Noel Gallagher has confirmed the November 24 release of the third High Flying Birds album, Who Built The Moon? and dates in the Belfast SSE Arena (May 9) and Dublin 3Arena (10) to promote it. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday September 29 and definitely won’t be hanging around for long.
As exclusively revealed 18 months ago by Hot Press, it was mainly recorded in Belfast with DJ and composer David Holmes producing in his own Drama Studios.
Recorded under the influence of French psychedelic pop, electro, soul and disco, as well as lots and lots of classic rock, it finds Mr. G venturing into previously uncharted sonic territory.
“People are going to be surprised,” Holmer reflects. “I think people love Noel and they’re desperate for him to make a really big, bold, up-tempo beast of a record – a lot of Noel’s music is quite mid-tempo. This one is fun.”
Instructed by Holmes to “play me a guitar solo you can dance to!”, Gallagher came up with the track that cemented the partnership, ‘The Man Who Built The Moon’.
“We took a keyboard riff we liked from an unused track and added chords,” Noel explains. “A year later we came to deal with it as a song and when we got to the chorus, David kept asking me to write a new one… again and again and again. I was ready to strangle him. The one that you hear is the eighth attempt and, you know what? The annoying thing is he was right.”
Hot Press’ favourite is ‘Holy Mountain’, a stomping anthem that throws The Faces, Bowie’s ‘Diamond Dogs’, the Memphis Horns, Bryan Ferry's 'Let's Stick Together' and Plastic Bertrand’s ‘Ca Plane Pour Moi’ into the boxing ring and lets them slug it out.
“David played me the sample, so I worked out the chords and we demoed just a few, short minutes of it, taking it away on tour and playing with it,” Noel resumes. “When it became a song back in Belfast it was so joyous, I just had to do it justice. What’s more joyous than being in love, baby? So, I wrote a song about love and it’s one of the best things that I’ve ever done.”
Along with the aforementioned barnstormers, Who Made The Moon? features instrumental opener ‘Fort Knox’, ‘Keep On Reaching’, ‘It’s A Beautiful World’, ‘She Taught Me How To Fly’, ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’, ‘Black & White Sunshine’, ‘Interlude (Wednesday Part 1)’, ‘If Love Is The Law’ and ‘End Credits (Wednesday Part 2)’.
There’s also a stripped-down bonus track, ‘Dead In The Water’, that was recorded during a visit to the RTÉ 2fm studio in Dublin.
There are guest turns from Paul Weller who plays organ on ‘Holy Mountain’ and Johnny Marr who supplies ‘If Love Is The Law’ with guitar and harmonica.
Team Hot Press is much tickled by Noel’s new biog, penned by one Sir Rupert Bashford-Tillermouth who we suspect might be Russell Brand.

“Noel Edward Montague Gallagher entered the national consciousness in 1994; the same year as Forrest Gump, the sitcom Friends and the Channel Tunnel,” it reads. “Yet, 23 years later, Noel has evolved musically far more than those other three things put together. We all know the story of the boy from Burnage, with his mop-topped swagger, tracksuit and eyebrows Moses himself couldn’t part. The humble beginnings, touring the world with Allied Carpets and the younger brother now tolerated simply as a potential organ donor for his more talented sibling. The story of the working class boy who dared to dream is now part of our national psyche. But all that was a long time ago. This latest solo album suggests that in the rock n’ roll history books Oasis will be remembered merely as the caterpillar to Noel’s solo butterfly.

“‘The Chief’ as he insists on being called by his staff, has never, ever been one to stand still churning out rock by numbers, apart, of course, from the last few Oasis albums. Yet, it is in his solo work that Noel’s musical evolution has gone from upright but hairy ape-man to sonically advanced, electronic, space jazz future-man with little shiny silver booties on. Believe me honey-child, WHO BUILT THE MOON? doesn’t sound like anything we’ve ever heard before from The Little Menace From Little Venice, as he is known on Grindr. This is exciting, mature, box-fresh ROCK ‘N’ ROLL that sounds totally NOW. Not so much a nod to the past, more an enthusiastic handshake with the future.

“And what’s more, WHO BUILT THE MOON? marks a departure not only in style but also in method. Instead of his usual system of bringing songs into the studio in his Hello Kitty satchel and working them up slowly, Noel cooked up this future-platinum by containing the entire writing process in the studio. Working under the watchful ears of producer David Holmes, these laboratory conditions concentrated the creative forces of Peggy’s favourite son and WHO BUILT THE MOON? is the end product. Now delivered like a test-tube baby into your clammy, little hands today. Sit back, listen and be blown away by what a lovely, curious and hard-rocking little fella it is. WHO BUILT THE MOON? Noel Gallagher did, and everyone else can just reach for it.

“We’re definitely not in Oasis anymore Dorothy…”