Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S15 Ep 16: Noel Gallagher
Episode Date: June 7, 2023Mum was over the moon this week to be joined by fellow Mancunian and music legend Noel Gallagher for a spot of brunch ahead of the release of his new album 'Council Skies'. Mum and Noel got on like a ...house on fire sharing all their tales from up north. Noel shared a few vital revelations; that he always drinks tea with goats milk, he’s only ever had one driving lesson, he didn’t try a boiled egg until he turned 30 (!!), and his favourite weekend of the year is getting pissed and watching the Eurovision Song Contest! Noel’s band High Flying Birds are on tour around the UK through July, August, and December. Can’t wait to see the show Noel, tickets are available now x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hello and welcome to Table Manners. Today we have two of Manchester's finest. We've
got Noel Gallagher and Lenny Ware. It's going to be such an exciting day. You just came
in, you look like you're about to take someone down in court. I don't know whether you think
you're doing Noel's new divorce or something. know maybe I kind of quite like the frills
at the end of the well you look fabulous but you came in you said a bit rock and roll then what
happened last night went out my friends Alex and Monique and they had wine glasses that were like
goldfish bowls oh yeah and I thought I didn't know if to dive in or drink in.
But I drank it.
So I'm on food duties today.
Yeah.
Not only am I packing to go away for a month,
I...
Can I help?
What can you help with?
I can help pack cold things.
Can I look after my children and feed them whilst I'm gone?
Yeah, I will definitely come every day next week.
So yeah, I'm in a bit of a, not a pickle,
but it's like, you know, lots going on.
We love it that way, but I am in charge.
I always seem to do breakfast, don't I?
Yeah, you do.
You said you wanted to do this one.
Yes, I do, I did.
And I like the idea of Noel Gallagher being a new cross in my house
and potentially asking the next door neighbours to stop sanding.
Stop fucking sanding.
So yeah, maybe they'll listen to him, not me.
We've got Noel on and I'm cooking.
Do you know, he comes from just down the road from me.
Does he?
Yeah, he comes from just down the road in Salford.
Does he?
Yeah.
I'm going to tell him I'm from Salford too.
He's got a new album out and it's really good.
It's brilliant, darling.
It's really good. I listened to it's really good i felt really pleased um i it's called council skies and it's all about exploring his
mancunian roots big themes of youthful yearning unbridled ambition and in noel's words it's going
back to the beginning daydreaming looking up at the sky and wondering about what life could be
that's as true to me now as it was in the early 90s.
The artwork, shot by Kevin Cummins,
was photographed on the original centre spot
of what was the old Main Road football stadium,
which I'm sure you went to, didn't you?
I did.
Home of his beloved City.
Do you think I dare tell him that I used to support City
when I was seven?
I don't know if you should.
I think he'll just hate you.
Yeah, he might do.
I think I'll keep quiet.
He's doing a massive homecoming gig in Withenshaw Park in August.
Withenshaw.
He is probably the greatest.
He's a fantastic lyricist.
He's an unbelievable songwriter.
Yeah.
And I may have called in the help of the biggest Oasis fan that I know.
Well, you've got two.
Felix White, too.
Jack Pignati and Felix White are the biggest.
So I may have called Felix
and said, listen,
is there anything
that you need to ask Noel?
And Felix has come up
with two very good questions,
which I will not take credit for.
I just have to say,
I'm not taking credit for them.
Just wait and save it.
I will be.
I will be.
Can't wait to,
this could go brilliantly
or badly
because you're United
and you used to speak City.
I will not.
I will not.
I'm not going to say
anything about football. I'll believe
that when I see it. I do want to know if he's ever
met Haaland. Haaland
is the most astonishing footballer
I've ever come across, to be honest.
Oh, yeah, he's met Haaland
in his underpants.
Oh, wow. There you go.
And on that note, Noel Gallagher.
Noel Gallagher, thank you very much
for being here. Thank you for having me. You've come
and we've got you a goat's milk
Yorkshire tea, gold. Don't judge
me. I am a bit.
I've kept my accent but I've jettisoned
my drinking, my milk habits.
And you drink Yorkshire tea? Yorkshire,
yeah. Can't drink anything else but I've been
thousands of those things on tour with me. Do you? Bingbugs full of it, yeah. Can't drink anything else. But I've been to thousands of those things on tour with me.
Do you?
Bingbugs full of it, yeah.
Why do you like goat's milk, darling?
It just happened to be in the fridge once,
and my ex-wife was drinking it,
and I kind of thought, oh, that's all right.
When my kids said, why do you drink goat's milk?
And I said, because I'm the greatest of all time.
Oh, that's very good.
And I said, only the best can drink it.
And they were like, what, is that actually?
And I was like, yeah, actually, it's only me and Lionel Messi drink it.
David Bowie drank it.
And John Lennon, I believe.
Oh, so you are.
No, you're not.
Oh, you're teasing.
I'm listening, gullibly, thinking, yeah, I can rely on this Manchester person to tell the truth.
Your accent's coming back all of a sudden.
He knows Cheetham Hill, Jess.
Of course he fucking does.
She does that thing where she says, I'm from Manchester,
and then she says she's from Salford, which is actually not in Manchester.
It's next to Cheetham.
So my bit is off Leicester.
Do you know Leicester Road?
I do.
Right, so I'm at the top of Leicester.
Well, that's where my mum used to live.
All right.
So what brought you down to the neck of the woods?
Love.
No, it wasn't love at all.
I went to university in Birmingham.
All right.
And then everyone wanted to come to London.
I guess, yeah.
And I did social work and I got a job here.
All right.
So I went to Manchester High.
Me too.
Which one did you go to?
I was high.
Very good.
I went to Manchester High all the time, actually.
I've still got friends in Manchester
and I love Manchester.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love going back to see my mum.
Where's your mum living?
She still lives in the same council house that we...
Does she?
Yeah, yeah.
She lives in a place called Burnage,
which is right in the south side.
Oh, it's gosh is Burnage.
No, it was.
Was it?
It was, yeah.
Did you go to Burnage school?
No, no, no.
I went to a school called St Mark's in Didsbury.
I was originally born in Longsight.
Yeah.
Just where Longsight Market is.
And then they knocked our houses down
to build this new fangled thing called
a super to call a hyper market and it was the new as does and uh we got moved to this posh part of
town which was called burnage and uh well i can show you it's not posh anymore and i went to a
place called saint mark's in didsbury are you catholic yeah for my for my is that is that why
you went to saint mark's rather than burnage I went to St. Mark's because my parents suggested I might want to go there.
Okay.
Yeah, I didn't go because I'm a firm believer in Jesus Christ.
Was it strict?
Catholic schools in the 70s, well...
Good education there.
They weren't as brutal as probably the 50s,
but it was an all-boys school and there was like hundreds in
each class so i didn't i i bunked off school for three months and nobody noticed and my school was
the school was like that big that my that my mum was actually one of the head dinner ladies and
she didn't even notice and i used to i used i used to go i used to go in just to have dinner
what were you doing when you were bunking off?
Glue sniffing.
Doing magic mushrooms.
How old were you?
I would have been 13, 14.
And then when she finally got the letter,
I said to her, we haven't seen Noel for three months.
And she went, well, I've seen him every day.
She said, well, he can't be, he's not seen for three months.
And I would just go in for dinner.
And then I still think she never really forgave me for that
until I appeared on Top of the Pops.
And then she was like, okay, fair enough.
But were you off playing a guitar at 30?
No.
No, I was getting drunk.
Just listening, actually listening to a lot of music.
So, yeah.
What was great on Glue glue to listen to anything
we're getting these are the hard-hitting questions
what music is great on glue well i've got a glue but funnily enough i've got a glue playlist that
i've made up before i came here glue is not
or wasn't
conducive to
listening to
music
but what was
great on glue
was that you
would hallucinate
rather vividly
did you ever
write a song
about it
about glue
sniffing
no
some of the
punks did
no
back to food
and the dinner
and actual food yeah was the food good at St Mark's Some of the punks did. Back to food and the dinner.
And that's your food.
Yeah, was the food good at St Mark's?
Standard, you know, standard school food.
I'm not sure.
School food these days.
You went in every day?
Or was that just to make sure your mum didn't go in? Yeah, I wasn't going in because the food was great.
Okay, fine.
I was going in because I was trying to keep the subterfuge going.
But, yeah, standard school food, like everything with chips.
It wasn't as healthy as these things are now.
You know, my kids go to school and there's vegan options
and vegetarian this and gluten-free that.
And I sometimes feel a bit sorry for them.
They just want steak, kidney pie and chips.
Yeah.
Mashed potatoes and, you know, apple crumble.
But it's all got a bit posh these days, hasn't it?
There's a big Catholic school opposite Heaton Park, isn't there?
There is.
Have you ever played at Heaton Park?
Yes, I have.
Yeah, I actually went to see the Pope there when he came,
believe it or not.
Did you go?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It was like a massive, great big deal.
Everyone went.
Yeah, everyone.
Everyone in Manchester. But it's like the only celebrity that, great big deal. Everyone went. Yeah, everyone.
Everyone in Manchester.
But it's like the only celebrity that has ever been. But is that where the Stone Roses did their big...
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay.
So Heaton Park...
Did Oasis ever play there?
We did.
Yeah, they have a festival on there.
I think I might be playing there this year.
Not Park Life.
Yeah, so, yeah.
Is it called Park Life?
It's something that...
No, you wouldn't do Park Life.
It's quite dancey, I don't think.
No, but they have these festivals on there It's quite dancey. But they have these
festivals on there and I've
played it as a solo artist. I know Asus
played a few nights there. You were doing Withenshaw?
Withenshaw Park, yeah. This August?
I didn't even know they had gigs at Withenshaw Park.
They don't. This is the first one. Really?
This is the inaugural one, yeah.
That's amazing. They're going to do it now
as an annual thing.
Why don't you play at the city stadium?
Because I'm not popular enough.
Oh, bollocks.
All the city supporters would go.
Just get other people with you.
Get Harland on base.
Well, you would hope that they would,
but I'm not willing to take that risk,
and neither are my promoters.
No, I'm not. My high- risk and neither are my promoters. No, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not,
my high-flying bird sing is not stadium friendly.
It was, arenas is my kind of level
and I don't even like doing arenas.
I love that.
Arenas.
Arenas is my level, sure.
Fucking hell, I'm just trying to get out of academies.
Jesse, you want to do an arena?
I don't know, do you like arenas?
No, I don't like them.
I prefer theatres.
There's more of a, there's more of a vibe with the, I think, I think know do you like arenas no I don't like them I prefer theatres there's more of a
there's more of a vibe
with the
I think
I think when you're
playing arenas
or this is what I think
anyway
I don't know
whether I've been
tough on myself
every time I go to see
someone in an arena
they've got this
this larger than life
thing where they
they interact with the crowd
I've literally got
nothing to say
apart from the music
so I'm better
if I'm in a
I think you have
well things like this yeah but the music. So I'm better if I'm in a... I think you have.
Well, things like this, yeah, but not in between songs.
I'm not... I can't even be bothered asking everybody how they're doing.
I'm like Ricky Laird.
Are you doing?
Are you some guy in the front going,
actually, I'm not too well at the minute.
I'm not.
I don't...
The audience participation thing has yet to reach me.
I think I'd like to let the music do the talking.
You need a gay crowd like Jesse's.
Well, actually they've limited
how much I can speak because I was speaking too much
it was becoming like a chat show.
So they've actually limited it.
You've got someone on the side of the stage doing this.
No, I just like, the songs go into
each one so we make it more like a dance set
because otherwise I'd be like, what's your name?
Where'd you come from?
Well that's how Billy Connolly became a comedian
because he was in a band with the guy that wrote Baker Street,
you know, that famous song, Baker Street.
Jay Rafferty.
Jay Rafferty.
And they were a folk duo
and Billy Connolly used to do the in-between song pattern
and he used to tell these stories.
And at one point the stories got so long
that Jay Rafferty said,
you know, I think you want to do your own thing from now on.
It was kind of like, he was doing like one song
and 20 minutes of a funny story from Billy Connolly.
And that's how he got to be a stand-up comedian.
Maybe we should go and talk together.
Maybe I should do the music and you should do the chit-chat.
Yeah, I know.
Well, let's take it back to the beginning.
When your mum wasn't doing Dinner Lady duty,
what was she cooking at home?
And what's a really memorable dish from your childhood
well i come from a very irish family is your mum irish yeah yeah yeah but does she speak with an
irish accent good lord yes oh so she's proper oh yeah she's as irish as they come yeah she is
insane so she's from a family of 11 and she's got uh seven sister uh the seven girls. And five of the seven all moved to Manchester at the same time.
They all live in the same council estate within walking distance from each other.
And of course, being Irish, they all had about 14 kids each.
So it was a big kind of Irish family.
So it was all Irish cooking, which is like stews.
And, you know, I never had a boiled egg until I was 31.
Did you?
That's a true story.
No.
I was on my 30th birthday.
Someone said, you know,
you should try something you've never tried before
on my 30th birthday.
And I was like,
I've never had a boiled egg.
And I had boiled egg and soldiers,
and I'd now eat eggs.
Do you love them?
Yeah, I love them.
They're going out.
Particularly that point a few years ago
when they said, you know what?
They don't actually give you cholesterol. And you're like, right. Crack on with the fucking eggs then. Yeah, I love them. They're going out. Particularly that point a few years ago when they said, you know what? They don't actually give you cholesterol.
And you're like, right.
Crack on with the fucking eggs then.
I eat eggs every day.
Two eggs and two slices of bread.
You already have eggs then today.
I have.
God's sake.
Well, okay.
You can have another one.
Jesse, he probably didn't fancy what you were cooking and he thought you better eat first.
I told you.
I gave you three options.
Did you not get me?
So it didn't come to me I'm afraid
well don't worry you've got the lightest option
which is lucky or you can have a slice of cake
well what are the options
well no now there isn't one option
I went ahead and decided
it's quite light
why did you give three options and then made the decision
because it's Noel Gallagher and I was like
I felt like he'd have an opinion
on these kind of things
you'd wait till you'd chosen it.
Only the goats get here.
I don't want to start a family feud here.
This is just normal.
I want to know which part of Ireland was your mum from?
She's from a place called County Mayo, which is on the west.
Yeah, yeah, it's the wild west.
Did you like her cooking?
Growing up, you have nothing to judge it against
because it's just when people cook for you.
Do you know what I mean? I'm not a big, even to this day, Growing up, you have nothing to judge it against because it's just when people cook for you. Do you know what I mean?
I'm not a big...
Even to this day, I'm in my mid-50s now,
and I'm not...
I mean, I like nice food and all that,
but I'm not really...
I'm not a foodie, do you know what I mean?
I won't go,
oh, my God, that was an amazing piece of salmon.
Do you know what I mean?
Food is still a function for me.
You're hungry, you eat,
you crack on with what you're doing.
But I do like going to nice restaurants, but I didn't... You can't... is still a function for me you're hungry you eat you know you crack on with what you're doing but
i do like going to nice restaurants but i didn't you can't your mum's cooking you can't judge it
against anything else do you know what i mean so like when oasis were really getting big and you
were probably being spoiled with the riches of you know the best restaurants was that something
that you got a bit excited about were you like no no no when we when we because
we got big quite quickly the kind of blew up quite quickly we're still the same kind of five guys
that had been in the rehearsal room the year before so we were still hanging out in pubs and
we weren't that you know we weren't the healthiest or the most sophisticated bunch you know i'd know
i'd you know i didn't have i didn't have sushi until i moved to london
i was like what raw fish all right so what's that all about that looks like the inside of a bicycle
tire it's like no it's octopus um but uh yeah i've never been i've never been that hugely
um funnily enough i'm not in i'm not foodie at all but i do like watching masterchef
me too i love it are you watching it this week i am watching i watch it i've got a series link Funnily enough, I'm not foodie at all, but I do like watching MasterChef. Me too.
I love it.
Are you watching it this week?
I am watching it.
I've got it on series link at home.
Do you like the amateur or do you like the professionals?
Do you watch both?
Well, I watch it.
It's the same reason that I used to love watching Top Gear.
I can't drive.
I've never had a driving lesson.
It's not something...
You're joking.
I actually...
I heard you talking on Zoe Ball about your driving lessons,
which was just so hysterical. Well I've only ever had one
and the woman
was driving around a housing estate in
Slough with a Nissan Micah
with a big white triangle
on the top with a big letter L
and I was thinking, I can't wait, it's like
this is easier past this to get a massive
Rolls Royce or something and
she said can you just pull over here please
and I pulled over onto the curb
and she just unclicked her seatbelt
and said, I'll be back in a minute.
And she walked into this house
and came back out with her mum.
Why?
Because her mum wanted to meet me.
Oh my God, that's so unprofessional.
And at that point, the slough comprehensive,
the bell went for kicking out time
and all these kids were kind of
looking at me
sat in this car
like an idiot
and then I drove the car
back to my house
and I was like
okay well I won't be
doing that again
that's a bit of an
awkward drive home
but anyway
it never stopped me
loving Top Gear
which I thought was
a great TV programme
and I used to love it
and I love
like looking at cars
and I think they're amazing
and it's the same with food
I enjoy watching
amateurs make it and it's the kind of thing you know when you see these people and they're like they're amazing. It's the same with food. I enjoy watching amateurs make it,
and it's the kind of thing, you know,
when you see these people,
and they're like, they can really cook,
you know what I mean?
I know, I agree.
And I'm thinking, I mean, I can,
because I live on my own,
I can cook for myself, right?
What would you cook?
What would you cook?
Oh, just standard chicken, meat,
just anything you can put in an agar.
A roast chicken?
I can do that, yeah, easy.
Are agars a pain in the arse, are they actually quite easy?
For me, they're quite easy.
Okay.
Is your kitchen always hot then?
Yes, it is.
I don't mind it warm, I like it warm.
Everyone that comes to my house is like that.
What colour is your agar?
Black.
Black.
And it is always on, yeah, and it does make the kitchen quite hot,
but I like that.
But I wouldn't
i wouldn't cook for anybody else for fear that i poison them like food poisoning so i'm good at
cooking for me but anyone else i'm like well they're gonna have to do pasta i can do i can do
so so you wouldn't if we were coming around you you just know well i live i live in i live in the
countryside at the minute so we'd be going to the King George.
Pub.
The local pub, yeah, which is not bad.
Is it?
What's your order there?
Fish and chips.
Speaking of fish and chips,
now, because, and you know this anyway,
but Felix White is Felix White,
who, from the Maccabees,
the biggest Noel Gallagher fan
in the world
yeah
and
I had to call him yesterday
and I went to school with him
and
alright no way
I watched him
I don't know if I've told you this before
but I've watched him
and Jack Pignate
perform
Oasis
in the talent show
when we were in like
year
wow
year 10
and they dressed up
and he was Liam, Jack was Noel.
And he adores you, but you know this.
But he has some food related questions because I was like, listen, we've got the goat coming.
And he said, OK, this is the shit that I need to know.
Fish and chips, Zabaleta.
the shit that I need to know fish and chips
Zabaleta
did you say something about
respecting Zabaleta for having
a fish and chips every Friday
yeah well so
there's this football player he's from
he's from Argentina
he used to play for City and he used to
he lived in Didsbury
I believe and he used to go to the same chippy
every Friday and get fish and chips
and queue up with the natives.
And it's like, you know what?
Fair do.
Have you ever been to Argentina?
I went recently.
It's the most amazing country on the planet.
I know it's gorgeous.
You say this to people and they go,
really?
And I'm like, I'm telling you,
the people, the food, the people, the vibe.
I love it.
The best gigs you will ever do,
ever, is in Argentina. I don't know. Sao Paulo was people, the vibe. I love it. And panada. The best gigs you will ever do, ever, is in Argentina.
I don't know.
Sao Paulo was pretty amazing for me. Mexico City.
Yeah.
For me, I first went to Argentina when I was a roadie for a band in the 80s.
I first went in 1988.
And it was amazing then.
And Oasis used to do the craziest gigs there in football stadiums,
like the maddest things you'd ever see in your life.
And they jump.
Yeah, and they go, bananas.
But it's the most amazing country, I've got to say.
The food.
Yeah, vegetarians don't get on too well over there, fortunately.
No.
But they cook their steak a bit too much.
No, you just have to order it a bit less done.
Jessie, but when you say that to them,
they think you're slightly odd not having well done steak.
I absolutely love it.
Do you like your steak well done?
If I'm cooking it at home, I'll do it for four and a half minutes.
That's quite rare.
It's medium rare.
Quite rare that I'm cooking at home.
Well done.
Do you have curry sauce with your chips? i'm up in manchester yeah fish chips
curry curry sauce down here with the chips no they don't know when you say that well all
all people down here think we just drink pints of gravy have you had to educate your children
because they're all londoners aren't they. So, like, have you had to educate them about the Mancunian way?
My kids do a very good condescending Mancunian accent.
They're like, all right.
All right.
All right, Dad.
All right.
And when I take them to the football, they love...
So when we go to the city's home games up in Manchester,
we'll go in a box and all that.
But when we go away,
they love going on the terraces with the city fans.
And trying to talk Manc.
No, they just love all the characters.
There's nowhere like
Manchester, is there?
Well, it's difficult for...
For warmth. I mean, when you stand at a bus
stop, I defy you not to talk
to someone. Alright, yeah, but
wouldn't everybody
say that about the city that they were born in?
No, no, no.
Well, London belongs to England. It doesn't really belong to London. Yeah, but wouldn't everybody say that about the city that they were born in? No, no, no. Jesse loves Manchester.
Well, London belongs to England.
It doesn't really belong to Londoners.
Do you know what I mean?
I don't think I've ever met anyone from London in London.
They're all...
Are you actually from London?
Yes, I am.
My kids are born and bred in London, but I don't...
I think Manchester is...
I mean, I love it.
It's very...
There's a lot of funny characters up there,
and still to this day, the people which are making... But the club scene was... Oh, it's amazing. When I grew up, Twisted Wheel, I love it. It's very, there's a lot of funny characters up there and still to this day, the people which are making it.
But the club scene was fun.
When I grew up, the Twisted Wheel I used to go to.
Oh, yeah, right, yeah, yeah.
Which was an amazing place to go to.
We used to go to Time and Place.
Right.
We used to hang out to see if we could see George Best anywhere.
Were you doing Hacienda?
I used to go to George Best's house on a Sunday.
Did you?
Do you know, he lived in that big glass house.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And people used to go
and he lived
so he was like
one of the Beatles
right
and he lived in this
big glass house
just outside of Manchester
and people used to go
for a Sunday day out
in the 70s
just to stand
at the end of his driveway
oh you weren't
getting invited in
no
no he used to stand there
to watch
so this is like
being in like the hills
well it was like
this futuristic glass he was like a Well, it was like this futuristic
glass. He was like a god, yeah. It was a futuristic
glass box of a house. And you
could see him watching TV with Miss World.
Miss World. He would just go.
He was, yeah. Yeah, we used to go to
his house and just stand there. Just to see
if you could see. Not as kids. My parents used to
take us there. Right? And it would
be like families would just be stood
looking up the gate
trying to get a glimpse
of George Best
and I wasn't
I'm not United
he was so handsome
as well
he was gorgeous
and he had
only ever had blonde women
yeah yeah yeah
and his nightclub
was called Blondes
yeah
top dude
yeah
he was
he was great
I'm going to cut some bread
are you
you really not fancy
eating anything
there's a bit of asparagus
a fried egg some you don't have to have the fried egg if you don't want eating anything? There's a bit of asparagus, a fried egg,
you don't have to have the fried egg if you don't want,
you can just have the tahini and asparagus.
Go on then, I'll have that then.
I'll be so sad if you don't.
I'm looking at the most beautiful ring on your finger
that looks slightly papal.
Well...
Tell me about it.
So when you leave
school in America you get
a ring like that. It's like a college ring
whereas we get a kick in the arse
and a certificate that no one ever keeps
and I bought that
in a pawn shop in Tokyo
in the 90s and
I didn't think anything of it
until the internet was invented and googled it
and it's like from
it's given to somebody in Ruston
I think you get to design your own ring when you leave
so this guy
I think his name was Dwayne
and I think he played number
20 for the football team
and the football team were called the Bearcats
and it's from Ruston High in
Mississippi I believe
poor soul, wonder why he gave it to me, have you seen it?
what about finding him
and giving it back.
No,
but I'll tell you a funny story.
So,
the fact that he was in Tokyo
would suggest
that he probably joined the army
and he was stationed in Tokyo
and he kind of pawned it
for a prostitute or something.
But one afternoon,
he was sat in an airport lounge
in America somewhere
and he was a bit hungover
and a guy dressed in the desert camouflage fatigues and
he said where did you get the ring from buddy and I was a little bit pissed and I started talking
back in an American accent and I was like Ruston High and he went I went to Ruston High and I was
like oh my god and I went fuck shit and he was going was going, where did you go? Where did you go? Go Bearcats.
Where did you go to Ruston?
I was like, oh, yeah,
like, are you fucking here?
And I started to sweat.
And I was like,
please call the flight now, you know.
And luckily the flight was called.
And honestly, I was like,
fuck shit, man.
And he was like,
where did you go?
Here, go Bearcats, man.
You don't look old enough.
And I was like,
do you know fucking Billy Bob shit, man?
Oh my God, Christ.
Yeah, it was one of the most stressful events of my entire life.
Because he was clearly on his way back from, you know,
trashing the Middle East.
And he was probably going to be in a bad mood.
And I was like, fucking hell.
Yeah, terrifying.
Do you go to America often?
I do.
I'm going in a few weeks, yeah.
I start my tour there, yeah. You're starting your tour there? Yeah. When I'm going in a few weeks, yeah, start my tour there
You're starting your tour there? Yeah. When does
your album actually come out? June the 2nd
June, oh so
You're a pro-professional at this instance? No
Seamlessly sliding
into plugging my record there
Do you want some water or
juice or? I'll take some water, yeah
thank you. Yeah, yeah, do you know what
the older that I've got the more I've grown
to love America
I used to hate it
when I was younger
because there was
too many rules
it was like
you know
you can't do this here
this shuts at this time
and you can't smoke
that there
and all that
but you kind of get
to your mid 30s
and you go
fucking what
it's like the pace
of this life
and the fucking
avocados on toast
you know
two in the afternoon.
So we ask everyone, if you were going on to a desert,
not something sinister,
if you were going to a desert island for six months,
what meal would you have before you went?
Before I went?
Yeah. What's my favourite meal?
You've got starter, main, perfect drink.
Starter?
Do like a bit of squid for starters.
Do you?
Yeah, it would be something...
Grilled or...?
No, you know when they deep fry it? Oh, you like calamari? Yeah, yeah, No, you know, when they deep fry it.
Oh, you like calamari?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, me too, I love it.
But not Italian calamari, when they kind of do it...
Salt and pepper.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love that, yeah.
Do you like a dip with that?
Do you like a garlicky mayonnaise?
Or do you just like it with just...
No, I like the mayonnaise.
The chilli dip would be the best one.
And for a main course, what would I have?
I don't know.
Like I say, I'm not really...
What did you have last night for your dinner?
Oh, I had pizza.
Do you like pizza?
Love it.
There's a pizza restaurant in Maida Vale called The Red Pepper,
which is, I swear to you now, it's the best pizza in,
well, obviously I won't say in the world.
Which road is it on?
Formosa Street.
Oh, I know.
Do you really?
I was in Maida Vale last night, actually.
Oh, right.
With some friends on Clifton Gardens.
I love Maida Vale.
Yeah, yeah, it's great.
I've lived around there for quite a while.
It's so gorgeous, isn's so gorgeous there's another little
there's like a little Greek Turkish restaurant
up a little side street
I've been to
a really good Greek restaurant in Maida Vale
it's up a little side street
on the other side of Warwick Avenue
oh ok
there's a great sushi place up there called Sushi Murasaki
which I'm going to
tonight I believe with my kids.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
How many children have you got?
I should know.
Three.
Three?
Yeah.
And they're all big grown-ups.
And I saw one of them, your beautiful, I think she's your eldest daughter.
She was taking photos of you.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's 23.
She's amazing.
And then I've got've got eldest lad is 16
this year
and then my
youngest little boy
the legend
is 13 this year
13
and oh they're amazing
oh they really are
they're the funniest
the two guys
are like a comedy
double act
their entire meaning
of their life
is for one of them
to try and get
the other one
into trouble
that's all they live for
that's all they live for and it's tit for tat so tonight when I see them to try and get the other one into trouble. That's all they live for. That's all they live for.
And it's tit for tat.
So tonight when I see them, they'll be,
so, ask Dee about what happened at school today.
Oh, my gosh.
But they are amazing, funny kids.
Did we get the last supper?
No.
No, we've got calamari.
Yeah, he's only got calamari.
It may need some salt, and I will not be offended. Have you got salt, darling? I've got calamari. Yeah, he's only got calamari. It may need some salt, and I will not be offended, all right?
Have you got salt, darling?
Yeah, I've got it here.
I, um...
So what would I have?
Probably steak and chips, actually.
I knew you were going to say that.
Did you?
Well, I didn't know I was going to say that.
But I knew it.
I felt it.
Right.
Yeah, steak and chips, and then for dessert, apple crumble.
Apple crumble.
Who makes the best apple crumble?
Hmm.
Actually, the one at the school dinner is apple crumble.
The puddings were always good, weren't they?
Yeah.
And the...
Cake and custard.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The custard and that.
Pretty spectacular, I have to say.
Okay.
So, and then what drink of choice?
You're having beer.
You're having wine. You're big into... Do what drink of choice? Are you having beer? Are you having wine?
Are you big into...
Do you drink?
I'm big into alcohol, yeah.
Well, I'm Irish, so...
It's kind of a prerequisite for living.
If I'm going out,
I will always drink beer.
Always.
Exclusively.
What sort of beer?
Peroni.
Well, whatever they've got. It's lager.
Do you like lager? If I'm staying in, like this weekend for instance is one of my
favorite weekends of the year. Why? Because it's the Eurovision Song Contest.
I didn't know you were a big Eurovision fan. God I fucking love just getting pissed and watching the utter insanity
of Eurovision
it's inset
I love it
and
why didn't you go
I wouldn't go to it
I just want to watch it
in private
and just laugh
my bollocks off
are you laughing at them
or are you kind of
enjoying the
I'm laughing at them
oh you arsehole
yeah
why
just like look
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
really no you should wait for the finish they've got this Yeah. Why? Just like, look, Kazakhstani rap.
Really?
No, you should wait for the finish.
They've got this cha-cha-cha.
Oh, great, I love it.
And he says cha-cha-cha like 78 times.
Brilliant.
And it sounds kind of like he's Darth Vader
and he's going,
and he's rapping with a cha-cha-cha.
You're going to love it.
Brilliant.
And I love the earnest tunes as well.
The We Are The World ones.
Yeah.
I love that kind of thing.
But the Eurovision Song Contest, it's far out.
I remember watching it...
When you were little.
Oh, yeah.
Well, yeah.
I used to sit and score it with my father and mother.
We all sit around there.
And Miss World.
Right, yeah.
Remember when Miss World was a thing?
It was on telly on Saturday night,
and your dad would watch it
she'd be like
I've seen better than her
down the pub
you know
and I was like
what pub are you going to
but no I do like
Eurovision Song Contest
I'll stay in
and get a bit
get a bit of a chance
but Noel
please tell me
somebody else
is going to be drinking
with you
and you're going to
maybe you should get
the kids around
and start doing
a telly thing
and do a little
I'm not going to be
sitting there
maudling drinking there'll be someone there'll be a thing. I don't want to be sitting there maudling, drinking.
There'll be a few people there, don't worry about that.
Oh, good.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But no, I love it.
I remember watching it the year when, I don't really remember this,
but some Finnish guys, it was like a black metal group,
and they were dressed as, they all dressed in like,
they were like dressed in...
Oh, yeah yeah I remember them
they're called Lordy
and I was sat watching it
and I was a bit stoned right
and
I was thinking
what the fuck is this
and then they won it
right
because obviously people were voting
to take the piss
and ever since then
I was like
this is essential
for you and all
so I didn't like it
I now
these are two questions
from Felix White
what a life it would be if you could come for mine for tea pick you up at half past three essential for you on a Saturday night. Now, these are two questions from Felix White.
What a life it would be if you could come for mine for tea.
Pick you up at half past three.
We'll have lasagna.
Who was cooking lasagna?
So that song came about
at the time we were hanging out
in Liverpool.
We were hanging out with this band called The Real People.
We had this crazy cousin
and his name was Diggsy.
We were just jamming in their rehearsal room one night um he got up on the mic and we were all playing one
chord and he started to sing this thing went round and round and this and i can't remember the tune
but the lyrics went what did you have for your tea tonight? I had lasagna. I had lasagna.
I mean, it sounds really, really ridiculous.
And then I was just stuck with me, and I had this tune,
and it just seemed to fit.
It was one of those songs where you play it to the band,
and they go, really?
Lasagna?
I'm like, yeah.
I could, you know, I'm fucking singing that.
Fucking lasagna.
He fucking sung it fucking he fucking sung it
I fucking write it
you know
yeah it was just
it was just
born out of
this crazy guy
Dixie's
bizarre mind
um
strawberry lemonade
well yeah
it was a thing
from
that drink
Snapple wasn't it
oh
Snapple
wow
did you really
I loved
the peach iced tea
I don't it was really big in the 90s wasn't it yeah well I I was Snapple. Wow, you've really... I love the peach iced tea.
It was really big in the 90s, wasn't it? Yeah.
Well, I was with this girl at the time
who only drank this strawberry lemonade thing.
Oh.
And that old song taught tonight
is quite an autobiographical tale of a weekend
I spent with this girl in San Francisco.
And all she drunk was strawberry lemonade.
Did that put you off her
or was it kind of like
you were like
sure she tastes sweet
well
well I was
no it didn't put me off her
no no
I mean I got a song out of it
so you know
I can make anything
I got a great song out of it
and I'll be playing that song
on tour
this year so
oh well everyone
we had it
because it's like
it was a B-side wasn't it
yeah all my
all my best songs I gave away as B-sides like a fool yeah i don't but it's catalogue you've got
so much you can now do that no of course but at the time i had this period from like 1993 to
1990 just 1996 where every song that i wrote became really famous but if i could go back in
time now i would keep all those great b-sides and turn it into a proper album do you know why can't
you do it no we did we put a b-side album up what i'm saying is i i at the time it would have made
a colossal third album but of course when you're young and you're you know you're on the way up
you're just like thinking well this know you're on the way up
you're just like thinking
well this is never
going to dry up
this is going to be amazing
and I would write
these songs
and nobody
at the record label
because we were on
an indie record label
and everyone was a bit mad
you know
nobody had the wherewithal
to say
that's a bit good
for a B-side
they were just like
yeah
that's brilliant
I mean yeah
it's a bit
it's a bit
over the top
to say we gave them away
because they have you know I still play them,
so they didn't go to waste,
but it would have been nice if they were on some kind of official album.
What's your favourite song to perform of all your songs?
It's always new ones.
At the moment.
It's always new ones.
Okay.
You know, I do, actually a song I've never, ever, ever, ever gone off
is Don't Look Back in Anger because it elicits,
I mean, it's such a hymn now and it means so much to so many people all around the
world.
I've never gone off that one,
but songs as Jesse will tell you,
you kind of,
you have a moment with them and then you just got to let them go.
And people will come up to you and say,
Oh,
why didn't you play this song?
And it's like,
it's gone now.
You know what I mean?
It's like a child that's left home and that's it.
It's grown up and it's got mine and it's fucked off.
Thank God.
But the ones that you enjoy are the new ones
because it's new for you and then you get a couple of years out of them.
So at the moment, I'm enjoying all the new ones.
But Don't Look Back in Anger you know if you've got that one
song
if you'd only written that one song for the rest of your life
you'd be doing alright do you know what I mean
you would definitely
but without it being
it's an extraordinary
piece of music without it being
technically an extraordinary song
I think that's the appeal of it
guys who are amateur guitar players
can sit and play it and sing it
Is it hard though to have made that
do you have to lock it away
knowing that you've got that
song that will live on forever
you've got to let it go
when you're writing
you're not trying to better that
you have to let it go and you have to accept
that it was a moment in time and you have to accept that...
It was a moment.
It was a moment in time and thank God you had that moment.
And you have to let it go and don't...
Where did you write it?
I wrote it in Paris.
You were in Paris?
Yeah, I don't even remember writing it.
We were on tour in 94, 95.
And we'd been out...
Well, I often wonder, because I woke up the next... We'd been out on I often wonder because I woke up the next
we'd been out
on a really boozy night out
and I woke up the next day
and
there it was
written down
not all of it
but like the outline of it
and I'd
I'd kind of
I'd had the chords
and
no idea who Sally is
but we'd been at a strip club
that night
and
now let me
quantify that we'd done a gig that then turned into a strip club that night. Now, let me quantify that.
We'd done a gig that then turned into a strip club.
It doesn't matter.
I don't get shocked.
You're not a stripper, are you?
No, I'm not a stripper and I don't get shocked.
She wants to know more.
She'll be at the strip club for you next time.
There's still time.
Okay.
There's still time.
The internet is full of magical things.
Where are we going after with these shorts?
I don't know who Sally is the internet is full of magical things. Where are we going after Withingshaw Park? And,
yeah,
I don't know who Sally is
and I don't know,
I don't know,
I don't know what.
She must have given you
a good dance.
I've never met a stripper
called Sally.
They're always called
Emmanuel and shit like that,
aren't they?
Yeah,
there was a whole
film series
called Emmanuel.
And,
yeah,
so you've got to let that go and accept that but it's constantly being revived because
do you remember after the manchester bombing yeah yeah yeah and then people spontaneously
well yeah even when the when they i'm talking about the writing like of writing and going back
in it's like yeah you have to accept that other people think that's your that's your peak moment
i don't necessarily think that.
No, no, no.
And I'm not saying that. Yeah, no, no, no.
And if you thought that,
you'd never write another song.
After Wonderwall
and Don't Look Back in Anger,
why would you bother, right?
But to me,
I've written better songs
than Don't Look Back in Anger.
I think.
I think there's a track
on this album called
Dead to the World
that's superior to both of them.
But then ask me in 10 years' time.
Is that the one that says
about the heavyweights?
No, that's easy now.
It's the real orchestral one.
It's got no drums on it.
Yes.
Called Dead to the World, yeah.
It's my favourite song on the album.
But I've worked out what songwriting is.
It's a constant, transient thing
and you're just picking up influences
and then just dropping little bombs along the road of life
and then that's it.
Some people get it and some people don't.
They don't make the songs any less or more.
If it's turning you on, then that has to be enough.
Any people that write songs for streams or clicks or to sell records
they're not they're not in it for the right reasons you know you've got it
there's got to be you know I've if one person comes up to you 12 years after
you wrote a song that no one's interested in and says my that song
that's it I'll do you know I meant a lot to someone doesn't have to mean
everything to everybody you know it's just but then you know
everybody
but you're still so ambitious
and I think that's really
you still
you have
you're prolific
like you put out work
all the time
I don't have any
other interests
like I don't drive
you know
I don't
I don't
I don't
I don't collect
I can't swim
I don't collect anything
I'm not
I'm not an avid art collector
I don't
I'm not passionate about, you know...
You've got your kids.
No, no, but that goes without saying.
Yeah.
There's like things...
Rock stars usually get other interests
and that's why they take their father guys.
You're not going to have a vineyard or...?
No, I'm not.
I'm just not.
I'm obsessed with writing.
Music.
Yeah, and the more I do it, the more I want to do it.
And that's why in lockdown I wrote three albums.
I have 34 songs, completed 34 songs,
which is going to last me now.
I have to stop writing now because I've got to record them all now.
Quite a journey.
And it's the thing that gives me,
apart from my kids, which goes without saying it's the thing that gives me the greatest
sense of
worth
and your place
in life
this is what I do and I love it and I never take it for granted
and I do a bit every day
I'm not the kind of person that sits down
and says right from May until then I shall
write a new album and it shall be about this
I chip away every day and just
finish one song
off and then have a look at another one.
Where did you learn guitar?
Are you completely self-taught?
Yeah, I've never had a musical lesson.
Can you read music now?
No, I don't know anyone that can.
I don't know anyone that can.
Can you? No.
Also, that's the thing that I'm trying to do for my kids. Actually, I'm interested. I can't. I also like, I'm, that's the thing
that I'm trying to do
for my kids.
I'm not trying to,
actually I'm interested
what you,
I don't want to ram
lessons down my kids throat
but I want them to feel like
they should have an instrument
because I wished
I'd had an instrument.
It makes me feel
very inadequate in the studio.
Well I'll tell you
what I did for all of them
and one out of the three
got it.
So I just left instruments around the house yeah so i just
left little toy keyboards in the bedrooms and little guitars and two of them are not into it
but the youngest lad kind of was he was like me that how i got it because i just was like right
how i got into it was this my my dad was a country and western d in the Irish social clubs around Manchester.
Was he?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I don't know whether he won this guitar at a game of cards.
I don't know what happened,
but this guitar appeared in our house
and he couldn't play it.
And when I used to get grounded for, you know,
not going to school and all that kind of thing,
glue-safing.
And I took this guitar upstairs into my bedroom
and I started to play Joy Division bass lines.
That's how I...
And then some local kid's older hippie brother
kind of came round and said,
oh, my brother can tune that for me,
and tuned it up.
And I was just into it.
You've still got that guitar?
No, no, I've still got a couple of early ones.
But, so when, you know, you know going oh you should teach the kids
and I was like well I was never taught
but how I just
I think if you force kids
an instrument upon them kids like to
rebel against their parents like I'm not doing that
whereas I'm
still into it now and I think it's because I went to it
Working with family though
I mean you've had the experience of course with Oasis
I work with mum in a different way
it's a bit less wrong and wrong
apart from when we've done our sold out show
in Bridgewater Hall
but yeah do you still
appreciate that the romance
of having you know a sibling
and a family involved in that journey up
well it's your greatest strength
and your greatest weakness
the greatest strength because when two family members sing together,
it's like an instrument that you can't buy,
so it immediately becomes recognisable on the radio.
And you've got great rapport and connection with it.
And it made Oasis what it was.
By the same rule, it was its Achilles heel that eventually, you know,
eventually broke the band up because you can push each other's buttons
and you tend to revel in it.
Did it upset your mum when you had the big fallout?
No, everyone says this to me about my mum.
And it's like, you know, journalists, you know,
getting the band back together, you know, they make your mum happy.
It's like I'm 50 fucking 5
do you think I'd give a shit
about what my mum's got to say
about anything now
it's just like
she couldn't even control me
when I was 14
like I've got 3 kids
and a fucking cat
you know what I mean
what's your cat called?
Boots
doesn't live with me anymore
sadly
but he was
a handsome boy
do you think you'd get another cat
or a dog?
maybe
I like other people's dogs
my mates have got dogs and they're great but they're just like children I'd rather have another cat or a dog? Maybe me. I like other people's dogs. My mates have got dogs and they're great.
But they're just like children.
I'd rather have another baby than a dog.
Do you think you might have another baby?
Absolutely not.
Are you sure?
No, absolutely not.
But you might meet someone who's younger, who wants a baby.
I don't like younger people.
Don't you?
Lenny's available.
I'm afraid.
I am.
Yeah, but she's not into stripping, so it's not going to work, I'm afraid.
Who knows? Do you want another cup of tea to go with your cake? No, no, I'm free I am yeah but she's not into stripping so it's not going to work I'm afraid who knows
do you want another cup of tea
to go with your cake
no no I'm okay
I'll have a spoon though
if you've got a spoon
yes of course
I've got a spoon
I have to say
I'm the shittest at making cakes
this looks great
but this looks
in the words of
Rick Astley
do you want some
cream darling
it's not cream
it's Greek yogurt
and what's the other one
creme fraiche
that may be off
hold on no it looks alright do you want a bit of creme fraiche or is it no thanks
no i've got to go sing now for two hours yeah i think we rehearsed at the same um at the same
spot fomo sw19 oh no that place in wimbledon yeah oh we're used to we're in north london there was
like a beautiful moment that you were rehearsing and Don't Look Back in Anger was just...
I think you were just playing and we were just in the other room
and it just sounded stunning.
Oh, wow.
It was when I was doing it acoustically.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, thank you.
No, it's a pleasure.
Do you have to perform that when you're at a concert?
Well, the way...
If you didn't, everyone would be...
The way I look at putting together set lists is this.
I always think, right, the person that I'm playing for
is the person that's coming to see me for the first time.
So they're going to want it.
If I'm going to see one of my favourite artists, Bob Dylan,
or whatever, for the first time,
I would think, right, I'd like him to play this, this, this, this and this.
And if he did play that, that would be amazing,
but I'm not too interested in that.
So that's the way I look at it.
It's like...
Give him the hits.
It's like there's a deal that you have to have with your audience.
When you've been going for so long and have written so many songs,
it's like, I'll get to what you want to hear in a bit,
but let me do my thing for me first.
Yeah.
And so if I don't play Half the World Away
and Don't Look Back in Anger,
I'd be in the crowd going,
well, why didn't he play those songs so those those two are pretty much a given and then there'll be some more obscure oasis stuff
for people who've seen me a few times who were just like right well i've heard i don't need to
hear that again do you know what i mean and then there'll be the new stuff is for me and then
there's the bit in the middle where you just kind of keep it a bit loose. I need to know if your children are stealing your clothes.
Yeah.
Ah.
The relics.
Ah, not, well the...
Would you let them?
See, what I do every few months
is I'll just give them all to charity
every maybe six months a year.
So some of that, Umbro, Kappa,
some of that is in a local
charity shop
in Buckinghamshire
you selfless
artist
the Dr.
Banano's
the Dr.
Banano's
in Marleybone
unwittingly
had quite a lot
of Oasis
clothes
and just
I didn't have to
make a big deal
of it
it's just like
go and plonk
these on the door
all of it
there wouldn't be
a day goes by when I see a photograph and go why did i give that away really why did i give that away
there's some fucking idiot but you know some really happy person no but if you make a big
deal of it people will just buy it and put it on ebay do you know what i mean so so every kind of
six months a year your wardrobe will be bursting you'll be like right it's's got to go. Is there anything you have kept for sentimental reasons?
No, I'm not sentimental.
No, I know I get rid of it.
I do have these moments of madness every 12 months, 6 months,
where I go, right, done.
I'll go down to my lock-up looking for something and go,
this is just fucking get rid of it.
Incinerate it all.
And everyone will be like, whoa, wait a minute.
It's fucking what?
This is kind of a stage set from such and such thing.
But I don't hold on to the past.
Do you not have one treasured possession
like someone gave you
or something that you've got on the wall?
Maybe it's that ring.
I don't know.
Yeah, I'd be,
and this bracelet I bought
on my travels.
That's gorgeous.
If I'd lost these two,
I would be extremely unhappy
because you wear them every day
and they become part of you.
A treasured possession. What have you got written on there? Nothing.
Nothing, no. Just heavy.
Yeah. If I...
Guitars. Yes,
I hold on to guitars because I've
written songs on them and
my kids should have them or they should
go into some place where people can
either look at them, I don't know. But
those kind of things i'm
i would hold on yeah i i don't sell guitars i've written big songs on it because it's all about the
music yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah treasured possessions if i lost a pillow once on tour
and i was devastated i bring my own pillow on tour do you bring a pillow on yes i Yes. I do. I can't. I hate tour buses so much. I'm so bad on them.
And I lost a pillow
once on tour.
It came out,
suitcase arrived back
from America
and there was a pillow
missing and a leather jacket
and I was like,
the leather jacket,
I can understand.
Who's fucking stealing pillows
at Heathrow Airport,
you callous fuckers?
I know, I agree.
I know,
there'd be some fucking...
What kind of pillow was it?
Feather, down?
It was just my pillow,
do you know what I mean?
I can sleep in any trashy, horrible beds,
but as long as I've got my pillow...
So they're not going to be doing an exhibition
like David Bowie's exhibition of your clothes and things?
I did, yeah.
I didn't even go to the Oasis one.
I went to the Bowie one and the Pink Floyd one.
Yeah, the Bowie one was great.
It was fascinating seeing the lawyer's letter where he changed his name officially from David Jones to David Bowie one was great. It was fascinating seeing the lawyer's letter
where he changed his name officially from David Jones to David Bowie.
Some of those clothes could have been at V&A.
No.
You don't give a shit.
You want to look at a load of cagoules.
Cagoules?
I mean, you've got David Bowie,
there were Japanese designers and this, that and the other,
and like, oh, yeah, yeah, look at this parka.
Look at this Kangol hat.
It's fucking mega.
Oh, do you know what I really loved?
I really loved the Adidas trainer section.
That was amazing.
Are you pals with your brother, our kid?
No, we don't.
No, no, no.
Still?
Oh, for God's sake.
Mum really did the research.
I thought you...
He definitely makes overtures towards you constantly.
Yeah, well, then he should stop sl lagging me off on the internet and suddenly...
Does he?
Do you follow him on Twitter, Mum?
No.
But whenever I've heard him speak,
he's always saying, we're getting back together.
That's because he's insane.
Oh, right.
OK, fine.
All right.
But you talk...
When you refer to our kid, it sounds quite affectionate and fun.
Yeah, well, that's...
As you know, that's the way we speak up North.
But I've got really fond memories of the Oasis thing and all that
and
it would have to take
an extraordinary chain of events
for it to happen again
but I'm really happy
with what I'm doing
I love it
and I love going at my own pace
the thing when you're in a
when you're in a band
it's a compromise
with all the other people
so everybody's got to
have their own little bit
and feel worth
because I was the sole songwriter
yeah
it was difficult for the other
four guys you know this is bad lord is the thing and they didn't really have any creative input
into it because i was so prolific at writing the songs so when you're if when you're in a band
situation you have to compromise and what i'm doing now i can do if i want to take five years
off at the end of this tour i'll do it it. It's like marriage really, isn't it?
Yeah.
With it,
or when in a band thing,
it's a sea of moving parts
that you've all got to keep
the plates spinning.
And that exhausted me in the end,
which is why in the end,
it's just like,
it's time for me to quit.
There was just too many plates spinning
and there was,
you're trying to put one fire out
and then there's another one going off.
I think,
I think when you're in your twenties
and thirties,
it's amazing because you've got the energy to do it.
Whereas when you get older, you're just like, I've got my kids now.
Fuck it, yeah.
Yeah, fuck it, I can't be honest.
Do you find the idea of, maybe because they're a bit older, but how old are your youngest?
13.
13.
Do you find it, when you're thinking, and this is a kind of selfish question,
but do you think about the tours and think, I can't be away for that long?
Or do you feel like they're so used to... Well, so i got back off my last tour in 2019 and i'd been away more
or less i've been on the road since 2015 and when i no one not all the time i mean back in a month
but when i remember i remember going away and i had two baby sons and when i got back in 2019
the eldest opened the door and he had a tash and he called me bruv
oh stop it
and I was like yes mate and he went yes bruv
and I was like bruv
you fucking bruv, you fucking dad, you refer to me
as dad, he was like yo bruv
yo pops his butt, I was like
who's this guy with the tash
and then
and then it's like right
I was always going to take till this time off and of course pandemic happened and covid and things it happened and then it's like right i was i was always going to take till this
time off and of course pandemic happened and covid and things got a bit tricky where did you spend
lockdown uh well we we just we just i don't know whether i thought at the time it's luckily it's
maybe not the greatest life decision we'd made um just before the pandemic we decided we were going to move out of London and we were in Hampshire
and of course
it was a
two-fold thing out there where
you don't feel like you're in a pandemic
because in the middle of the country you never see anyone from day to day anyway
but
then you're kind of
you know you're there and that's it
you can't dip into London for a couple of nights
and you can't see your mates.
You're locked in.
Yeah.
So it was a tricky time for everybody.
But I, yeah, it was out there.
It was just horrible.
I mean, the only good thing that came out
was which I wrote a lot of music.
How good were you at homeschooling?
Dreadful.
Did you?
Dreadful.
I remember my lad was like,
Dad, where's the Philippines?
He shouted as he's in his underpants, right,
at one end of the table.
And I was like, Google it.
Google it.
And when we looked at his Google search,
he Googled in, where the fuck are the Philippines?
He was about 11 at the time
and I was like
this kid is a fucking
prodigy
where the fuck
are the Philippines
before you go off
to do rehearsals
for the tour
do you want another
piece of cake
no thanks
would you like one
for later
for that afternoon
kind of pick me up
no no no
I'm fine
I love an apple
in the afternoon
you're quite healthy yeah yeah yeah oh yeah I don't yeah I don't. I love an apple in the afternoon. You're quite healthy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I don't, yeah, I don't, I'm not, like I said, I don't eat a great deal.
I kind of have a big breakfast and whatever I want done.
During the day, I usually skip lunch and crack on doing what I'm doing.
But a pink lady apple is my thing.
I love that.
Do you know they're really good for you?
They will lower your blood pressure.
Do they really?
Yeah.
Which is why I'm so chilled, as you can see.
This is why you're so relaxed.
Because I'm laid back as you can see. This is why you're so relaxed.
Can I ask you one taste
that can transport you back to somewhere?
Good or bad?
So in Ireland
they have a thing called soda bread.
Yes.
So if I was to have soda bread with loads, loads of butter on it,
like my mum used to give us in between coming home from school
and having tea, as we call it, off, not dinner,
that would remind me of growing up.
So soda bread and a real builder's cup of tea,
that would be my thing, yeah.
Oh, Noel, thank you so much for coming over and chatting.
It's been a pleasure.
Thank you very much.
Thanks.
And good luck with the album.
It's beautiful.
Come and see us.
I'm playing.
Oh, yeah.
Where are you playing in London?
Well, I'm doing open airs in the summer, playing at Crystal Palace.
Oh, nice.
Oh, around the corner.
Yeah.
And then I'm doing the arenas in the winter.
I'm playing at Wembley Arena.
So, anyone.
Thank you.
Well, thank you very much.
Thank you. Thanks for coming.
No worries. You're very handsome.
Oh, here we go.
I just wanted to tell you, I'm not
going to slip off, but you are very handsome
and you've got gorgeous blue eyes.
Come on, Sally. I'm telling you now.
I'm telling you now. I'll give you my number in a bit when you're done.
Okay.
Won't be living on your own anymore, then.
We'll get you backstage. Oh, God!
Okay, get out of my fucking house.
Oh, Noel Gallagher.
Rock and roll star.
He was so rock and roll, Jess.
I think I felt like you gave him a good run for his money.
Did I?
Yeah.
Did you enjoy him?
I thought he was fabulous.
I really enjoyed listening to him.
I had not realised what a complete artist he is, really,
and his devotion to music and songwriting.
I think it's really rare to be able to have like
an artist that is like the romance authentic yeah he's proper absolutely love having noel on thank
you so much what a brilliant anecdotes just fab loved him oh my son's coming through the door
you just missed a rock and roll star, son. I'm just going to scatter
the guitars and the pianos
around so I get a
don't look back in the house.
He was just fab.
Loved it. Thank you, Noel. Good luck with the record.
I think he really meant that we could go to his show.
Yes, Mum. Good luck with the record.
Good luck with touring. You can catch him
throughout the summer. If you're listening in America,
he's on tour with Garbage very soon.
But I think I'll be at the Within Shore Park one.
Or Crystal Palace.
That's nearer to me.
Anyway, check it out.
Council Skies is out on the 2nd of June.
Thanks for listening.
We'll see you soon.