The always interesting and eminently quotable Noel Gallagher (who you can see above performing next single ‘Dream On’) has been getting a bit of stick today after a lengthy interview in the Mail On Sunday was published, in which he, surprise surprise, said some controversial things.
What the detractors fail to understand is that Noel Gallagher is everyone’s favourite rock star precisely because he says what he thinks. Whether we agree with what he says or not it doesn’t matter, in these desensitized, politically correct days of boring ‘rock stars’ afraid of causing a bit of controversy, Noel Gallagher is still a beacon of hope.
Below is a selection of some of the best quotes in his interview today:
Noel on Thatcher and youth unemployment:
‘We were brought up under Thatcher. There was a work ethic – if you were unemployed, the obsession was to find work. Now, these kids brought up under the Labour Party and whatever this Coalition thing is, it’s like, “Forget that, I’m not interested. I wanna be on TV.” It was a different mindset back then.’
‘Under Thatcher, who ruled us with an iron rod, great art was made. Amazing designers and musicians. Acid house was born. Very colourful and progressive. Now, no one’s got anything to say. Write a song? No thanks, I’ll say it on Twitter. It’s a sad state when more people retweet than buy records.’
‘Kids now watch America’s Hardest Prisons and want to be in a gang. They’ve no imagination. When I was 16 I’d watch The Godfather, but I didn’t think, “Right, I’m going to go down the barber’s and get some protection money off him. Our generation was more likely to go, “I wonder where the nearest acting school is? Who wrote that soundtrack? Who’s Francis Ford Coppola?” It’s the de-education of the masses.’
Noel on Adele:
“I feel sorry for girls in the music industry. They do have a very short shelf life. For instance, Duffy: who? Gone. She was massive. And I don’t doubt for a second that the same thing will happen to Adele.’
Noel on sending his kids to private schools:
‘I don’t want them coming home speaking like Ali G. Anyone in my position, you owe it to your children to send them to a school where they don’t have to walk through a metal detector in the morning.’
‘There were riot police outside our local school the other morning. Turns out there’d been a stabbing. Rival gangs. We shouldn’t need riot police at schools. This is Maida Vale. This isn’t Handsworth or Tottenham, do you know what I mean? I don’t want my kids going to a school like that. I’d rather they were at a school with Russian oligarchs’ children.’
Noel on last year’s riots:
‘Last August I was on tour in Europe and people were asking me about the riots. All over the world, Syria and Egypt, people were rioting for freedom. And these kids in England are rioting for tracksuits. It’s embarrassing.’
‘It would have been beautiful if, after the MPs’ expenses scandal and the bankers’ bonuses scandal, people took to the streets and smashed the living daylights out of the City of London. Instead, it started because a drug dealer was shot. He was carrying a gun, he was shot by a policeman, it’s all on Twitter and before you know it there’s a riot going on. It was a mass outbreak of robbery and I was embarrassed to be a Mancunian. I saw kids on the telly saying in their Ali G voices, “It’s payback for the po-lice.” What does that mean? “Cause they arrest yer for stupid things.” Like what – hopping on one leg? Doing a silly walk like John Cleese? Get home, you idiot.’
Noel on the Labour Party:
‘Up until the last election, I voted Labour all my life. But I’ve lost all faith in the Labour Party. After the expenses scandal and what happened with the banks – that “There’s no money left” note and all that – I just look at them and think the Labour Party should really be ashamed of themselves for the way they let the country down. I voted for a pirate at the last election.’
Whether you agree with him or not, you can’t argue that Noel is still a refreshing voice in music today. What do you think of Noel and his latest controversy? Let us know in the comments section below…
