam: Any special attraction? Just the kids, man. They’re into our music really. I don’t know much about the country, and that so, I’ll just a have to wait and see. But, if people aim to come and see us, then I’m all over it man, then we’ll, we’ll get down there and do what we can and to make them have a good time.

CW: Eh, you’ve said, “Oasis is bigger than the Beatles” and eh that’s maybe...

Liam: Nah, nah, nah, nah, I’ve never said that mate, I never, I'm not that daft, I reckon that’s sounds like our kid.

CW: Ha. Is Oasis bigger than Mao Ze Dong?

Liam: Than who?

CW: Than Mao Ze Dong, the Chinese leader for forty years ...

Liam: Who is Mao Ze Dong? I’ve never heard of him. Who is he?

CW: Er, I’ve never heard of him either ... mmm ... moving on, I’m curious about…

Liam: We’ve probably made more records than him, right?

CW: At least five ...

Liam: Well, there you go.

The High Life

CW: What is the average day like of a rock star like Liam Gallaghar—when you’re not touring or recording?

Liam: Well, I get up about 7 o’clock with my kids, bathe 'em, take to school, maybe go for a run or something these days—I’m into running. Then eh, just chill, maybe go to the shops, go out for a bit of lunch with the misses. I don’t really do that much, you know what I mean?

CW: Sounds beautiful, is there any down-side to being a rock star?

Liam: Any down side to it? Being in a band with your brother, who thinks he’s Robbie Williams.

CW: Hahaha. I’m curious about how you roots, how coming from the home of the Madchester movement has influenced you musically or otherwise. Do you think there are any movements as significant as it now in England or elsewhere?

Liam: I’m not into movements; I’m not into all that stuff. I mean Manchester when I as growing up was just a load of lads in bands and everyone down south sort of made it this Madchester thing but that had been going on for years, like with Joy Division and all these bands, you know what I mean? There’s always been bands in Manchester. So, and then we come along and it was the Brit pop thing but, I’m not into, if there is a movement I’ve got nothing to do with it, I’m not, I’m not into that, I’m just into good music by cool looking people who don’t suck cock who are honest and sincere, you know what I mean, and I’m not in it to, you know I’m not in it to be famous, you know I’m in it to make some good music and you know, if there is a movement I don’t want to anything, I’ve got nothing to do with it.

CW: When you’re writing songs, what do you look to for inspiration, what do you think about?

Liam: Just, just life mate, I don’t, I don’t need to be inspired, I’m already inspired, just by people and myself and my kids and my wife and you know, you and them, and him and her, just people. People are inspiring enough.

Who Would You Play With?

CW: If you could tour with any band playing out there now, who would you like to tour with?

Liam: Kasabian. But we're touring with them, or they’re touring with us. Any band at the moment, let me see, oh, any band, I’d f-cking play with any band, I’d love to blow them all off the f-cking stage and put them right in their place.

CW: Excellent

Liam: Any band, I’ll play with anyone, I’m not, I’m not shy man. You know, I’d destroy them all.

The Tour

CW: When you’re preparing for a tour, do you try and rearrange your past hits to fit in with your current style or do you just play them like you’ve always played them?

Liam: We just play them the way we play them man, you know, and that’s it you know, you know, we just, sort of dropped a lot of hits from our set because, you know, we want to concentrate on the new album. But, you know, you’ve got to play the obvious ones I suppose, otherwise people start crying, you know what I mean? We don’t want any of that. We don’t, we don’t, we don’t think that much about it, we just play it straight forward man, and you know, if it doesn’t sound right then we bin it, you know what I mean? But, you know, we don’t think that, we don’t think that hard about, you know, we don’t, Rock ‘n’ roll shouldn’t really be thought of, you know, it’s not, it’s not an encyclopedia, it’s just simple, straight forward rock ‘n’ roll music. If you start thinking abut it too hard about it you end up like Radiohead or Muse, you know what I mean? So we just keep it, we keep it real man, we keep it simple.

CW: Can you tell us something a little bit about the visuals, that eh, that you come up with for your album covers and videos? What’s the process there?

Liam: Eh, I don’t, I don’t know man about any of that. The guy, I’m not sure of his name so I won’t say it in case I, but he’s great anyway, he’s really cool. We just sort of give him the thing and said look, let’s go for it, let’s make it a bit psychedelic. You know, we don’t do, we don’t do much on stage so it’s good for the kids to have a look at something, you know what I mean? While we stood there just, belting it out.

Life During Wartime

CW: This is going to be your first tour in China, is there anything special you want to see out here?

Liam: Just the people man, I wanna see the people, that’s all I care about man.

CW: Are you going to have time?

Liam: If, If, I hope so, if I get the day off I’ll have a walk around and see the people and see the city or wherever we are and, hopefully man, but I just want to see the people. That’s, a building’s a building, isn’t it?

CW: It sure is. And a wall’s a wall ...

Liam: Do you know what I mean? So, a park’s a park, but people ... I just want to see the people.

CW: You guys tour rather extensively still. Do you ever feel the grind on the tours? Does it get to you?

Liam: No, I like it mate, I mean, that’s why I’m in it for. I love playing music man, I love playing, I love playing, I love playing to the people who like the band, you know what I mean? And I ike going around seeing each city and stuff, I like it man. I mean, I miss the kids and the wife and all that but, you know, I was doing this before I met them and this is what pays the bills, and this is what’s, this is what I love, you know what I mean, so, it’s got to be done.

God-Like Liam

CW: Fantastic. Well, what’s the one questionthat you’ve always wanted to be asked that you’ve never been asked?

Liam: What’s it like being god-like?

CW: What’s it like being god-like, Liam?

Liam: If I told you, I’d have to kill you, mate.