Noel Gallagher: 'Belfast's got spirit'

Former Oasis front-man Noel Gallagher says ‘Belfast is the place to be.’

The High Flying Birds singer and songwriter has had three studio albums with the band, after embarking on a solo career.

Having performed in the city numerous times back in the Oasis heyday, he says he has always been welcomed with open arms.

Speaking exclusively to Cool FM’s John Kearns, Noel said the fans in Northern Ireland know how to have a good time:

“It’s a great place, the people are great, it’s got spirit,” he said.

“Irish people have got spirit in general but it’s a great place, we’ve always had a great time there.

“I’m actually quite proud to record most of my last record there.”

We could not let Noel go without asking him if he understood the Northern Irish lingo

“I understand Northern Irish phrases” like ‘wind yer neck in, catch yourself on.’

However, he had not heard ‘do you think I came up the Lagan in a bubble?’

John asked him about the title track to his latest EP Black Star Dancing which is a fresh, new sound for the single:

“It wasn’t the intention but I guess one of the most difficult thing to do at this stage of the game is to surprise people,” he said.

“I wouldn’t make surprising records just for the sake of it but the song just happened to come out like that and… the one that’s coming out after that is even better.

“Well actually, I was in the studio recording Rattling Rose and it wasn’t going very well and I had to re-record it a couple of times and Black Star Dancing came out of not being able to get Rattling Rose right and as Black Star Dancing took shape I thought ‘maybe this is the A side.’

“It worked out well in the end.”

Noel has always produced a distinctive sound as a well-established rocker but he says it has been refreshing to branch out recently:

“The music parameters having been so narrow for such a long time as each High Flying Birds cycle comes around, those parameters become less and the horizon becomes wider,” he said.

“I’ve got to be careful I don’t want to get trapped into this thing where every release has got to be different, the songs still have to be great.

“The common denominator is if the song is good enough it doesn’t really matter what style it is.

“The biggest difference I’m doing recently over the last couple of years is I’m writing on the bass, which is why the bass lines of the songs I’ve written so far are so strong."