"Guigsy's Left, But Noel Has A Dream..."

Guigsy’s departure was announced on Wednesday, 25 August, at a press conference at pub music venue The Water Rats in London’s King Cross, much to the shock of music industry and Oasis insiders. He reason for leaving seems to echo Bonehead’s desire to spend more time with his family away from the unrelenting stress of touring. The offcial statement from Creation Records read:

Bass Guitarist Paul McGuigan has informed Oasis he has decided to leave the band. Paul has finished his work on the recordings of the new album and feels now is an opportune time to leave before the band undertakes touring and promotional activities later on this year. He’d like to thank the fans, as well as everyone he’s worked with along the way, and wishes Oasis all the best for the future. The remaining members of Oasis have accepted Paul’s decision to leave at this time.

The Oasis Press Conference:

Noel: "Nice to see someone's got the vodka in."

Liam: "Hello, Wembley..."

What did Guigsy say when he told you he was leaving?"

Noel: "He said that with Bonehead leaving, he couldn't commit to the tour or any of the stuff that goes with that, videos and gigs, and he thought it was better to tell us now rather than in six months' time when we're in the middle of a tour. We were a bit shocked at first, but we've just got to get on with it, really, because we've got a record to finish off and we've got to tour it."

Was it more shocking than when Bonehead left?"

Noel: "I wouldn't say one was more shocking than the other, but because we've been mates for 15 years, it's gonna be weird. Trying to get a guitarist is going to be hard enough, let alone getting a bass player as well..."

Liam: "...And a mate."

How can you reassure the fans that you will continue?"

Liam: "By getting two members in the band, rehearsing and going on tour. We can't do it yet."

Noel: "You're going to have take our word for it. I know we've probably been lying bastards, but there you are."

When are you going to tour?

Noel: "We're touring in March next year."

When did Bonehead actually leave?

Noel: "Bonehead said he might want to leave in March or April when he left the studio and went home...He told us, whenever it was, about two or three weeks ago."

Liam: "And we found out last night or the night before about Guigs..."

Noel: "But I suppose that once you've been in a band with someone for that long, you know that something's not right. And we could see it coming, but we didn't expect to be sat here saying this. It's a bit of a bummer, but like I say, we've got to go on. Cos I personally haven't got any money left. Could I borrow a tenner off you?"

Why did Guigsy leave?"

Liam: "We know as much as you, you know? Read out the statement. That's all we know."

Noel: "If someone expresses the wish to leave the band, there's no point in forcing them to make the statement."

Liam: "We're not social workers., d'you know what I mean?"

Noel: "Like I say, we've been left holding the shit sandwich here, but there you go, we'll just get on with it."

Did he tell you personally that he wanted to leave?

Liam: "We heard about it through our manager."

Noel: "We spoke to him on the phone, but it's not the same as being told face to face. But we're no good at goodbyes, anyway."

What characteristics will you be looking for in replacements?

Liam: "They've got to be a lot taller then me, have a nice taste of shoes, decent haircut and not be Man Utd fans. If they can do that, then sweet. You're well out of the question, aren't you. You've got a Damon Albarn haircut."

Did Bonehead leaving accelerate Guigsy's departure?"

Noel: "Yeah, I'd say so, yeah, cos he was his best mate."

Do you want to work together, just you two?

Noel: "We do work together!"

Liam: "If you read the statement, then it clearly says that he doesn't fancy touring and he wanted to do other things in life."

Noel: "We're all partners in the band. The only reason Alan's not here is cos he couldn't be arsed to get out of bed."

Liam: "We're a five-piece. I mean, what would we call ourselves...Erasure? Turn into Bronski Beat or something?

What are you doing now?

Noel: "Well...we go back to the studio. I'm going to get something to eat on the way back. Then we're gonna go on holiday for a couple of weeks and then see how it goes. We're not gonna rush into anything."

How soon do you think you'll return?

Noel: "Couldn't say, mate, don't know. It's difficult because we don't wanna get session musicians because it would just look stupid. We want to get people we know."

Liam: "And understand us, and put up withme and our kid."

Noel: "Someone who's got something in common with us, y'know. And there may not be a stampede, because we've got a bit of a bad reputation."

Liam: "We've got a couple of months, anyway..."

Did the prospect of touring USA influence their departure?

Noel: "I'd say so. yeah. That's got to come into it. Being away for nine or ten months at a time and I suppose that's got something to do with it."

Noel Gallagher has exclusively told The Maker about his ideal replacements for Bonehead and Guigsy, the latter of whom quit Oasis last week. In a revealing interview conducted at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London, where Oasis were mixing their new album, Noel hypothesized "Johnny Marr would be good, but he’s started his own band. The obvious choices are Nick McCabe and Simon Jones from The Verve." However, Noel admitted the dream team would probably no work out: "I don’t think they would be right. People have to want to do it. People have to be into all the old songs and the news songs. At least the two members left at the right time. It gives us six months, but we’ve got to do it now. We’re not panicking yet."

The rest of the interview in full:

How’s the new album sounding?

"It’s rock ’n’ roll pop music. It’s not fucking drum ‘n’ bass. It’s not a dance record. It’s typical Oasis, but it’s a little different. It’s not a radical departure – we like the way we sound. We’re not into 21st-century rock ‘n’ roll, but it doesn’t sound like 1969 either."

Is it a harder Oasis sound?

"One song should have been written by the Sex Pistols."

What’s the first single called?

"I’ve been told to say fuck all! The single is out in January. That’s the most poppy-sounding on the album. The rest is pretty heavy. We’ve already written the stuff for the next record. So we can get on with it with the new lads, whoever they will be. If we leave it too long, people will continue to speculate about the band."

Has Liam written anything for the album?

"There is a Liam song on there. He plays guitar, I think. I sing two songs on it. It’s half an hour shorter than ‘Be Here Now’ – there’s no eight-minute songs. The lyrics will take on a new meaning now [that Bonehead and Guigsy have quit]. People will read thing into it."

Is Oasis still a tightly knit unit?

"Everything is fine. People are saying it won’t be the same. Of course it’s not. We had eight years together. Of course it is going to be different. We toyed with the idea of changing the name. But we didn’t spend eight years together to just break up, restart under a different name and still sound the same.”

Did you seriously think about ending Oasis and starting with a new name?!

"Of the original members, there’s only Liam left – they were Oasis. There would be no point in renaming the band and sounding exactly like Oasis. We’re spent eight years around the world as Oasis."

Any possible name changes?

"It never got to that point. We just laughed and said ‘fuck it!’"

With your wife, Meg, expecting a baby at the end of the year, might that mean you could quit Oasis too?

"I can’t say. I love my family. I’ve got a record coming out and I’ve got a baby coming out. We’re still together, the three of us, the music will still go on."

Who’s producing the new album?

"Mark Stent. We worked with Owen [Morris] for so long and you get to know people so well. We liked the stuff he [Stent] has done with U2. Which is not to say this sounds like U2. When we told people at the record company about Mark, they were a bit worried because of the Spice Girls [who Stent has worked with]. But it was more because of U2. It’s worked very well. We’ve not sacked him."

What have you been listen to while making the album?

"The Travis album. I haven’t really listened to much – The Chemical Brothers. I was planning to get to the festivals, because it’s a good way to see all the bands. I was going to Reading, but I’ve got to go shopping for baby clothes. We’ll see them all at the festivals next year."

Are you still going to tour the world?

"There’s seven million people that brought the last record and lots of people to play to. I think this time we’ll want to play England last, as opposed to first. I don’t think England has seen the best of us. We usually start here with six massive gigs, but we don’t hit our stride until after a month or two. I don’t think we played particularly well on the last tour. Coming out onstage in a big red fucking telephone box threw us a bit. That was a bad advert for drugs."

Will the new Oasis material be just as commercial?

"It’s always going to be a commercial record. I write records to sell records. We’re a big fuck-off rock ‘n’ roll band. I was getting bored of it, but we’ve been at it for six years solid. The year off was designed for everyone to sit down and see if we wanted to do it again. That’s what they [Bonehead and Guigsy] have done. They have given it one last go and got out while the going was good. I totally respect that.”

Are you still mates?

"Yeah, I don’t fall out with people easily. Apart from that knobhead in Blur. He looks like a dustbin man these days, but good luck to him."

Does Oasis need to be a five-piece with a rhythm guitarist?

"I can’t carry the band with one guitar. I’m not that good. Ideally, I would like to play rhythm guitar and get Jimi Hendrix to play lead. But that would change the sound."

Are you just mixing the record now?

"Yeah, we have to finish tonight [Thursday, August 26]. We’ve got no more time left. We’re finishing the single, them I’m going home to listen to it on my stereo and then coming back to cut it. Then I’m going to the pub to get smashed. Later this week, we’ve leaving for the USA to cut the record and we’re doing the video."

Is Tailgunner still a going concern?

"I start Tailgunner next week. Mark [Coyle] has written all the songs. While I’m in the USA, he’s going to lay down the tracks and I will come back and play the drums. I’ve got my own studio in the country."

There are newspaper reports that there’s an on-going row between your wife, Meg Matthews, and Liam’s wife, Patsy Kensit, because of the double pregnancy. And that this has caused tensions which were felt among the band members.

"That’s not even worth answering. If there is a row, then I haven’t noticed one. There’s a few between me and my wife! That’s something the lads were pissed off about. Things get written that don’t concern the band."

How’s your relationship with Liam been during the making of the record?

"Superb, as a matter of fact. We have not had one disagreement."

What’s his voice like on the songs?

"It just sounds like Liam. But with more attitude, if that’s humanly possible."

There was talk a few months ago of this record having a punkier sound. Any truth to that?

"It’s quite loose. We didn’t fancy about doing a hundred takes, or on the mixing. The last record we mixed the life out of, and played the life out of."

We left Noel to carry on with the recording and, contrary to talk of a more punky new record, could hear "Wonderwall"-esque acoustic guitars emanating from the studio.

Liam, who seemed anxious to get on with the album, was unusually quiet. "We’re too busy," he said. But he did agree to pose for a> picture when he left the studio with a minder at 10pm. "Oh, if it’s for The Maker", he joked, before being driven off in a red Audi.

Earlier that afternoon, Richard Ashcroft had arrived at the studio with wife Kate (from Spiritualized). When asked how things were going, he said "Splendid." But what was he doing at the studio? What exactly was going splendidly? Is he contributing backing vocals to the album? With no Bonehead, is he playing guitar on any tracks?

Marcus Russell, the band's manager, has assured everyone that all touring and plans to promote the fourth album remain in place. "Fans of the band should be left in no doubt that Oasis will be back in action with a great new album and single early next year," he said. "A world tour is scheduled to begin at the end of February, following the release of the fourth album. We have plenty of time to prepare, and bed in two new musicians between now and Christmas. As soon as we finish mixing the album this week, Liam, Noel and Alan will concentrate their minds on the new line up.

tabloid tales

The Daily Star is obviously not convinced by Liam and Noel's recent reassuring words. An "insider" said: "Liam and Noel may be the frontmen, but Bonehead and Guigsy were the soul of the band. Without both of them, it's just not Oasis."

The Sun's Dominic Mohan, on the other hand, is standing up for what must be his favourite band. He challenged any speculation by saying: "Many critics will be writing off the band and some might say they should just roll with it." He continued, tickling certain Gallagher orifices with his tongue: "Oasis have always been about Noel and Liam - nobody else. They will always be the focus of the best and most influential band to come out of the nineties Britain." Oh, Dominic, yeuk!

The came the gossip columnist predictions for the band's future: "The slimmed-down group will go from strength to strength and Liam and Noel's bond will grow stronger."

But wait, it gets worse: "It's fashionable to slag off Oasis - but not me...I just want them to get back to what they do best - blowing away huge crowds onstage and making anthems that have become the soundtrack to Cool Brittania." Is this man on the Oasis' pay-roll, or what?

Meanwhile, The Mirror's Matthew Wright thinks that if Oasis ever do "bite the dust", Liam should maybe consider a future as a stand-up comic. He was impressed with the singer's rapport at the press conference and especially tickled by his quick response when a "Scandinavian pop hack" asked: "Will Oasis end up like Fleetwood Mac?" He replied: "What, you mean like being a bird?", referring to the seventies band's female singer Stevie Nicks. "Growing tits and that...I don't think so."

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c 1999 Andrew Turner

aturner@interalpha.co.uk

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