LIAM GALLAGHER has hinted that low-key Oasis gigs could be on the cards for the UK later this year.
Speaking in Top Of The Pops magazine, he said he was yearning for a return to smaller, more intimate venues: “We’re gonna do some at Christmas, places like Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham – just for the crack. We can do what we want. We’re gonna do a lot of things we’ve never done before ‘cos we feel it’s the right time to do it with this band. I think we’re better in smaller venues.
“Our sound can make Wembley Stadium feel like a small gig without a doubt, but I’d still prefer to do small ones. I just wanna do everything now.”
He has also reinforced his belief that Oasis are first and foremost a live band, and ripped into former members – and possibly errant brother Noel at the same time, saying: “When you just wanna make music, put it in the shop then sit on your arse collecting the money, and not playing to people, then you shouldn’t be in this fucking band. This band has always toured and it always will do. They didn’t wanna tour so they had to go – goodbye.”
And, while nme.com understands are there are no definite dates as yet to return to the studio, he also claimed the band hoped to tie up their next album before the end of the year and release it in January.
“We’re gonna do a new album before Christmas and record it really quickly. We’ve got all the songs done and we’ve been rehearsing them, so we know what we’re doing. We’ll just get in there, bang it out in a month and it’ll be out in January.”
Speaking about his recent meeting with Yoko Ono in New York, he commented: “We had a great chat and she’s a great woman. People say she split up The Beatles, but that’s [expletive “bleeped” in print]. No woman can do that. How can you blame it on a woman? It’s four guys – they split themselves up. My wife couldn’t split Oasis up, Noel‘s wife couldn’t and [laughing] Andy Bell‘s boyfriend couldn’t!”
He also launched into a rant about the divinity of John Lennon, saying: “To me, John Lennon means more than Jesus and his music does more than any fucking god. I don’t believe in all that ‘God‘s creatures’ shit – how can you tell? Were you there? What was the last album God did?”
He also declared BBC sitcom ‘The Royle Family’ “the most rock ‘n’ roll programme ever,” reminiscing about his own youth spent glued to the telly: “That’s what I was like when I was a kid. If you’re not like that – sitting round the family table – you’re not a family. And that goes for all walks of life.”
Oasis play their first gig with Noel Gallagher back in the fold at Lansdowne Road in Dublin on Saturday (July 8), and nme.com will be there to bring bang-up-to-the-minute reports.