Noel Gallagher says Oasis had ‘heavy’ Irish influence
By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter
Noel Gallagher has said Oasis had a “heavy” Irish influence and added that there was “a rebellious nature” to their debut album Definitely Maybe.
Brothers Noel and Liam confirmed the band would be reforming last week, almost 15 years after their split, which was prompted by a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in 2009.
Following the news, the band released a 30th anniversary edition of their 1994 album which features outtakes, demos and alternate versions of songs recorded at the time, as well as a remastered version of the original LP.
In a video released to Oasis’s YouTube page on Tuesday, Noel answered questions about the band’s hit album, which includes the songs Live Forever, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, Digsy’s Dinner and Supersonic.
Asked how the record would fare if it was released for the first time today, he said: “I think it’d probably do all right because we’re still talking about it now, 30 years later, so it’s got a timeless thing to it.
“I’m not sure we’d get past the censors these days, we did swear a lot.”
The 57-year-old also spoke about whether his Irish heritage has influenced his music.
He said: “I guess the Irish influence is heavy in what I do and what we did as a band, because we were all Irish descent.
“But I couldn’t pin it to one particular thing.
“Look there’s a rebellious nature to Definitely Maybe, and there’s a defiance to it, and there’s a defiance and a rebellious nature to the Irish.”
The new 30th anniversary deluxe versions of Definitely Maybe feature tracks from the abandoned original recording session at Monnow Valley Studio, along with outtakes from the definitive album recording session at Sawmills in Cornwall.
Oasis fans tried to secure reunion tickets on August 31 and some were left shocked by standard ticket prices more than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster.
In response, the UK prime minister said the Government will get a “grip” on the issue of dynamic pricing and the Culture Secretary has pledged to look into the use of surge pricing in a forthcoming review of the secondary gig sales market.
Noel quit the Manchester rock group on August 28th 2009, saying he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”, and the brothers have made negative comments about each other for more than a decade.