INTERVIEW 'Korean fans are punk and more crazy': ex-Oasis leader

Liam Gallagher / Courtesy of Live Nation Korea

Former Oasis frontman to rock Seoul

By Park Jin-hai

Liam Gallagher, former frontman of 1990’s iconic British band “Oasis,” will perform in Seoul, Tuesday.

In the concert titled “Live Forever Long,” the singer with a voice often compared to that of John Lennon will sing old Oasis hits along with songs from his debut solo album “As You Were.” It has been five years since his group Beady Eye headlined the 2012 Jisan Valley Rock Festival and this is his first visit as a solo artist.

“I’ve been doing this for longer than 25 years, I don’t think I’ve got anything more to prove than that. I just want to keep making music and sing songs for fans. I can’t do anything else,” said Gallagher, when asked what keeps him going in his post-Oasis and post-Beady Eye years during an interview with The Korea Times. “I still believe I’m probably one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll singers on the planet. So I just want to sing songs. I’m asked to write someone else’s songs but I’m a rock ’n’ roll singer to sing songs I can’t do anything else.”

Gallagher, with his brother Noel, led Oasis until 2009 and the band still has a big fan base here, with songs like “Live Forever,” “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” frequently performed by local music bands.

At the concert, Gallagher will be accompanied by American rock band “Foo Fighters,” the project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.

The 44-year-old singer, who prefers to perform in a band other than on his own, says his new venture as a soloist was not as stressful as he had heard from other musicians. “The differences being in the band, there are two ways looking at it. When you’re in a band, they say four legs are better than one right _ all that stuff. And when you are solo, you may make all the kinds of decisions. Sometimes you can get little bit too close to it,” he said.

“So in a band you sit back and go; what you would like to record? But, then again, sometimes, there can be too many cooks in the kitchen. Too many opinions can ruin a good song. I miss being in the band, because you are all lads and have a laugh, but I’m enjoying doing this on my own. I thought it would be a bit of a nightmare but I’m pretty easy at work.

“Right now, I’m still kind of in a band. I’ve got band members, no longer Oasis, no longer Beady Eyes, I put my name above the door and see where we’re going. But, it still sounds like a band. It’s got a big band sound. But, the idea of going solo is that too many people in all great bands split and just go solo because they really go after the show … This is not what’s happened. These are the cards that have been dealt so this is the last chance to dance really, I guess.”

Gallagher recently made a surprise appearance at the “One Love Manchester” benefit concert, rescheduling his earlier concert plans to finish his gigs in Germany and fly to his hometown to support victims of the May terrorist bombing at the Ariana Grande concert. “It was a no-brainer. Someone had to be there because it’s my hometown and I wanted to show that I support them. Put a few smiles on people’s face,” he said. “It’s terrible. We are all living in a strange, horrible world at the moment. Maybe a butcher, a car mechanic, a florist, or a musician, we are all kinds of easy targets to those folks talking maniac. It’s just terrible that someone would go in there and kill anyone, let alone music fans. But you've just got to go about your business.”

Gallagher says his Oasis years mean everything, saving him from ending up “God knows where,” giving him a great life and a reason to wake up in the morning. But he also says his solo debut album, produced collaboratively with Adele’s producer Greg Kurstin, is his most soul-bearing. “It’s got a lot of good songs, a lot of honest songs. It’s probably my most bearing of my soul lyrically,” he said.

Ahead of his return to the country, Gallagher expressed his excitement for meeting Korean fans who he says are “more like Scottish fans.” “(They are) a bit more mad. The last time I went there, from Japan, Japan fans are very chill, quiet, nice and relaxed. But the Korean fans were more punk and more crazy which I like,” he said. “Stay cool, stay safe, come out and let’s have lots of fun.”

The “Live Forever Long” concert will be held at 7 p.m. at Jamsil

Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Tuesday.