I
F OASIS WERE PUTTING
this record out, people would
be losing their shit,” says Liam
Gallagher of his second solo
project, Why Me? Why Not, out
Sept. 20 on Warner Music.
But it isn’t — and Gallagher is finally
coming to terms with the fact that the
band that made him a rock hero will likely
never release another album. Since Oasis’
brutal band-ending fight backstage at
the Paris Rock en Seine festival 10 years
ago, Gallagher and older brother Noel
— who co-founded the group together
— continue to trade inventive disses in
interviews and on social media.
Fortunately for Gallagher, he isn’t all
that concerned with critical reception.
“People that come to my gigs will like
it, and I’m sure there will be people
that hate it, which is equally important,”
says the 46-year-old of his new album,
co-written with Andrew Wyatt and Greg
Kurstin. “The minute you’re loved by
everyone, you’re doing the wrong thing
— I hope I’m sticking out like a sore
thumb in 2019.”
Did the success of your 2017 solo
debut, As You Were, create any added
pressure when making a follow-up?
I’m not being cocky, but I’ve never really
felt the pressure. I stick to my formula
and it works. If people think that’s playing
it safe, so be it. Neil Young has been
doing the same thing for fucking 40 years
and no one seems to give him shit. I’m
not comparing myself to Neil Young,
but [to] people who don’t change the
formula. I’ve got no urge to start bringing
in drum machines and scissor players and
trying new things to make some new kind
of shit. You ain’t going to beat rock’n’roll.
This album has a few upbeat songs,
including “Now That I’ve Found
You.” Is the Liam Gallagher of 2019
a happy man?
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. My kids
are all healthy. I have a relationship with my
daughter [Molly Moorish] for the first time.
[My partner] Debbie [Gwyther] is blowing
my mind, so all is good in the world. I’ve
got two lovely cats. My mam is still alive.
And I’m not surrounded by dickheads for
the first time in my life.
What has kept Oasis from getting
back together?
The people that Noel is surrounded by
want to keep us apart. I’ve got no more
olive branches to give. I’ve done my bit.
Everyone goes, “If you stop calling him a
potato then he might get the band back
together.” The geezer don’t want the
band back together because he likes to
be the main man. He’s better off in that
world. If the fucking music he’s writing
now was going to be any part of Oasis,
I’d fucking blow my brains out. We’re
probably better off apart.
If Oasis started in 2019, do you think
you would have broken through in the
same way that you did in the 1990s?
No, we’d all be in fucking jail. Everything
is so politically fucking correct these days,
you’ve got to fart in the right fucking way.
The world — to me, it’s very uptight. We
wouldn’t have even gotten a deal.
You’re opening outdoor arenas for
The Who this fall. Do you want to be
performing in your 70s?
When you come into this business, you’re
in it for the long haul. I love rock’n’roll, and
I want to do this for as long as I fucking
can. It’s the only thing I can do half decent.
Everything else I’m fucking shit at. So as
long as my voice holds up and people
want to see me, then I’ll do it forever.
LIAM
GALLAGHER
IS OVER IT
After a decade of feuding
with his brother, the
former Oasis frontman is
happier than ever — but
still throwing some shade
BY RICHARD SMIRKE
Q
&
ATOM^BEARD“I’m not
surrounded by
dickheads for
the first time
in my life.”
—GA LLAGHER
102 BILLBOARD • SEPTEMBER 21, 2019