Noel Gallagher

0:02Hello 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 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 maybe, I kind of quite like the frills at the end of the sleeves well you look fabulous but you came in and you said a bit rock and roll then, what happened last night? went out to my friends Alex and Monique and they had wine glasses that were like goldfish bowls. Oh. Yeah, and I thought... How many of them did you have?

0:44I didn't know whether to dive in or drink in. But I drank it. So I'm on food duties today. Yeah. What have you made, darling? Not only am I packing to go away for a month... I know. I... Can I help? What can you help with? I can help pack gold things. Can I look after my children and feed them whilst I'm gone? 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. I did. And I like the idea of Noel Gallagher being in New Cross in my house and potentially asking the next door neighbours to stop sanding.

1:23Stop 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. I wonder if he ever went to Cheetham. 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 felt really pleased to get that. 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.

2:00Daydreaming, 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.

2:32He's a fantastic lyricist. he's an unbelievable songwriter and I may have called in the help of the biggest Oasis fan that I know Felix White too, Jack Pignatta 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 save it darling I can't wait to, this could go brilliantly or badly because you're united and you used to spell City I'm not going to say anything about football. I'll believe that when I see it.

3:06I do want to know if he's ever met Harland. Harland is the most astonishing footballer I've ever come across, to be honest. Oh, yeah, he's met Harland in his underpants. Oh, wow, there you go. And on that note, Noel Gallagher.

3:26Noel Gallagher, thank you very much for being here. Thank you for having me. So you've come and we've got you a goat's milk, Yorkshire tea, gold. Don't judge me. I am a bit. Goat's milk. 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? Bing bug's full of it, yeah. Why do you like goat's milk, darling? It just happened to be in the fridge once. 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?

3:59and 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 Cheatham Hill, Jess. Of course he fucking does. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. She does that thing where she says, I'm from Manchester, and then she's from Salford, which is actually not in Manchester.

4:38It's next to Cheatham. So my bit is off Leicester. Do you know Leicester Road? I do, I know. 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 these neck of the woods? Love. 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.

5:17Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love going back to see my mum. Where's your mum living? She still lives in the St Cow's house. Does she? Yeah, yeah. She lives in a place called Burnage, which is right in the south side. Oh, it's posh of 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 Longsite. Yeah. Just where Longsite Market is. And then they knocked our houses down to build this new fangled thing called a super, it's called a hypermarket, and it was the new Asda's. And we got moved to this posh part of town which was called Burnage.

5:52Burnage. And I can assure you it's not posh anymore. And I went to a place called St. Mark's in Didsbury. Are you Catholic? Yeah, for my sins. Is that why you went to St. Mark's rather than Burnage? Well, 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, though. 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 bunked off school for three months and nobody noticed.

6:32And my school was that big that my mum was actually one of the head dinner ladies and she didn't even notice. And 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. seen and then um when she finally got the letter she then i said to her we haven't seen no for three months and she went i've seen him every day she said well he can't be 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 but were you off playing a guitar No, just doing naughty things.

7:17Getting drunk, just listening, actually listening to a lot of music. So, yeah. What was great on Glue to listen to? Anything.

7:30These are the hard-hitting questions. What music is great on Glue? Lasagna's coming up, isn't it? Well, I've got a Glue, 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 no no some of the punks did back to food and the dinner and actual food was the food good at St Mark's? 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 get in?

8:18Yeah, 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 everything with chips it wasn't as healthy as these things are now 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 It's 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?

8:56Yes, I have. I actually went to see the Pope there when he came. Did you go? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like a massive, great, big deal. Everyone went. Yeah, everyone in Manchester. But it's like the only celebrity that there's ever been. But is that where the Stone Rose did? They're big. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So, Heat and 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? You didn't do that. No, you wouldn't do Park Life. It's quite dancey, I don't think. No, but they have these festivals on there and I've played it as a solo artist and Oasis played a few nights there.

9:30You 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 it. Get Harland on base. Well, you would hope that they would, but I'm not willing to take that risk, and neither am I promoters. no I'm not I'm not my High Flying Bird thing 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 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 vibe 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 larger than life thing where 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 things like this but not in between songs I can't be bothered asking everybody how they're doing are you doing?

10:53some guy in the front going actually I'm not too well at the minute 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 Jessie'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 inside of the stage doing this 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 do 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.

11:31Jay Rafferty. And they were a folk duo. And Billy Connolly used to do the in-between song pattern and 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 on tour 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?

12:06Well, I come from a very Irish family. Is your mum Irish? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But does she speak with an Irish accent? Oh, good Lord, yes. Oh, so she's proper Irish? 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 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 since I was 31.

12:45Did you like... That's a true story. No. I was on my 30th birthday. Someone said, you should try something you've never tried before on my 30th birthday. And I was like, so I've never had a boiled egg. And I had boiled egg and soldiers. and I eat eggs. Do you love them? Yeah, I love them. Particularly at 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 fries. You already have eggs then? I have, yeah. But for God's sake, well, okay, you can have another one.

13:15Jesse, you probably didn't fancy what you were cooking and he thought you'd better eat first. I told you. I gave you three options. Maybe you didn't get me. So it didn't come to me, I'm afraid, no. 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. There's only one option. I went ahead and decided. Yeah, that was... Why did you give three options and then made the decision? Because it's Noel Gallagher and I was like... Okay. I felt like he'd have an opinion on these kind of things.

13:44She'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 side. 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, 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.

14:19You 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 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 or were you like no no because we got big quite quickly it kind of blew up quite quickly we were 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 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 oh 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 at home do you like the the amateur or do you like the professionals do you watch both why 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 i'm not it's not something i actually i i i heard you talking on zoe ball about your driving lessons, which was just so hysterical.

15:45Well, 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 fucking 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 the 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 slow 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 must have been 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 looking at cars and I think they're amazing.

16:42It's the same with food. I enjoy watching amateurs make it and it's the kind of thing when you see these people and they're like, they're fucking really cooked, 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, anything you can put in an aga. A roast chicken? I can do that, yeah, easy. Are agas a pain in the arse or 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.

17:14I like it warm. Everyone that comes to my house is like hot. What colour is your raga? Black. Black. And it is always on, yeah, and it does make the kitchen quite hot, but I like that. But I can... I wouldn't cook for anybody else for fear that I'd poison them, like food poisoning. So I'm good at cooking for me, but anyone else, I'm like, well, they're going to have to get delivered. I can do pasta. Yeah, I can do pasta. So if we were coming round, you'd just be guys for our order? Well, 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.

17:48Is 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 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 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 and coming and he said okay this is the shit that i need to know fish and chips zabaletta did you say something about respecting zabaletta for having a fish and chips every friday yeah yes yeah yeah well so there's this there's this football player he's from uh 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?

19:09Spurge that dude for that. Have you ever been to Argentina? I went recently to Primavera. 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 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 pretty amazing for me, Mexico City. Yeah, for me, I've been going to 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 and the food yeah vegetarians don't get on too well over there unfortunately no But they cook their steak a bit too much.

20:03No, 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 that. 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? If I'm up in Manchester and I have a chippy, fish chips and curry. They don't do curry sauce down here with the chips, do they? No, they don't. No, when you say... Well, all people down here think we just drink pints of gravy.

20:37Have you had to educate your children? Because they're all Londoners, aren't they? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. 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 man no they just love all the characters and you know there's nowhere like Manchester is there well it's difficult 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 no no no no Jesse well London London belongs to England doesn't really belong to London.

21:29I don't think I've ever met anyone from London in London. Are you actually from London? Yes, absolutely. My kids are born and bred in London, but I think Manchester is... I mean, I love it. There's a lot of funny characters up there and still to this day, the people... But the club scene was fun. When I grew up, Twisted Wheel I used to go to, which was an amazing place to go to. We used to go to time and place. 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 because he lived in that big glass house. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

22:03And people used to go, and he was like one of the Beatles, right? Yeah. 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, you used to stand there to watch. So this is like being in the hills? Well, it was like this futuristic glass. 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. Yeah, we used to go to his house and just stand there. Just to see if you could see. Not as kids.

22:38My parents used to take us there. And it would be like families would just be stunned looking up the gate to get a glimpse of George Best. And I'm not a United fan. He was so handsome as well. He was gorgeous. And he 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 really not fancy 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, I'll have that then. Yeah. I'll be so sad if you don't.

23:13I'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 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 oh it's got Dwayne on there and I think he played number 20 for the football team oh my gosh 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 it's all 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'd probably joined the army and he was stationed in Tokyo and he'd kind of pawned it for a prostitute or something but one afternoon I was sat in an airport lounge in America somewhere.

24:22I 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, rushed and high. And he went, I went to Ruston High. And I was like, fuck. And I went, fuck, shit. And he was going, where did you go to Ruston? And 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. Honestly, I was like, fuck shit, man. And he was like, where did you go?

25:00Here, go bearcats, man. You don't look old enough. And I was like, do you know fucking Billy Bob shit, man? Oh, my God, Christy. 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 does your album actually come out? June the 2nd. June, oh, so... You're a professional at this, isn't you?

25:33No. Seamlessly sliding into plugging my record there. We listen to the album. 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 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 it's like the pace of this life and the fucking avocados on toast at two in the afternoon

26:16So we ask everyone, if you were going onto a desert, not something sinister, if you're 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. A starter? I 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, yeah. Oh, me too, I love it. But not just like, not Italian calamari, when they kind of do it. Salt and pepper. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that, yeah. Do you like a dip with that?

26:56Do you like a garlicky mayonnaise, or do you just like it with just... The chilli dip would be the best one. And for a main course, what would I have?

27:11I don't know. I don't I'm 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 okay 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't it? There's another little, there's like a little Greek Turkish restaurant up a little side street I've been to.

27:50Someone told me that a really good Greek restaurant in Mayvale. Yeah, it's up a little side street. Oh, okay. On the other side of Warwick Avenue. Oh, okay. 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, eldest lad is 16 this year.

28:26And then my youngest little boy, the legend, is 13 this year. 13. Oh, no, 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, 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 be some salt, and I will not be offended, all right?

29:07Have you got salt, darling? Yeah, I've got it here. I am so what would I have probably probably steak and chips I knew you were going to say that I didn't know I was going to say that I knew it, I felt it right, yeah steak and chips and then for dessert apple crumble who makes the best apple crumble? actually the one at the school dinner's apple crumble the piddings were always good 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 having beer you having wine you big into do you drink I'm big into alcohol yeah but I'm Irish so I'm it's kind of a prerequisite for living if I'm going out I will always drink beer exclusively what sort of beer Peroni well whatever they've got Slager So, if I'm staying in, like this weekend, for instance, is one of my favourite weekends of the year.

30:16Why? Because it's the Eurovision Song Contest. I didn't know that you were a big Eurovision fan. God, I fucking love just getting pissed and watching the utter insanity of Eurovision. It's insane. I love it. 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, 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.

30:54And 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 one. 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 round there and Miss World. Right, yeah, remember when Miss World was a thing that was on telly on Saturday night and Dad would watch it. She'd have half seen better than her down the pub. You know.

31:28And 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... But please tell me somebody else is going to be drinking with you. Maybe you should get the kids round and start doing a tally thing. I don't know if I'm going 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, I remember them.

32:06They'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 on a Saturday night. 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. we'll have lasagna. Yeah. Who was cooking lasagna? So that song came about. At the time we were hanging out with, in Liverpool, we were hanging out with this band called The Real People.

32:41We had this crazy cousin and his name was Diggsie. We were just jamming in their rehearsal room one night. 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 I can't remember the tune but the lyrics went what did you have for your tea tonight I had lasagna I had lasagna it sounds really really ridiculous and then it 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'm like I'm like I'm fucking singing that fucking lasagna he fucking sung it I fucking write it you know yeah it was just it was just born out of this crazy guy digsies bizarre mind um strawberry lemonade well yeah it was it was a thing from that drink snapple wasn't it oh snapple wow you've really did you realize i love the peach iced tea i don't it was really big in the 90s wasn't it yeah well i i was with this girl at the time who only drank this strawberry lemonade thing and that that old song talk tonight is quite an autobiographical tale of a weekend I spent with this girl in San Francisco and all she drunk was strawberry lemonade.

34:04Did that put you off her or was it kind of like you were like, sure, she tastes sweet?

34:11Well, no, it didn't put me off her. No, no, I mean, I got a song out of it, so, you know, I can imagine. I got a great song out of it and I'll be playing that song on tour this year. Oh, well, there's one we have because it's like, it was a B-side, wasn't it? Yeah, all my best songs I gave away was B-side, like a fool. yeah I don't it's catalog 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 1990s 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 signs that and turn it into a proper album Julian, why can't you do it?

34:55No, we did, we put a B-side album out but what I'm saying is at the time it would have made a colossal third album but of course when you're young and 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 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 over the top. I say we gave them away because they have, you know, I still play them, so they didn't go to waste.

35:29But 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? Well, 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 your gigs 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 married and it's fucked off thank God and

36:09but the ones that you enjoy that are the new ones because 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, 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 all right. 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, is guys who are amateur guitar players can sit and play it and sing it. Is it hard, though, to have made that?

36:50Do you have to kind of put it, like, lock it away, knowing that you've got that song that will live on forever? You've got to let it go. You've got to let it go, but, like, when you're writing and then you're not trying to better that. No, you have to let it go 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 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 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.

37:48It 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 with you next time. There's still time. Okay. There's still time. You know, the internet is full of many magical things. Where are we going after winning a short part? And, yeah, I don't know who Sally is and 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 people spontaneously start to sing even when the 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 peak moment I don't necessarily think that No, no, no.

38:45And I'm not saying that. Yeah, no, 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 orchestra 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.

39:19It's a constant transient thing, and you're picking up influences and then you're just dropping little bombs along the road of life, and then that's it. But 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. I wouldn't, any people that write songs for streams or clicks or to sell records, they're not in it for the right reasons. You know, you've got to, 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, that'll do.

39:58It meant a lot. You know, it meant a lot to someone. It doesn't have to mean everything to everybody. You know, it's just, but then, but, 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 collect anything. You don't play golf. I can't swim. I don't collect anything. I'm not an avid art collector. I'm not passionate about, you know. You've got your kids. No, no, but that goes without saying. Yeah. You know, there's like, think, rock stars usually get other interests and that's why they take their photographs you're not going to have a vineyard at all no I'm obsessed with writing music 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 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 do not I mean 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 thing 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 I don't have a look at another one where did you learn guitar?

41:32well completely self taught yeah yeah yeah I've never had a musical lesson yeah can you read music now? no I don't know anyone that can I don't know anyone that can can you? no 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 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 wish 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.

42:05Yeah. 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, he was like me. How I got it, because I just was like, right, how I got into it was this. My dad was a country and western DJ in the Irish social clubs around Manchester. and I don't know whether he won this guitar 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 for you know not going to school and all that kind of thing and I would I took this guitar upstairs into my bedroom and I I started to play Joy Division bass lines that's how I and then some local some local kids older hippie brother kind of came around it's oh my brother can tune that and tuned it up.

42:55And I was just into it. You've still got that guitar? No, no, I've still got a couple of early ones. So when, you know, going, oh, you should teach the kids. And I was like, well, I was never taught. But 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, apart from when we've done our sold-out show in Bridgewater Hall.

43:31But yeah, do you still appreciate the romance of having 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 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?

44:14No, 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 five. 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 three 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.

44:47I'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 free. 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, 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 Hasley...

45:19Do you want some cream, darling? It's not cream, it's Greek yoghurt. And what's the other one? Creme fraiche that may be off. Hold on. No, it looks all right. Do you want a bit of creme fraiche or is it all right? I've got to go sing now for two hours. Yeah, I think we rehearsed 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 a beautiful moment that you were rehearsing and Don't Look Back and 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.

45:52Yeah. 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... 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.

46:23So 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 I've written so many songs, it's like, I'll get to what you want to hear in a bit. But let me do. 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 you play those songs? So 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 don't need to hear that again.

46:57Do 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 every few months is I'll just give them all to charity every maybe six months so some of that umbro capper some of that is in a local charity shop in Buckinghamshire the doc the doctor the doctor bananas the doctor Barnardo's in Marleybone unwittingly had quite a lot of Oasis clothes and just, yeah, I didn't have to make a big deal of it.

47:40It's just like, go and plonk these on the door. All of it. Yeah. There wouldn't be, there wouldn't be a day goes by when I see a photograph and go, oh, why did I give that away? Really? Why did I give that away? There's some fucking idiot. But, you know, or some really happy person. 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, wardrobe will be bursting. You'll be like, right, it's got to go. and is there anything you have kept for sentimental reasons no I'm not sentimental no I don't 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 lockup 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 this is fucking what this is kind of a stage set from such and such but I don't 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.

48:33Maybe it's that ring. I don't know. Yeah, I'd be on 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. What have you got written on there? Nothing. Nothing, no. Just heavy and gold. 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's all about the music 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 tour 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.

49:28It 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, yeah. I went to the 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 some of those clothes could have been at V &A no you don't give a shit he wants to look at a lot 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 fucking mega I really loved the Adidas trainer section that was amazing Are you pals with your brother?

50:31Our kid No Still Mum really did the reason I thought he definitely makes overtures towards you constantly Then he should stop slagging me off on the internet Do you follow him on Twitter? 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 okay fine all right but you talk when you refer to our kid it sounds quite 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 yeah 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 and this 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 with 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 whereas marriage really isn't it yeah you would 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 20s and 30s 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 and i'm like yeah fuck it do you do you find the idea of maybe because are a bit older but how old are your youngest 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 one 2019 and i've been away more or less i've been on the road since 2015 and when i know what not all the time yeah back but when i remember i remember going away and i had two baby sons and when i got back in 2019 19, the eldest opened the door and he had a tash and he called me bruv.

52:45Oh, 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 back. I was like, who's this guy with the tash? 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 got a bit tricky. Where did you spend lockdown? well we just we just don't know whether I thought at the time it's luckily it's maybe not the greatest life decision we'd made just before the pandemic we decided we were going to move out of London and we and we were in Hampshire and of course it was it was a twofold 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 the good 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 and you're locked in yeah so it was a tricky time for everybody but I yeah I was it was out there it was it was just all I don't that I mean the only good thing that came out was which I wrote a lot of music but how good were you at home schooling dreadful did you dead for my I remember my lad was like, Dad, where's the Philippines?

54:09He shouted as he's in his underpants, right, at the one end of the table. And I was like, Google it. Google it. Right, Google it. And when we looked at his Google search, he Googled in, where the fuck are the Philippines?

54:25He was by 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, I'm fine Would you like one for later for that afternoon kind of pick me up? No, no, no, I'm fine I'll have an apple in the afternoon You're a bit healthy Yeah, yeah, yeah Oh yeah, I don't Like I said, I don't eat a great deal I kind of have a big breakfast and whatever I want During the day, I usually skip lunch and crack on doing whatever I'm doing but a pink lady apple is my thing I love Do you know they're really good for you?

55:00They're low, your blood pressure Do they really? Which is why I'm so chilled, as you can see. This is why he's so relaxed. He's so laid back, yeah. Can I ask you one taste that can transport you back to somewhere, good or bad?

55:19So in Ireland, they have a thing called soda bread. Yes. So if I was to have soda bread with loads, loads of butter on, 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. I've been a pleasure, thank you very much. 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 summer, playing at Crystal Palace.

55:56Oh, nice. Oh, around the corner. Yeah, and then I'm doing the arenas in the winter where 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 don't. Okay. You won't be living on your own anymore, Lannan. We'll get you backstage. Oh, God. Okay, get out of my fucking house.

56:41Oh, Noel Gallagher, rock and roll star. He was so rock and roll, Jess. I think I felt like you gave him a good whim of 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 an artist that is the romance... Authentic. Yeah. He's proper. Absolutely loved having Noel on. Thank you so much. What brilliant anecdotes. Just fab. Loved him. Oh, my son's come through the door. You just missed a rock and roll star, son.

57:23I'm just going to scatter the guitars and the pianos around. So I get a don't look back and then go 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 Withenshaw Park one. Oh, 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.