Q&A with Liam Gallagher

"It was the unknown that was beautiful."

It was September 12, 2019, and I was expecting a call from my boyhood idol, Mr. Liam Gallagher, and anxiously mulling the odds of having a sufficiently interesting conversation to sustain a magazine feature.

As soon as we’d finished, I thought the interview a failure. So committed is Gallagher to the role of nonchalant rock icon, and so helpless was I to establish rapport as an impertinent, disembodied voice on the other end of a phone line, that, after our 30 minutes were done, I commiserated with myself.

But a few days later, I got word: Liam had gone berserk after our interview, and had cancelled all subsequent Australian media as a result. This greatly surprised me, as our kid had been politely receptive throughout the interview – in fact, I’d wondered if I were too deferential.

While it was thrilling to think of Liam Gallagher trashing his label’s conference room because of me, I’d not sought to cynically provoke the chap – I’d only wanted a soulful conversation.

I returned to the transcript. It was better than I thought. “Like Oprah,” Liam’s people said, even if they were pissed that I’d triggered his meltdown (and then were doubly pissed when I – gasp – interviewed his brother Noel for the feature as well).

In time, I came to think there probably weren’t that many interviews with him like it, and I’ve long wanted to share the transcript. So here it is in full. It’s only been very lightly edited for clarity, and some (but only some) of Liam’s verbal tics have been abbreviated. The resulting piece, for The Monthly, can be found here.   

What a strange thrill this is. How are you?

I’m very well mate, actually. I’ve not been drinking alcohol this week, so I’ve been behaving myself and feeling pretty good. 

I’m glad to hear that. Is there a reason you’ve abstained this week?

No, not a reason. Just like had a week off from touring, so I thought— I got a gig this weekend at this Peaky Blinders festival so I thought I’d have a bit of a break. But I’ll be getting smashed on Saturday for sure. 

Liam, I promised a friend I’d ask if you ever vandalised Eric Cantona’s car back when he was at Old Trafford [when a teenage Liam Gallagher was then working as a valet at the grounds of his footballing rivals, Manchester United]. I think [ex-Oasis drummer] Tony Carroll made the claim in...

No, it wasn’t Eric Cantona, I love Eric Cantona. Fuck that, man. He’s one of my heroes, even though he did play for Man United. There were a few cars we gobbed on and stuff, you know what I mean? A few of them. But I don’t know which players they were. I would never vandal Eric Cantona, man. He’s a dude. Plus, he’d kick the fuck out of me too.

You’ve got a bit of Cantona to you, I think.

Without a doubt, mate. Without a doubt. I love that man. 

I’ve listened to your record, and have been watching the associated documentary, and I wondered: when Oasis split, how much – and not publicly, but in your heart – how much of your identity was married to Oasis?

Without a doubt, man. All I ever wanted was to be in that band and do my bit for that band. So, when it split up – I actually didn’t see it coming. I thought me and our kid [brother Noel] would just roll on having little arguments like an old married couple. But the way it split up, I thought: “Ah, okay, he’s actually fucking jumped ship”. And for what reason? And the reason being for just fucking selfish reasons. I wasn’t having that, man. I put my fucking heart and soul in that band, and for someone just to fucking toss it away like that without a decent enough fucking reason doesn’t sit right with me. So, there you go. 

Were you surprised by how much the split hurt? When I speak with ex-footballers, they’re sometimes shocked and surprised at losing their identity when they retire. Did you have that sense?

I totally, totally, totally agree with them, man. That’s all I’d ever done, d’you know what I mean? I’m not saying I was Michael Jackson, started when I was four and that. But I was pretty much left me Mum’s house 17, 18 and I was in that band. All my later years were just in Oasis, in the band and that. For a couple years I thought: “What’s the point?” do you know what I mean? If I don’t have that band with me and singing them songs, life looks pretty fucking bleak, even though I would never do anything stupid, ‘cause at the end of the day, life is still life. But I was fucking devastated, man. And I only really acknowledged it when Beady Eye split up, because we were still going around touring, doing gigs and stuff and being in studios and making music and it was with the guys that were in the later years of Oasis. So, it didn’t hit me until that kind of folded. And then that happened, and then all me fucking personal stuff going on [a divorce, amongst other things]. All at the same fucking time. But never mind, you gotta take the rough with the smooth, man. 

What was that like for you? There’s been sadness in the last ten years, and there’s been failures, haven’t there? 

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. [Post-Oasis band] Beady Eye didn’t go as well as I thought it would’ve gone, do you know what I mean? But it was still alright, we were still better than any other fucking band in England at that time, and I think we wrote some decent songs. But I think people switched off maybe from me. And that would’ve come from the shit Noel put out, and I think people were going “No, no, he’s a cunt and he can go on the bench for a bit” which comes from Noel, because basically I got blamed for the fucking band splittin’ up. But the tables have turned, so now people are sort of seeing a little bit of what Noel’s really like, and little bit more of what I’m really like. 

Listen, I’m always gonna be Liam Gallagher. I’m always gonna have me swagger and always gonna have a few quid in me back pocket. But, you know, I need the band as well. I was just sitting around drinking all day in pubs and fucking hanging about with dibs. I didn’t have no structure, and that’s no good for anyone.

When you say that people are seeing what Noel’s really like, what do you mean? What is he really like?  

Well, I think they’re seeing what he’s really like, you know what I mean? I got blamed for the split, and I was the hardest person to work with in the fucking world, and blah, blah, blah, and my work ethic was a load of bollocks, and I used to cancel gigs. Yeah, I cancelled a few gigs, but fucking hell, we’re in a rock ‘n’ roll band, we’re not in a pop band – d’you know what I mean? There were some heavy nights of drinking, you party a bit too much and some days you can’t go up and some days you fucking not looking after yourself as well. This is what happens, this is what we signed up for. 

But I think people are starting to see, like – I did 140 gigs last year, or last time I went out on an album. I can tour. And that’s me singing all the fucking songs as well, so my work ethic has never been better. And I just think people are seeing what Noel’s like. He’s not happy, he’s a miserable cunt. He’s always slagging the fans off. People are really seeing what he’s really like, man. 

Can I go back to that hard stuff, Liam. Oasis break up, Beady Eye break up, your marriage breaks up, your relationship with your brother disintegrates. What did you learn about yourself? Were there lessons in humility? 

Without a doubt, I’m totally humble man. I always thought I was humble. I always loved being in a band, and aways treated the fans with respect. I very rarely turn down a picture opportunity. I’m always pretty humble. I don’t know – I guess I thought that if I ever have another crack at it, I gonna be a bit more fucking mindful of my surroundings, you know what I mean?

What do you mean by “surroundings”?

Just my surroundings, man. Try and enjoy the moment and live in the fucking now and don’t be surrounded by dickheads. At this time in my life, I’ve not got one dickhead near me. It’s a no dickhead party, do you know what I mean? I’m surrounded by a load of great people. I’m surrounded by my kids, my family and my missus and all her friends, and there isn’t one bad egg.

And there were in the past?    

Well yeah, man. There were a few dickheads in there, totally. A lot of them come from Noel’s side that were hanging out and selling stories to the press. The wonderful newspaper called The Sun. They were in our dressing room. People selling stories about me, selling stories about the band. I was surrounded by proper cunts. But there’s none of that no more. 

There’s an associated question. That fame – what does it do to your head? There must be people that become interested in you, and enter your circle, but they’re parasitic. They’re interested in their association, rather than being your friend. The lyrics to “Gas Panic” seem filled with this kind of paranoia.  

Listen: I say I’m a good judge of character, [though] I’ve made a few mistakes. But I can sniff ‘em out, man. As soon as you’ve got five minutes with them, you know what I mean? I bring ‘em in and go: “Come on then, let’s have a go”. [After a] five-minute conversation, I can tell if they’re a bit strange or not. Years ago, I might’ve hung around and all that tackle, but now I sort of go: “Ok, I bid you a good day, and I’m out of here. Goodbye”. Better the devil you know sometimes, innit? 

What else did celebrity do? You guys always gave the impression that you weren’t just comfortable with fame, you gave the impression that it was your destiny. But privately, did it become claustrophobic, or weird? What did it feel like? It seems like that kind of fame can drive people insane. 

I don’t take it that serious, man. It is what it is. I’m famous for being in a band, and I’m comfortable with that because I do class myself as a talented singer or rock star. I’m good at being a rock ‘n’ roll star. But all this other fucking nonsense, the hanging out with idiots at parties, I don’t go for. I stay in, I’d rather stay away from it. You can be famous and cool. There’s a lot of celebrities in this country who are fucking idiots and are famous for nothing. They’re famous for being orange, or getting their tits out and shit like that, you know what I mean? I can’t handle that. [The Verve’s] Richard Ashcroft’s famous, [but] he doesn’t go tarting himself about. But he’s one of the most iconic front-men of this country. You can still be famous and have a decent life, you don’t have to get caught up in the bullshit. 

So, you think you escaped it? You had the – what? – the confidence and stability to negotiate it?

Without a doubt. I’m good at being famous and I’m good at being me. The thing is, if you wake up in the morning and you’re not yourself, you’re gonna get caught out, aren’t you? If you try to be something you’re not, you’re gonna come undone somewhere along the line. And if you just wake up in the morning and be yourself, and if that’s what you become famous for, then it’s a fucking doddle, isn’t it? It’s a walk in the park, because all you got to do is be you, and being you is fucking easy, innit? But if you start to pretend you’re something you’re not, then your life’s gonna spin out of control. 

Can I ask you about Molly [Liam’s once-estranged daughter whom he met for the first time in 2018, when she was 21]? You wrote a song about her on your new album. What was that meeting like? 

Emotional, very emotional. But very beautiful. We speak every day. We hang out as much as we can. She’s a wonderful, wonderful human being and I’m very lucky to have her in my life. 

Do you remember that first meeting? You must have been nervous.

Oh, I was nervous, man. Deep down I was expecting a bit of a bollocking, or her being a bit moody and that. Me and [Liam’s partner, now wife] Debbie met her ‘round our way, and she was amazing. We went out to the pub, and we got drunk and we had the craic and we had a laugh and we haven’t stopped laughing ever since. So, it’s been amazing. She’s gone easy on me. 

When you say you expected a bollocking, did you deserve one? 

I probably did, yeah of course, man. I should’ve stepped up to the plate a long time ago. But I didn’t, and there you go. You’ve got to get on with it. You need to draw a line under it and move on with it, I guess. 

There’s a quote from Noel that I think about from time to time. He was asked about fear, I think the context was performing to massive crowds. I’m paraphrasing, but he said: “Once you’ve been beaten by your father to the ground, and you know you’re not going to die, you’ll never be afraid of anything.”

Yeah, I get that. I’m with that. I hear him, man. Totally correct. For me, concerts, gigs, all this stuff. I love it. I fucking love it. Going in the studio, I don’t find it hard. I’m not a tortured artist, there’s enough of them cunts in the world. I thoroughly enjoy being in the studio and watching the songs grow, and putting my bit in. My ego isn’t that big that if I throw an idea around and it doesn’t stick, I can take it, you know what I mean? I enjoy the hustle and bustle of a studio, and I enjoy going on stage before loads of people. I enjoy going on stage when there’s not so many people. Being in a band is fucking glorious. 

Your experience of your father was different to Noel’s, wasn’t it? 

I seen him beat my Mum, I seen him beat Noel, I seen him beat [his other brother] Paul, he never put his hands on me. I mean he might’ve given me a little clip ‘round the ear, but he never went proper full-on on me. But watching it is just equally as bad. 

That quote seems so central to who Noel is, or that’s what he’s said. That the experience could have either broken him or strengthened him. Do you accept that the violence shaped your brother? 

I don’t know, you’d have to speak with him, man. But I agree with what he’s saying. When the person that made you is fucking volleying you up and down the fucking living room, and you come out of it alive, then why should you fucking fear going on stage and being adored? I get what he’s saying, totally. But these are questions for him. 

In your press, you’ve said that you’re not a songwriter. But you do write songs, and “Songbird” is beautiful. What did you mean by that?  

I’m more comfortable singing songs than writing. I don’t really write, you know what I mean? Every now and then I’ll pick a guitar up and have a little play with it and something comes. But I don't have the big push to go write a load of fucking songs. I’d much prefer to work with people. I’m better at that. If I never wrote a song ever again, I wouldn’t jump off a fucking bridge, d’you know what I mean? Whereas if I could never sing a song again, I’d be close to jumping off a bridge. I’m a singer who writes the odd song, every now and again. But I’d prefer to be in the studio [and] do it collectively. It seems better for me, and it’s a much quicker process. If I was to write an album, we wouldn’t be speaking now. I’d be still sitting in the corner with me tongue out dribbling over my guitar and [his new album then] Why Me? Why Not? Wouldn’t be out for another couple years. 

I guess you’ve partially answered this, but in the darker days, did you ever think about quitting music?

No, never. It’s like quitting breathing, innit? Once it’s in ya, man, it’s in ya. Whether you’re good at it, or great at it or not so good at it. Music is big, man. I never felt like quitting. I felt like having a breather from all the stuff that goes with it, i.e. all the fucking fame, and all that stuff. Definitely needed a bit of a break to clear some spilt milk. It was a good little break. And I think people needed a break from me. But now I’m back, and I’m quite happy making music. 

Liam, what’s going on with your country? In your heyday with Oasis, it was “Cool Britannia” of which you were such a part. And there seemed to be such colour and verve and confidence, and now we fast forward and it seems to be a country in decline. 

I’ll tell you what it is: all the middle-classes, upper-classes, have got in control of pretty much everything and they’re greedy bastards and with greed comes confusion, you know what I mean? Whereas if it was left to the working class and people a bit more like us, or whatever, you know what I mean, the world would be a better place. There’s just a lot of greedy bastards at the moment, and they’re all just stabbing each other in the back and none of them can come to a sensible decision. But England is fucking fucked. Johnny Rotten was right, it’s dreaming.

You’re a father – I just became a father...

Congratulations. 

Thank you, sir. You think about things differently as a parent. You think about the future differently. What do you fear now that you didn’t fear before you became a father?

[My kids are] the last thing I think about and the first. I hope they’re alright, I hope they haven’t had a scrap in a pub, or something’s gone down or someone’s been knifed, because there’s a lot of knife crime in London, as you know. You just hope everyone stays fucking healthy and we all live a nice life. All them worries come in. I don’t try and think too much about the future, because you can worry yourself to death with it, can’t you? You’ve got to check in and take one day at a time. 

Do you think about the past? Do you get nostalgic? 

Yeah, man. I fucking love the past, the past was fucking great. But I don’t sit there and, you know... I wear the same clothes as what I used to wear in the past, so maybe I am still in the past. As you get older, you think about the days when we weren’t famous or in a band and you were messing about with your mates in the park playing football. They’re nice thoughts to have. [But] I kinda think about the now. Not the future. I live in the now, man.  

There seems to be a distinctive quality to the great albums — they’re written by very young people. Pet Sounds, Revolver, Astral Weeks, Definitely Maybe. 23 on average. Iggy Pop’s just put out an album, I know you love The Stooges, but do you ever wonder about your capacity when it seems like a young person’s game? 

You’re still hungry now, you still want to fucking make great music, and it’s still as important. It’s like an actor, innit, you know what I mean? A lot of people turn around and go “Oh, they only get good roles when they’re young.” You look at some great actors, and there’s some fucking great actors that are older. And there’s some great parts for older actors. When you’re young, you’ve got no fear. You probably living at your Mum’s, or renting some shitty house, and you’ve got no kids maybe, and you haven’t got a fucking clue. You only know what’s in front of your nose, but you’re thinking big, you know what I mean? So, yeah. You can do some great work. But you can equally do good work when you’re older, too. Look, there’s a lot of shit albums put out by a lot of young people as well. 

You’ve touched upon something there – in the early days of your fame, you seemed fearless. Were you?

Totally. I’d put anything up my nose, I’d put anything in my fucking mouth, I’d drink anything, I’d fucking smoke anything. I just loved it. I fucking loved it. Because you didn’t have kids to wake up or get to school, the only person you had to fucking worry about was yourself. Half of that time you were off your box, so you didn’t really have many feelings going on anyway. But, yeah: they were good times. We were fearless, man. It was the unknown that was beautiful. 

As you get older, the odds are stacked against you. You’re getting closer to whatever the fuck happens after you die, or whatever – that could be glorious too, who knows. Your body tells you. You’ve got to listen to your body – your body sort of dictates, doesn’t it? When you’re young, you can bounce back from these hangovers, if you ever got ‘em. I didn't really get them, but these days... I can drink as much as what I did when I was young, but I can’t recover as quick, you know what I mean? 

What would you like to instil in your children – what qualities? 

Great sense of humour. Be nice to your fellow man. But if they fuck you over, then come down on them like a tonne of bricks. When people give you shit, they need to be told. So, yeah. Be a nice person, don’t take no shit, have a great sense of humour. And there you go.

How do you enjoy being a father? 

I love my kids, they’re great. They’re grown-ups now, so we hang out on a different level, you know what I mean? So, like we go out for meals, we go to the pub, we can all have a nice time and we party together, and it’s good, man. The missus is very good with them. Debbie loves them, and they all love Debbie. It’s a nice period of my life, man. I’m digging it. 

Do you wonder if your fame… it would bring your children privileges, but is there a downside, an unwanted attention it brings them?

Oh, yeah. But there’s an upside, you know what I mean? I’m sure they don’t like hearing stuff that people write about their parents, I’m sure that’s not a nice thing. But that’s life, and I’m sure they’re used to it because they’ve been born [to it]. It hasn’t just happened. It’s been all their life, it’s just a normality. But some doors opened for them as well, you know what I mean? It’s how they do it. They kind of keep their heads down and just do their thing. They’ve got good opportunities and I guess there’s some bad shit as well. They seem happy, so I’m sure it’s all good. 

Would you expect Noel to listen to your new album – and would you like him to listen to it? 

Listen, if this album had “Oasis” written all over it, the world would be going fucking bonkers for it. But it’s got my name on it. Some of the songs on this record are better than anything he could ever imagine to write. And that’s not just me bigging up the record. It’s a fact. If he wrote “Once”, he’d be on Sky fucking News now telling everyone about it. The geezer wouldn’t be able to sleep. So, if he listens to it, he listens to it. I’m sure he will, because he’s a music lover and deep down he’ll take himself off and have a little listen. And then he’ll slag it off, of course. But there you go. But there’ll be no getting away from it, because it’s a fucking classic. 

It seems from a distance – and this is so weird that a stranger on the other side of the world might ask these personal questions – but I grew up with your music, was a big fan, and it seemed as if there was something theatrically exaggerated about the tension between you and Noel. But unfortunately, it seems that it’s not theatrical, is it? It’s quite serious and sad and profound. Do you mourn that relationship? Do you miss Noel?

I miss the Noel I know, the geezer from the band. I don’t mourn anything, he’s not dead, you know what I mean? He’s just going through a funny phase, and he’s surrounded by a lot of fucking idiots, and they need to shake their heads as well. Shame on them. They should be more trying to get Noel and me back together a lot more. Not to get back together as a band, they should just be more encouraging. The people on his side of it, they like Noel where he is right now. They don’t want him to get back with me or have a relationship with me because they know stuff will go down. 

What do you mean by “stuff going down”?

Me and him together are a force, separated we’re a lesser force. So, it’s good for some people, whoever they are, that we’re separated and at loggerheads. But it’s a shame that me Mum has to witness it, but there you go.

He said something very serious recently, which was that you intimidated women. I think he was referring to his family. What did you make of that, Liam?

Well, he obviously exaggerated. I’ve never threatened anyone. He was slagging me off, calling me some stupid fucking names, and I just said “be careful”. A threat is when you threaten someone, you say “Listen, if you carry on doing this, this is gonna happen.” That’s a threat. 

I’ve got plenty of women in my life, and they know that I’m not a threat or a bad person. It’s as simple as that. My daughter wouldn’t be hanging about. We wouldn’t be getting married, an’ that. My Mum wouldn’t be spending time with me. He’s just playing on the fact that his mates in The Sun seem to like to write all this shit about me, and that’s basically what’s going down. He can say what he wants, that’s cool. He makes out that I rang his missus. I’ve never left a voicemail on his missus’s answering machine, ever. So, I don’t threaten women. And he’s a liar, and we all know that. 

Rather awkwardly, this is where our zealously policed time ran out.

Thank you so much for your time, Liam.

You’re welcome.