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Oasis: 'You get 5 years' good grace out of the press and then it's, "Right, you can f**k off now!"'

Oasis: 'You get 5 years' good grace out of the press and then it's, "Right, you can f**k off now!"'

Extra.ie​17 hours ago
Ahead of Oasis's sold-out Croke Park shows on August 16 & 17, we're taking a deep dive into the Hot Press archives – to hear Liam and Noel's incredible story in their own words…
Ahead of two more Point Depot sellouts for Oasis in March, Noel agreed to a Mixed Grill interview where Hot Press readers asked the questions. You didn't let us down with these some of the highlights…
Jill, Naas: 'For a band that's supposedly on its last legs, you sold the Point out pretty quick.'
Noel: 'I know and the single ('Songbird') is number one in the mid-weeks. You get five years good grace out of the UK music press and then it's, 'Right, you can fuck off now!' It was the same for The Smiths and The Jam and the Sex Pistols and all those bands who actually meant something to people. You get your five years and then they want something new, which I haven't a problem with. I'll keep doing it for as long as it makes me happy. We get slagged off every fucking day in the newspapers, but so what?'
Owen Turner, Dublin, but currently living in France: 'Keane or McCarthy?'
Noel: 'Roy Keane. I have to point out that this is strictly speaking as a Republic of Ireland fan. When he plays for Manchester United, I wish nothing but broken limbs on the bastard. If you're going to go training for the World Cup and there aren't any footballs… Mick McCarthy calling that meeting so all the players could tell him what they thought of him was fucking stupid. I'm not going to say a bad word about Roy, though, in case I meet him out one afternoon. He'd kick your head in, wouldn't he? Bonehead lives near him in Manchester and I've heard stories!'
Michael Browne, Abbeyfeale: 'If you could change one thing about your career, what would it be?'
Noel: 'I'd have had a year off immediately after that Knebworth gig. And then probably another six months writing what became Be Here Now. We tried to follow up (What's The Story) Morning Glory? a bit too quickly. But other than that, fuck all really, because it's been a pretty good laugh.'
Gary Kearns, Westport: 'Did you have a good giggle when those Mafia blokes twatted Liam?'
Noel: 'At the beginning when he was arrested and carted off to hospital in pain, no. But now, I think it's stunningly fucking hilarious. In the unlikely event that they're reading this, I'd like to say to the Italian Mafia people, 'Thanks for saving us the job'' There was a large queue forming in England for the pleasure of kicking that cunt's face in, and I happened to be at the front of it!' Oasis's Liam Gallagher at the Point Depot, March 2003
David McNamara, Middleton: 'You said in your last Hot Press interview that Bono had given you two books. What are they?'
Noel: 'Searching For The Invisible God and What's So Amazing About Grace?, which are both by Philip Yancey. He sent one to me and one to me girlfriend – she finished hers because she reads like a fucking madman and I got the gist of mine.'
Simon Parry, Sevenoaks: 'Paint us a picture of what your old Supernova Heights house was like?'
Noel: 'It was like a bad advert for drugs if you went inside it. Fucking hell, man. There was a seventeen-foot fish tank with one fish in it! You find that all the relationships you have with people are based on the complete and utter bullshit you speak at 7am in the morning. 'I wonder who built the pyramids?' Who fucking cares?
'It wasn't really me friends, it was the friends who became friends because they were mates of your mates, and it was like, 'Hang on a minute, what do you do again?' And they'd say, 'Oh, I know such and such a person', and I'd think, 'What are you doing in my kitchen?''
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I was there when Liam & Noel got career-defining call – I wish I'd kept thank you gifts from opening for Oasis in '94
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I've life-long memories from Oasis' rite of passage Cork '96 gigs – Croke Park shows will be special for a generation
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I've life-long memories from Oasis' rite of passage Cork '96 gigs – Croke Park shows will be special for a generation

Oasis have collected an army of younger fans over the years GIG OF SUMMER I've life-long memories from Oasis' rite of passage Cork '96 gigs – Croke Park shows will be special for a generation THIS weekend will be special and if you were there the first time you'll understand just how special. Oasis may have collected an army of younger fans over the years, followers who have had their dreams come true this summer at finally being able to see their heroes for the very first time. 6 Fans have flocked to Oasis concerts for years Credit: Stephen Chung / Alamy Live News 6 The Oasis Live '25 Tour has sent fans into a frenzy Credit:For many of us, seeing Liam and Noel on stage together, the songs, the atmosphere, just the general mood that goes with an Oasis concert, will be a throwback to those 1990s teenage years when life was a lot simpler. This week marks 29 years since Oasis were at the centre of the music universe when they played two iconic shows at Knebworth. But days later the lads were in Cork for two era-defining shows at Pairc Ui Chaoimh - gigs which became a rite of passage for a legion of Irish teenagers. And we still talk about it. It was the summer of 1996. The Euros in England were on, as was the Olympics in Atlanta. (What's the Story) Morning Glory had been released the previous October but we had to wait until the following summer before the band would bring an album and a cultural phenomenon to massive outdoor audiences. I had just turned 18. This was our summer of love. Pairc Ui Chaoimh was our Knebworth. Oasis had performed their first big headline shows in Ireland in March 1996 when they played two nights at the Point where I saw them for the first time (I was on a family holiday when they supported REM at Slane in July 1995 and my mother wouldn't let 16-year-old me near the Tivoli in September 1994). Within a couple of months of those shows it was announced we wouldn't have to wait too long for their return to Ireland but this time it would be bigger, during the summer, outdoors and very excitingly - outside of Dublin. Back in the 1990s you had to go to HMV, queue up and race to the counter once the doors opened. Your phone wasn't your ticket because there were no mobile phones, no computer screens and certainly no dynamic pricing. Ex-Celtic star goes wild as he does the huddle at Oasis gig with 70,000 fans It cost £22.50 (a full £8 more than their Point shows) to see a concert which would define our youth. So after my friend's mother had driven us into town at about 6am, we joined the queue like everyone else on Henry Street and 10 minutes after the doors opened at 9am we were all set for Pairc Ui Chaoimh on August 14, the first night of their two shows. I still remember the morning of the gig, slightly concerned that my lounge boy shift the previous night would prevent me getting a decent night's sleep. But I need not have worried. My dad dropped a gang of us to Heuston Station at about 6am for a 7am train to the Rebel County, bag of cans in hand and we were set. Naturally the journey down was full of arms around strangers, belting out Wonderwall, Live Forever and Don't Look Back in Anger. You never forget days like that. When we finally hit Cork, there was absolute carnage on St Patrick's Street, but the good kind. There was no trouble, perhaps the odd person who might have overdone it on the train down, but just a fun vibe of singing, street drinking in weather resembling this week's heat blast and trying to sneak out a few pints from pubs for pals who might not have hit 18 just yet. I've seen a combination of Oasis and Liam and Noel in various guises over 20 times since those early years but Cork stands out". Everyone seemed to make the walk down to the stadium together. I was lucky enough to have been there for Feile the previous year, a compromise with my mum for the guilt she felt at not allowing me to attend that first Irish Oasis show at the Tivoli. And once inside, we lay on the ground, got nostalgic with the Bootleg Beatles, went a bit crazy for the Prodigy and counted down the minutes to the lads walking on stage. And when they did at about 8.50pm to the sound of Columbia (a disappointing omission from their 2025 set list), Cork just exploded. The next two hours are a blur of songs, spilled beer and life-long memories that are still talked about. CROKE PARK WEEKEND The come-down on the train home was tough, while the next day I remember being jealous of the masses experiencing what we had the previous day. I've seen a combination of Oasis and Liam and Noel in various guises over 20 times since those early years but Cork stands out probably because of the stage of life I was at and because it was when Liam and Noel really were untouchable. I'm sure there were lads there that day who will be in Croke Park this weekend still sporting the same haircuts even if 30 years later mortgage, marriages, children and divorces have entered their lives. But teenage memories like this is why this weekend will be very special for a generation of us. So I'll be there giving it my best Suunnshinnnnes, Maaaaaybes and Mad For Its. Definitely, not Maybe. 6 Liam Gallagher of Oasis Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage 6 Noel Gallagher of Oasis Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire 6 The Gallagher brothers previously played at Pairc Ui Chaoimh Credit: PA Photos

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