In recent weeks, Liam Gallagher and John Squire have been immersed in preparation for their upcoming tour. Squire, near Macclesfield, has been listening obsessively to their collaborative record, while Gallagher, with a unique approach, sings tracks around the house when inebriated. The two musicians, bonded by a history dating back to Gallagher’s teenage admiration for Squire’s band, The Stone Roses, finally met in Monmouth.
Squire, a big figure in Madchester’s music scene, played a crucial role in shaping its sound. After a successful joint stage appearance in 2022, the idea of creating new material emerged during rehearsals, leading to an album recorded in Los Angeles. The result is a blend of their influences with a contemporary touch.
“And then we went to see them,” he remembers. “And it just changed my life. I thought, right, that’s it now, I need to be in a band. And I don’t have to look like the geezer out of The Cure or one of them f***ing geezers out of Guns N’ Roses or Bon Jovi to be in a band. I can actually just do it in these clothes. So that was half of the battle won, you know what I mean? I thought, all I’ve got to do is go up there and sing, and that’ll be me.”
Gallagher acknowledges that their classic sound should resonate with the present audience. In the studio, both musicians collaborated, experimenting with unconventional ideas to push creative boundaries.
Self-care is a priority for both artists in their current lives. Gallagher, once known for excess, now prioritizes early nights and avoiding distractions. Squire, introduced to transcendental meditation, finds it helpful in managing social situations.
The standout track, “Mother Nature’s Song,” originated from an unusual source – Squire wrote it while sitting on an earthing mat, claiming health benefits from mimicking barefoot contact with the earth.
Regarding an Oasis reunion, Liam Gallagher remains open but cautious. While expressing reluctance to extend further olive branches to his brother Noel, he remains open to the possibility. However, a collaboration involving Noel seems unlikely, given their past conflicts.
simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer” – the younger Gallagher simply formed Beady Eye (essentially a rebadged Oasis) then went solo and carried on singing. By his own admission, there was nothing radical about the music he made, but to dismiss it, as many have, as mere meat and potatoes, cagoules and charisma, is to overlook its fundamental romance. Gallagher has the rare ability to articulate a kind of distinct male experience: its pleasure, aspiration, humour, unity, that is undimmed by fad or fashion. As Squire puts it, the appeal of Oasis and then Gallagher’s later projects has lain in “the quality of the songs, the rawness of the recordings, the guitars, the swagger, the irreverence. And the consistency”.
“You don’t want to be going too retro,” Gallagher explains. “Even though our sound’s classic and that, you’ve still got to sound fresh. At the end of the day we’re here to sell records. If we sell ’em we sell ’em, we’re not going to bend over backwards to f***ing sell a record, but you want it to get on the radio. And you’re only going to get on the radio if you’re sounding kind of in the now.” Still, he’s keen to temper expectations: “There’s no point me over-egging it. If you’re into that type of thing, you’re going to love it. And if you’re into f***ing Bjork, you’ll hate it.”
