Noel Gallagher Calls Definitely Maybe the “Last Great Punk Album”

Bryan Kress
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The post Noel Gallagher Calls Definitely Maybe the “Last Great Punk Album” appeared first on Consequence.

Noel Gallagher reflected on the era leading up to Oasis’ 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe while dismissing the band’s Britpop contemporaries like Blur, Pulp, and The Stone Roses in a new interview via Mojo.

“We always had unshakable self-belief in Oasis,” the former guitarist-vocalist began. “Everybody who heard the demos of what would become Definitely Maybe were freaking out, so we just wanted to seize the moment. We’d been talking the talk amongst ourselves for a couple of years and when it came down to it, we were ready. Every minute I spent awake, I just knew it was going to happen.”

Gallagher likened the album’s rollout to “being in a rocket ship that was taking off,” then switched to a different high-octane analogy: “Before Definitely Maybe came out, our singles had put us in pole position in the Grand Prix. We had the best car, were the best drivers, and were revving up waiting for the green light to go and fucking annihilate everybody. We’d been going round the country telling everybody we were the best thing since The Beatles, so we wanted to let them know what the fuss was about.”

“Definitely Maybe was the last great punk album in many respects,” he proclaimed. “We were a punk band with Beatles melodies. We had no effects, barely any equipment, just loads of attitude, 12 cans of Red Stripe, and ambition. If you listen to that and [Sex Pistols’] Never Mind The Bollocks, they’re quite similar. That album was about the angst of being a teenager in 1977. Fast forward to 1994 and Definitely Maybe is about the glory of being a teenager.”

Elsewhere, Gallagher unsparingly sized up the British music scene at the time of the band’s arrival, sharing, “I’d hear Blur or Pulp or Suede on the radio and think — fuck these idiots.” He conceded slightly by saying “it was an amazing time for indie music,” but Oasis was “ready to wipe everybody out. I thought Blur, Pulp, The Stone Roses, The La’s, whoever, they were great people and they had one or two great tunes, but we had twelve. However loud they were, we were louder. However fast they were, we were faster. However good they were, we would trump it. They were all great bands, but we were better. It was as simple as that.”

Gallagher also shared personal “highlights” from that era, including “the night I wrote [debut single] ‘Supersonic'” and the band’s first set at Glastonbury in June 1994. “We went on between Echobelly and some other shit indie band and just went on and rattled through Definitely Maybe. It was the biggest crowd we’d ever played to and… it was at that point everyone just strapped themselves in.”

Fans hoping for an Oasis relaunch will have to continue waiting after rumors of a reunion between the Gallagher brothers earlier this year proved to be false. In the meantime, the elder Gallagher has remained busy with his solo outfit Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, who released their fourth album, Council Skies, in June.

In July, the High Flying Birds were forced to cancel their performance in Saratoga Springs, New York due to a bomb threat, though a full sweep of the venue resulted in no injuries or conclusive findings. The band still have several international live dates for 2023 in Asia, Europe, and the UK. Grab your seats here.

Noel Gallagher Calls Definitely Maybe the “Last Great Punk Album”
Bryan Kress

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