Noel Gallagher Sounds Off on Tidal, Zayn Malik and Same-Sex Marriage
Noel Gallagher is never half as angry as it seems. The outlandish, outspoken former Oasis guitarist and current High Flying Birds frontman does appear to have an opinion — often loud and expletive-filled — on everything. But as he talks to Rolling Stone right before the start of High Flying Birds’ North American tour kickoff, his tone is more Statler and Waldorf on The Muppet Show than fire and brimstone.
When Gallagher gets especially worked up, he will turn his head to the side and act out a one-man play, barking at the invisible target of his wrath like a Speakers’ Corner polemicist. But if that same person walked into the room, Gallagher would probably just laugh and shrug, ready to take aim at the next victim.
At 47, he hasn’t quite reached “cranky old man” status yet. But with his latest, critically acclaimed second album Chasing Yesterday becoming the U.K.’s fastest-selling LP of the year, Gallagher has slid admirably into both middle-age and post-Oasis success.
After more than 20 years, what thrills you now about being onstage?
The tour is the last payoff of the thing. If I didn’t write any songs, I wouldn’t have made a record. If I hadn’t made a record, I wouldn’t be going on tour. So it’s like one leads into another. It’s not like I’m touring for touring’s sake. This is a big American tour, particularly doing it all in one stretch. The last two tours I’ve done I’ve enjoyed immensely because I know a) I’m going to turn up for the fuckin’ gig; b) I’m going to finish the gig. It’s everything I thought it would be, and if this doesn’t sound too weird, if there’s a part of the tour that I feel slightly uncomfortable with, it’s the bit in the U.K. because it’s so big. They’re huge fuckin’ arenas with a huge stage.
But you’re used to that more than clubs.
But my point being that I’m very much aware I’m just a guy standing at a mic stand singing these songs. The further afield that I get, the smaller the gigs are, the more intimate they become. I feel more at home when the audience is right there and you can interact with some people who stand right there.
In 2011, you told Rolling Stone, “I don’t want to see anybody’s face…I’m used to people being a mile away. That suits me. It’s more nerve-racking playing in front of people who are two feet away from me.” What’s changed?
We’d been so huge in Oasis for years and then we did this fan club thing in Cologne, Germany, and the crowd was right there and it was the first time we’ve ever done it. There were these German kids and nobody said a word and it was really weird. [Oasis singer] Liam [Gallagher] was getting really stressed about the whole thing. I said, “Well, fuckin’ hell, that was awful.” But the more that I do it, the more I’m really at home with it now. I can engage with the audience and we have a good laugh. So I prefer this now. It’s a funny thing; I’ve grown.