To make a mark in music takes more than talent. It takes image, swagger, style, and the ability to weigh up the risk with a kind of tragic nihilism. They say that musicians sit at the very peak of frustrated creatives. Still, those who remain at the top of that industry are those who like to revel in the almost Shakespearean contrast between happiness and discontent.
For Liam Gallagher, the former frontman of Britpop pioneers Oasis, his reluctance to enjoy the good times has been something of a signature move. The Mancunian and his brother Noel’s tumultuous relationship right up to the band’s cessation in 2009 was a defining characteristic of an act which brought indie fervor to a sound that encompassed everything from the songwriting majesty of The Beatles to the glam rock excesses of T-Rex, and so much more besides.
Oasis’s longevity and ability to engage an audience across seven albums was largely down to their ability to repaint the canvas at any moment, and while Liam Gallagher’s subsequent projects, Beady Eye (2009-2014 and his subsequent solo work have been relatively less fractious, the now-47-year-old frontman’s ability to grab headlines has never wavered.
With the release of his new record “MTV Unplugged Live at Hull City Hall,” which features stunning musical arrangements with a full orchestra and clear, beautiful production Gallagher is back full throttle with adoring fans singing along on most of the tunes.
These days engaged to Debbie Gwyther, who he plans on marrying next year, after high-profile marriages to singers Patsy Kensit and Nicole Appleton, Gallagher discusses rock ‘n’ roll excesses, growing older, and how the industry has evolved almost to a point where it is unrecognizable from the mid-nineties.
STRIPLV: You’ve curbed a bit of the rock n roll lifestyle, in which you were almost certainly the main one of your generation to push. But as the years have gone by, you’re now a little bit more sensible to your body. Am I right in thinking that? GALLAGHER: Well, don’t be fooled into thinking that I’ve quietened down totally because I may jump up and surprise you and be there when you’re least expecting me, you know what I mean. (Laughs) But no, seriously, no messing around, I am running in the mornings when I haven’t had a gig the night before, I am making sure that I look after myself to make sure I can be the best I can be for the fans who pay their hard-earned money to buy my songs and albums and who come to those gigs. You’ve got to give them the value for the money because I’ve had fans who’ve stuck with me right from the days of Oasis, and I love each and every one of them for it. So, the gigs are to repay them for that love that they show me all the time, and I’m giving that love right back to them through music. But, yeah, there’s always been a voice in my head telling me that I should not have that extra drink or whatever and that I should go to bed, and that’ll make sure I’m better in the morning. But it was normally drowned out by the other voice telling me that real rock ‘n’ roll stars don’t listen to the rules; they go with the flow, man. Nowadays, it’s the other way around, and that voice of reason and the sensible one in my head has overtaken the devil and that it doesn’t matter if I stay awake in the small hours to see what’s going on. I know that whatever was there the night before will be there in the morning, well, the important things, anyway. It’s an age and experience thing, man. STRIPLV: One thing which has never changed in your life is, as you say, the music. You’ve always been the one who rushes to get to the studio first and is the last one to leave. GALLAGHER: Yeah, that will never change with me because music is the one thing that will always stay as a constant in my life. It’s everything to me, and it’s why I am the man that I am. People know me for a lot of things, some good and some not so good, but the one thing that everyone who knows my name will identify me with is the music. I love making music, I love writing songs, I love singing and love being in the studio, and I love the process that goes with trying to make the perfect song. It’s really like my second home because it’s where I feel comfortable, and it’s like it’s my natural habitat. Making music is what I was born to do, and I feel thankful that I’ve got the ability to do it and to make a load of people happy. That’s the beauty of music – no matter how good you think a song is that you’ve put together, you can always go back and try to make a better one. So, I like to put the work in, work really hard, and make sure that you leave everything in that studio and give it all that you’ve got. STRIPLV: Does the passion ever subside? GALLAGHER: Maybe if I was doing the same thing every day, it might, but the thing about being a musician is you are in complete control of your creative destiny. I’m not driving a bus around the same fucking route in Manchester time after time – I’m thinking of new ways to do things and new ways to express even old thoughts and emotions. What amazes me most is people still want to listen to this shit, but I’m glad they do. I do feel privileged in terms of what my day job is, that is for certain. STRIPLV: Where would you be without that outlet? GALLAGHER: A bit worse off, I’d imagine. STRIPLV: You talk about the fans being with you for so long, but your music and particularly since you’ve re-branded as a solo artist, has attracted much younger fans, some of whom weren’t even alive when Oasis were in their prime. GALLAGHER: It’s very flattering when you get to my age that the music that you make is still attracting new fans of all different ages, and it has made me think about how that has happened. Is it the marketing and the way we put the music out through the new channels of streaming services? Have they spent ages on there and going through rabbit holes of watching music videos and listening to songs and then finding my stuff and going through the history and back catalog of Oasis and Beady Eye and now my solo stuff? I think that has definitely happened with some of the new, young fans who love their music. But what I also think is that if you look at the hardcore Oasis fans from the first time around, they’re of a similar age to me and now they’ve had kids and either they’ve had our music, and now my music played to them all the time, or they have heard they’re parents playing it and they like it. It’s nice to think that the music I’ve been involved with has not only stood the test of time but also the new stuff is loved by loyal fans and attracting the new generations all the time. That just gives you the get-up and go to make more music, because you’re doing it for a reason. I wouldn’t be here without all the fans, because if no one is buying the music or listening to it, I’d be skint, as I said. STRIPLV: Do you think that modern musicians have the same passion with their different mechanisms for getting music out there? GALLAGHER: Well, they certainly have the passion, yeah. The passion comes from the heart, and that’s what makes you pick up an instrument on day one and get singing. I have absolute respect for any musician trying to find their way and, perhaps, in the process, giving themselves a bit of creative therapy in the process, because quite a few of us are like that. What is different is the fact you can press a button now, and a track is out there, being consumed, shared, discussed, and all that bollocks. When we first started out, that whole process took weeks, and you had to work the promo round so fucking hard just to get the slightest bit of attention. When Oasis first started out, we would be gigging most nights. We had a label with a bit of clout, but it was all about us being ‘out there’ in interviews, trying to build an image over the course of weeks and months, and then having the fucking talent to back it up. You couldn’t just send a tweet and expect the world to start clocking on to whatever it was you were trying to flog. I think a lot of the satisfaction we gained as a band was a result of knowing we’d worked so fucking hard for it in the first place, and I’m glad we did.