90 GQ.COM.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
it’s like, they do the gig, they get it on and
then they go fucking home. Everyone just
seems to be very cautious of having a good
time. It’s like, I don’t know, it’s just all a bit
shit. English rock ’n’ roll at the moment is really
fucking beige. And I’m here to shake IT UP.
GQ: A lot of people would say the same
about what’s being produced in Australia.
LG: I don’t know much about Australian
music – I know there’s that band DMAs,
I went to see them a couple of weeks ago,
and I like what I see. Man, they got some
good tunes in there. But I think everyone
seems to be goin’ to bed after the gig, you
know what I mean? No one’s going out,
fucking getting in shit. Maybe it’s to do
with the drugs. Maybe the drugs are shit?
And the beer’s watered down, and all... And
it’s not just about the music for me – it’s
about the look as well. People need to look
cool, you know what I mean? Everyone just
looks like fucking tramps these days. Or,
they look like they’re off a fucking a kid’s TV
program. No one looks fucking cool anymore.
Don’t get me started. It’s far too early!
GQ: Good thing your fashion label, Pretty
Green is still around then. So what would
you realistically be doing if you hadn’t
found rock ‘n’ roll?
LG: Well, I’d either be in prison, or I’d be
dead. I’d be fucking off my tits on spice,
this new drug that’s killing everyone
in Manchester, this mad zombie weed.
I certainly wouldn’t be working in fucking
accounts or McDonald’s. So God knows.
So that’s why I treat rock ’n’ roll with the
utmost respect. It’s like, if you look after
rock ’n’ roll, rock ’n’ roll will look after you.
So I do believe there’s rock ’n’ roll angels
up there, and they’re looking down on me,
as stupid as it sounds, I do believe that.
GQ: You consider yourself spiritual?
LG: Without a doubt. I don’t pray at Buddha,
and I don’t fucking pray at the Lord and all
that. But I definitely just stand there. And
I sort of take it all in. And I just fucking put
it back out again. I believe in me, man, and
I believe in me family, and I believe in me
friends, and me missus, and I believe in real
people. You know what I mean? I don’t have
wind chimes on me fucking house and stuff.
And I don’t have a yoga mat.
GQ: A divorce, alimony, a band break–up –
this is tough for anyone let alone someone
in the public eye. How did you get through
it. No doubt you’re sick of lawyers?
LG: Oh, I’m fucking sick of them, mate.
That was just every day. It was morning,
noon and night. But you’ve just gotta fucking
stay strong and stay focused. I came into this
without money, I’ve come out of it without
money. I don’t do it for money, you knowwhat I mean? I’ve got a great life, I’ve got
more than enough, more than what I need.
So you’ve just gotta stay focused, and just
go, ‘Listen, you ain’t gonna take what is not
up for fucking grabs, and that is my spirit.
Listen, it’ll pass. Don’t go jumping off the
bridge, don’t go taking a bottle of pills, and
don’t fucking start to put a fucking rope
round your neck. It’ll pass. It’s just a little
part of your life that you fucking got yourself
in, and you’ve gotta navigate your way out of
it.’ There was no doubt that I would go back
to music. I knew, once I got my head straight,
and all that, I’d definitely go and try and
make some music.
GQ: Is it hard being a dad, when so much of
your life – all the beefs and crazed times –
is on public record?
LG: I guess, but I don’t really think about it.
The people in the press don’t really know
me. They’ve invented who they think they’ve
invented. And the stuff that they write
about me is, like, fucking ridiculous. I just
go, ‘You’re way off the mark’. And my kids
know me – they’re with me fucking, three,
four times a day. Or four times a week. They
know where I’m at. They know I’m still
connected, I’m not some fucking fruitcake.
I’ve still got my feet on the ground, you know
what I mean? It don’t matter what them dicks
write in the press, it’s not in my head.
GQ: So no concerns about your own mental
health, given all you’ve consumed?
LG: No, no, no, no. I was mad before I joined
the band. It’s just the fucking thing – you’ll
never get me in fucking rehab. I had my
drugs when I was 14. Chewing my face off
in Manchester, on magic mushrooms and
all that. It’s a piece of piss. People think that
you join a band, and you go, ‘Right, I’m in
a band. Let’s take drugs and drink alcohol.’
I was doing that when I was fucking 14. So
my mind is very definitely psychedelic. It all
comes to whatever’s going down. But I can
definitely toe the line. And I can do normal.
I get up and go for a run every day. I go and
do me own groceries, and then I come back
here and I sit and watch a bit of TV. But when
nine o’clock comes, and there’s a microphone,
it’s time to kick out the jams, as we say.
GQ: Are recreational drugs and booze still
part of your life?
LG: I booze it – don’t really do much of the
other stuff, no goodies anymore, not proper
stuff... I certainly can’t drink before I go
on stage or a night before. The voice don’t
handle that anymore. I’m 44 now, so it’s like,
get a good night’s kip, get out for a run in the
morning. Get to the gig. Do the gig. Give
the people what they want. And then, it’s my
time. I’ll never be fucking sober. Well, I’ll be
sober – I’ve been sober for six months oncethere before, and it’s fucked. Being sober
drove me to drink.
GQ: This is what made you want to skip out
on England – sobriety?
LG: Exactly, yeah. I’d been six months sober,
I was going, ‘Fuck this shit. This is boring.
Gimme a drink!’
GQ: How much do you enjoy winding up
your brother Noel – it feels like you have
some fun with it.
LG: Oh, it’s my favourite thing to do. But
there are some serious issues in there as
well. I think he stitched me up with Oasis.
We got to a point where he was like,
‘Look, we might not be selling as much as
what we were, I could do with going solo’.
A lot of people were pissing in his ear. And
he basically fucking set up a couple of booby
traps and I walked straight into ’em. Then he
went off and did his solo career. And I was
left with the fucking mess of ‘You split Oasis
up’ – one of the nation’s favourite bands.
I’m pissed off about that, and I always will
be. We didn’t just split up over a fucking
argument. There was some fucking dark
activity at play there... That shit still hurts
me. But he’s had four years of running amok.
And now I’m back. I wanna shine a light on
how fake he is. But all the fucking winding
up and stuff, is pure fucking... yeah, I love it.
GQ: Because you know the public get off on
it too, right?
LG: Yeah, I get off on it! And so be it, man. I
don’t wish him any fucking harm, I just wanna
let people know that he’s a fake and I’m not.
GQ: It appears that age has mellowed you
a bit – all said and done.
LG: Definitely, man. But not to the point
where fucking people pull the wool over me
eyes. I still got me eye on people, you know
what I mean? I’m watching what’s going
down. I’ve definitely chilled out, though.
Yeah, I have, but not too much.
GQ: It’s been a few years since you were
in Australia. How do you look back on the
times that you’ve been here?
LG: I like it, man. My mate lives out there.
He lives in a place called Wagga Wagga or
something like that?
GQ: Yeah, Wagga Wagga – so good they
named it twice.
LG: It’s like the New York of Australia
[laughs]. Every time I’ve been out there, it’s
been cool. And we’re coming out there, doing
the Falls Festival. So, we’re gonna be there
for New Year’s Eve. So I can’t wait, man –
I love it. It’s beautiful. I’m bringing me two
boys out as well, they’re at the age now where
they can come and travel. They’re mad for
this stoner cartoon, The Big Lez Show. It’s like
a fucking Australian Cheech and Chong. They
love a bit of that Australian vibe.