Soul Brothers

It’s four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon and Liam Gallagher is taking time out from watching the Olympic cycling on the telly – “At least there’s one fucking thing we’re good at!” – to invite Hot Press into his seriously beautiful Henley-On-Thames home. We’ve got to be out in two hours though because Liam’s got his own sporting endeavours to pursue.

“I’ve taken up running – six o’clock every night, man, I’m out that door for 90 minutes or half a fucking marathon,” he says switching into Hailie Gebselassie mode. “You’ve got to get a bit of discipline in your life, haven’t you? I’m not one of them tight-arses – y’know, fast walking, slow-y jobs. I go at a decent pace.”
Seeing as he’s already able to do 13 miles 192 ½ yards at a canter, has Liam thought about running a whole marathon?
“Stood with a load of fucking dicks dressed as birds? Fuck that, I’m no one’s comedy ostrich! I just do it to get out of the house, man, and keep fit.”
We’ll take that as a ‘no’. While not quite as dramatic as his old adversary Alex James taking up residence on a Cotswolds farm and making his own cheese, it’s a major lifestyle change for a man who not so long ago told Hot Press: “Drugs are fucking great. Being off your tits is great. Taking acid is great. The best times of my life!”
Does this new keep-fit regime have anything to do with Liam turning 36 on September 21st?
“Age? Nah, I just got bored of sitting in fucking pubs and clubs talking shit to people you either don’t know or don’t like. The music’s shit in clubs anyway – I’d just be stood there going, ‘Put The White Album or Sgt. Pepper’s on.’ Me and my missus go for a bite to eat occasionally, but it’s back indoors by eight to read Genius (Liam and Nicole Appleton’s seven-year-old Gene) his bedtime story. We went to see Kung-Fu Panda the other day – top fucking film!”
A little dickie-bird tells me he’s also given up cigarettes.
“Yeah, man, I’ve been off ‘em a month.”
Has it turned him into a right narky bastard?
“I’m a narky bastard on cigarettes! Nah, I’m alright and taking each day as it comes.”
What does his dream Saturday nowadays comprise of?
“City winning of course – preferably against those cunts United; loads of food in the house; drink; and something on the telly that’s not Ant & Dec or Strictly Come fucking Dancing. The person who came up with that programme concept is pure evil.”
Are we to assume from all this talk of fine country living that Liam’s become a bit of a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall?
“Nah, but my missus is a top cook – Sunday roasts, Thai chicken curry, lasagne, that sort of stuff. I’m good at cleaning up though.”
I can just visualise him running riot with a Dyson.
“A Dyson? You’ve got to be joking, man. Everyone knows that the King of vacuum cleaners is a Henry. They mightn’t look as flash, but they’re fucking reliable.”
Before this conversation gets any more surreal, let’s switch our attention to the new Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul, which found the Gallaghers indulging their Beatles obsession (again!) by spending several months shacked up in Abbey Road. With the exception of a “super deluxe box-set” version that’ll set you back somewhere in the region of €70, it’s being given a resolutely conventional release.
“I didn’t spend a year in the most expensive studio in England, with the most expensive producer in America, and the most expensive graphic designer in London to then give it away. Fuck that!” noted Noel Gallagher a few months ago when asked about the possibility of them ‘doing a Radiohead’. For once, his brother is in agreement.
“They can charge 10p for their records if they want, but we value ourselves a bit more than that, know what I mean?”
I do indeed. How does album number seven rank in the pantheon of great Oasis records?
“You try your best with all of ‘em. Some days you make great music, some days you make magical music – and the magic was definitely in the air for this one. We’re really proud of it.”
Unlike Noel, who’s more or less disowned Be Here Now, Liam insists that, “I can go with people picking Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? as the money records and saying the rest are shit, but I like ‘em all, man.”
Liam’s partiality to Dig Out Your Soul may have something to do with the fact that the three songs he has on it – ‘Soldier On’, ‘Ain’t Got Nothin’’ and the John Lennon-sampling ‘I’m Outta Time’ – are his most accomplished yet. For the muse to come over him, does he have to be happy/sad, sober/pissed or what?
“No mate, it’s pure, pure chilled with me – I either do it or I don’t. I don’t get stressed out about it. I get my kicks from singing, but if there’s nothing on TV and I’ve finished the ironing, I’ll go upstairs and have a little strum. If something happens, I’ll press record, if it doesn’t – no problem. I can go for months without playing guitar, but it so happens I’ve got a few tunes, man.”
Has he ever had a ‘Teenage Kicks’ or ‘Wild Thing’ that’s come out in 30 minutes and left him thinking, “Fucking hell, what happened there?”
“Wrote itself? ‘Songbird’ off of Heathen Chemistry was a piece of piss, but then again it was only two minutes long! I find it hard with the words. I’ve got melody all over the shop, but finding something to say can be difficult. I’ve got songs that are half-finished, some that will never get finished and ones that probably should never have been started!”
Sounds like the makings of a Liam Gallagher solo album to me.
“No, not interested in solo stuff, man,” he says without a moment’s hesitation. “It’s always about the band. There are some other good jobs out there, but Oasis lead singer is the one for me.”
Does he ever get film scripts sent to him?
“I’ve heard people talking about it, but fuck that, it’s hard enough being myself!”
Going back to ‘I’m Outta Time’ – where did the sample of John Lennon’s voice at the start come from?
“An interview with a BBC Radio One guy called Andy Peebles, which was conducted in the Record Plant studio two days before he was shot,” he reveals. “Me and Gem just came across it listening to some stuff, which is what I’m saying about the magic happening. We didn’t go looking for it, it came to us.”
Mark Chapman had his fifth application for parole turned down in August – should he still be behind bars after 28 years?
“Of course, he murdered the man. I hear people go, ‘If it was someone normal he’d have been out.’ If you kill someone, in my book, it’s a life for a life and that’s it.”
What he does make of Tricky saying in Hot Press a few months ago that, “If I was a kid in England I’d definitely carry a weapon ‘cause it’s so fucking hardcore out there.”
“Nah, I can’t be having with any of that. Maybe it depends on where you live, but none of my kids are having knives.”
He mightn’t always sing his younger brother’s praises, but Noel Gallagher has told me on more than occasion that he considers Liam to be a fantastic dad.
“I buzz off ‘em, man,” he beams. “We have fun, obviously they take the piss. They make a mess, they tidy up – I don’t let ‘em run riot, but the good times outweigh the ‘Get upstairs and sort your room out’ moments.”
Does he attend Parent/Teacher meetings?
“Oh yeah, man. That’s why I don’t feel guilty about going on tour ‘cause I’ve been schooling it every day for the past three years. It’s a bit of daddy time now.”
What were his own school days like?
“We had a Craft Design Technology teacher, Mr. Smith, who was funny and made me laugh, but school taught me fucking nothing apart from how not to pay attention. A very useful skill to have in the rock ‘n’ roll world.”
Is he worried about little Gene coming to him in a few years with his trigonometry homework?
“That’s what wives are there for, isn’t it?” Liam proffers. “I wouldn’t say Nicole’s a boffin, but she’s alright. If she’s not, she’ll have to be pulling it out ‘cause I baled way before we got to trig-o-wotsit.”
I imagine the ultimate act of rebellion for Liam’s kids would be to hate The Beatles, support Man U and want to be Damon Albarn when they grow up.
“No, that’s cool with me, they can do what they want. Gene plays the guitar. I don’t force him to do it – when he comes home he either practices or he doesn’t. He’s not bothered about football but he’s really, really good at drawing so maybe he’ll go in that direction. If he wanted to be a ballerina, I’d be fucking right behind him, man. As long as he’s the bollocks at it, I don’t mind what he does.”
There was already a bit of ‘daddy time’ earlier this year when Liam and Noel larged it up with Marilyn Manson, Twiggy Ramirez and the bloke who played Kenickie in Grease, Jeff Conaway.
“Twiggy, who’s cool and a mate of ours, invited us to their LA gig where you’ve never seen so many geezers checking their make-up before going on stage,” he chuckles. “Manson comes over and says (adopts the worst American accent in the world… ever!): ‘Yo, dudes, I fucking love your stuff!’ Then when he’s on stage and about to do ‘Cocaine Supernova’, he shouts out: ‘Oasis are in the house! These two guys from England are even bigger fuck-ups than I am!’ – which was meant I think as a compliment.
“I recognised the guy who played Kenickie at the party afterwards ‘cause he’d been appearing on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.”
Which, in case you’re not up on your scraping-the-barrel TV reality shows, is a VH1 production that’s also featured Daniel Baldwin, Brigitte Nielsen, Crazy Town singer Seth Binzer, child actress-turned-porn star Jaimee Foxworth and former pro-wrestler Chyna.
“It’s car crash stuff, man. Anyway, that was our big Los Angeles night out.”
Has he ever found himself in a situation more surreal than that?
“Yeah, having tea and biscuits in John Lennon’s house with Yoko who’s a very beautiful person. That was the fucking one for me, matey!”
While we’re on the subject of former Beatles, is Liam just the teensiest bit jealous that it’s The Wombats who Paul McCartney’s offered to produce and not Oasis?
“Nah, not at all,” he maintains. “Macca’s obviously a dude, but I think he’d have very set ideas about how he wants things to sound – y’know, loads of bass and stuff – which could be problematical. I mean, how do you tell a fucking Beatle he’s wrong?”
What does Liam reckon went on behind closed doors between him and Heather?
“A lot of fucking hopscotch!” he deadpans. “They’ve got it sorted now, so good luck to them.”
Turning our attention to the other great tabloid music story of the year, do Liam’s post-Backstage Battle of Barcelona sympathies lie with John Lydon’s entourage or Kele Okereke?
“There’s no need to be fucking battering Kele, man. He’s just a student in an indie band – give him a papercut! You can imagine him, can’t you, on Blockbusters – ‘Can I get a ‘B’ please, Bob?’ I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – University fucking Challenge!”
Also scoring highly this summer on the outrage-ometer was Noel Gallagher’s assertion that rap, and Jay-Z in particular, had no business being on the Glastonbury main stage. Fair comment?
“I couldn’t give a fuck about Jay-Z. I’m not into rap, that’s my personal thing on it. I don’t care a fuck about Noel Gallagher either to be honest. Both a fucking pair of dicks!”
I think Liam’s just earned himself a place in the Hot Press ‘Quotes Of The Year’.
Another benefit of Liam’s new stay at home lifestyle is that it’s forced the gossip columns to switch their attentions to the likes of Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse.
“I’ve had my fair share of it, but I suppose it was my own doing. If you go to these places you’re going to get snapped. If you’ve had a couple of drinks and these photographers give you a dirty look, they’re going to get a slap. That’s just the way it is. I went to a place last night that had the paparazzi outside, but I was in a good mood, man. It depends what drink you’re drinking – and when I was out regularly I was drinking them all! They’ve turned their attention to these people, which is nice but I’m sure they’ll be back.”
The release of Dig Out Your Soul will as usual be the cause of much excitement in Swinford, County Mayo where the Gallaghers’ mum Peggy was born and the lads spent most of their school holidays.
“I haven’t been over for a year, which is very naughty of me, but my mum’s there pretty much every month. One of my favourite childhood memories is of us running riot on the boat over. We’d have a right laugh then staying out in the fields until around ten at fucking night.”
Doing what precisely?
“There’ll be aunts and uncles reading this, so no comment!”
Did he ever have a go at football or hurling while he was here?
“I played that Gaelic football in Manchester actually, big style. I’d have been 14 or 15 at the time. Hurling’s a tough fucking game, isn’t it? My Uncle George used to play for Kilkenny, but I was too chicken to try it.”
It’s rock star cliché #45 to claim special affinity with another country, but you can tell that Liam’s love for the auld sod is genuine.
“It’s like a holiday for me playing in Ireland,” he enthuses. “It’s not like ‘a gig’ – you just go there and get fucking slaughtered with the fans, and then you wake up the next day and get slaughtered again. As soon as you get off the fucking plane, it’s ‘Do you want a Guinness?’ and before you know it you’re having to belt out a couple of songs that they like. There’s no fucking graft in that.”
Has he ever thought of following Joe Elliott or Ronnie Wood into tax exile here?
“Nah, I like England, man. Maybe when I’m 50 I’ll get a little gaff and retire there, but I’m really happy at the moment where I am. Was Morrissey in Ireland for a bit too?”
Yup, he had a bachelor pad in Dublin for 18 months.
“I met him on a plane once – he was holding this square book up to his face like a little priest – and he seemed an okay geezer. I like his lyrics and the fact he doesn’t give a flying fuck what people think about him. His band were good too.”
If he only had time to rescue one Smiths album from a burning house, which would it be?
“The Queen Is Dead, which I’d grab in the same bundle as The Stone Roses, Revolver, Never Mind The Bollocks and the Brian Joes-era Stones records. They all looked good when he was in the band – even the drummer.”
Never before has Charlie Watts been damned with such faint praise. Is there anything of a more recent vintage that’s been rocking Liam’s world?
“I like Kasabian, although I’ve heard the first single off their new album and it doesn’t do it for me. There’s too much jangly, indie shit around. It’s good that they’re playing guitars rather than jumping around in boyband gear but it’s all a bit fucking lame.”
Has he run the rule over Alan McGee’s latest discoveries, Glasvegas?
“No, but I met one of ‘em the other day at a photo-shoot and he gave me a copy of their album. Any good?”
If The Ronettes mixed with the poppier side of the Mary Chain is your bag, yeah.
“Great, I’ll check it out, man.”
Anyone concerned that Liam’s become a bit too mellow in his middle-age will be delighted with his response to Kaiser Chief Ricky Wilson’s declaration that, “Oasis have disappeared up their own arse. They think they’re Led Zeppelin. They’re not. Music has moved on and I think we’re the band that most music fans would see as their successor.”
“(Pause to let blood boil sufficiently) That little dick with ginger hair? I’m not interested. There ain’t no one who can fuck with the mighty Oasis, man. When we’re on fucking form, we’ll roast any band past and present – all on the same day. It’s just down to us whether we’re on form, and at the moment we fucking are!”
Before he turfs Hot Press out and changes into his running gear, what over the past 17 years have been his top Oasis moments?
“Knebworth, headlining at Man City, meeting Yoko and, what for me will always be the big one, getting a deal. That’s what’s enabled me to go bombing around the world doing what I love. Big scale, small scale, I always want to be making music.”

Dig Out Your Soul is out now on Big Brother. Oasis play Belfast's Odyssey Arena on October 29 and 30 and Slane Castle on June 20.