“Council Skies”
Defiant dreamer: Noel Gallagher with a new album
With “Council Skies” Noel Gallagher presents his most personal album to date. photo
© Matt Crockett /dpa
It is Noel Gallagher’s fourth album without brother Liam. And yet there is a bit of Oasis in it. But despite the new record and previous successes, the Brit has a dream that he would like to fulfill at some point.
Actually, he wanted to take a break from music. But now, at 56, Noel Gallagher is releasing a new album with his band, the High Flying Birds. “Council Skies” is the name of the album by the Briton, who is known as a gifted songwriter and who brought many hits to his former band Oasis.
It was 2019. Gallagher had just come back from a long tour – then Corona came. “We were in lockdown, there was nothing to do, so I finished a lot of songs that I had started and created new ones,” says Gallagher in an interview with the German Press Agency. He wrote through the nights alone and set up a studio in north London.
Favorite club Manchester City
A press release reveals that portraits of The Beatles hang in the hallway of his studio and even a cardboard cutout of Pep Guardiola in one corner. He coaches Gallagher’s favorite club Manchester City. In this place, the rock star has combined his two great passions: music and football. Incidentally, the city crest and stadium can also be seen in his music video for “Council Skies”.
When the corona measures were relaxed, Gallagher traveled to Los Angeles and Ibiza. But his music sounds like Manchester through and through: a bit rough and idiosyncratic in the best sense of the word. In Council Skies, Gallagher, a native of Manchester, goes back to where it all began. But the 56-year-old doesn’t want to talk about nostalgia. “It’s more thoughtful,” he says. “It’s about asking yourself where you are and how you got there.”
“Dead To The World” is his favorite song
14 years have passed since the split from Oasis. From the mid-nineties they made it to the top of the charts in their home country with all their studio albums. According to the band, they have sold more than 70 million records worldwide. Super hits like “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Wonderwall”, “Supersonic”, “Live Forever” or “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” come from Noel’s pen.
And how much Oasis is in the new album? Two songs would sound a little like Oasis, says Gallagher. “Easy Now” and “There She Blows”. The musician is particularly proud of “Dead To The World”. “I love this song. I think it’s one of my best.” Melancholy and full of longing, Noel sings about love and letting go. Earlier this year it was announced that Gallagher was divorcing his wife Sara MacDonald. The two met in 2000 and have two children.
By the way, Gallagher found the title for his album on his coffee table. There was a book by artist friend Pete McKee: “Council Skies”. A phone call later, the name of the latest record was set. This title is about the feeling – sometimes defiant and sometimes dreamy – of looking at the sky. The “Council Sky” could hang over Manchester as well as Düsseldorf, says the Briton. There he gives his only German concert in November. His favorite city is actually Berlin. He has not yet fully explored the German capital, which is what makes it so exciting for him. “Every time I’m there, I discover something new,” he reveals. “The nightlife is great. And the city seems to be a magnet for interesting people.”
He dreams of a soundtrack for a movie
Speaking of magnets. It is amazing that the Gallagher brothers are a real magnet for clicks on the video app Tiktok, because most of the young users will hardly remember Oasis. But provocative interviews and moody festival appearances still seem to inspire teenagers today. Whether Noel can do something with it? “I don’t give a damn about the Tiktok generation.” Any form of social media does not interest him. “I couldn’t care less,” he says defiantly. He doesn’t think much of music streaming either. Adapt his music for the platforms? Never! “I don’t like Spotify. I think it was a bad thing for music.”
Despite great success, the 56-year-old still has a musical goal, as he reveals. “I’d like to do a soundtrack for a movie. I’ve never done that.” Apart from that, he just wanted to keep writing songs – for as long as possible. “I can’t imagine a better job,” he says.
Noel Gallagher’s website “Council Skies” music video “Dead To The World” music video “Easy Now” music video