Liam Gallagher Refuses to Play Oasis Songs on Beady Eye Tour

Posted on Feb 22nd 2011 3:00PM by Eric R. Danton
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Dangerbird Records

Though Liam Gallagher has spent countless hours on stage over the years, the singer is ready for another debut, this time with his new band, Beady Eye. Gallagher formed Beady Eye with other ex-members of Oasis in 2009, after a final breach with his brother Noel ended one of the biggest groups of the past 20 years.

As Gallagher tells Spinner, he's not looking back.

"This ain't a project," he says from England, on the line with Beady Eye guitarist Andy Bell, who played bass in Oasis. "We're in it for the long run. We're not going to stop."

Now, 18 months after Oasis split, Beady Eye -- also including Gem Archer and Chris Sharrock -- are ready to release their debut, 'Different Gear, Still Speeding,' on March 1 and begin a two-month world tour two days later in Glasgow. So far, according to Gallagher, the response to the new songs has been favorable.

"People seem to be liking it," he says. "There's always going to be a bit of negativity -- that's life -- but it seems there's a lot of good will around."

What will Beady Eye play in concert?

Gallagher: All Beady Eye music. We're going to throw in a couple of B-sides. We've got a cover of a tune by a band called World of Twist, they're from Manchester. No Oasis songs.

How do you think fans will react to that?

Gallagher: To be quite honest, it's none of our business how they react. They should know by now that we're not f---ing d---heads and we're not uncool. It would be absolutely ridiculous to play Oasis songs and then Beady Eye songs. It would be schizophrenic. Or phrenic. Or phonic. They won't want to hear Oasis songs by the time we finish with them.

Bell: It just feels wrong. This is not Oasis. We love Oasis, we love what Oasis was, but it would be wrong to take those songs and play them as Beady Eye, because Beady Eye is not Oasis.

Beady Eye's Video for 'The Roller'

How did Noel's departure change the dynamic among the rest of you?

Bell: It ended it. The band finished. Oasis is all about Liam and Noel, everyone knows that. When he left, that ended Oasis. The four of us, me, Liam, Chris and Gem are good mates, we've got a good bond, we enjoy playing together, so the natural thing was to form a new band.

Gallagher: The dynamic now, Andy's on the guitar, he's gone back home, as we say: the wanderer has returned. So that's different. We've got a new bass player who's mega. We've got a new keyboard player. It's a little bit different, but that's for other people to say, really.

Apart from Noel's absence, what makes these songs different?

Gallagher: There's a bit more room in the songs, whereas in Oasis, there was a lot going on. We kind of steered clear of all that. The songs can breathe a bit more. And I'm singing, like, early on in the process. I'm not waiting until the end and singing over the wall of sound.

Was that intentional?

Bell: That was one of the few things that was intentional. We hit on that method quite early on and stuck with it. It seemed to quite suit Liam's voice to get it recorded as soon as possible, because then also, when you play the guitars and the instruments, you can play them around the singing, which is probably the most important part of the song. You're trying to communicate an emotion, so you want the voice to be communicating properly.

Liam, did that change how you approached your vocals?

Gallagher: You wouldn't go out to the pub first, you know what I mean? You have to sort of stay out of the pub and get your job done. But I didn't I approach it no differently. I enjoy singing, so whenever it's time to sing, I'm there. I prefer that to hanging about to the end of the night and singing on your own, surrounded by a lot of candles when everyone's in the pub having a laugh.

Was there a difference, though, in how you sang without the wall of sound?

Gallagher: Maybe, yeah, because there's not much on there. There's just bass, guitars and drums, so you can really get in there and be a force and everything else fits around that. And sometimes you don't need so much on the tune.

Bell: Less is more in rock 'n' roll music.

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