The 2019 Cannes Film Festival wrapped up yesterday. Normally that would not be news you would expect to read about in a Weekly Music Commentary post. However, the new documentary “As It Was”, about singer/songwriter Liam Gallagher premiered Wednesday May 22, 2019. The official release is scheduled in the UK June 7, 2019. Music fans and documentary lovers are eagerly anticipating the film for a variety of reasons. The film chronicles the return to music of former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher.
Of course the events surrounding Gallagher’s move to life as a solo artist should be interesting. However, there is so much more very well documented events during his musical career. It might be difficult to tell Liam Gallagher’s story without mentioning his controversial behavior at times. More than likely the documentary will at least touch the subject, but I’m not sure if much will be explained. Whatever the case, Weekly Music Commentary will discuss much about Liam Gallagher. Why? Much of what happened in Liam Gallagher’s life does have a corelation to his music. As usual, lets start the story from the beginning.
William John Paul Gallagher was born in Burnage, Manchester, to Irish parents Thomas and Peggy Gallagher. The youngest of three boys, Liam grew up in a troubled household with brothers Noel and Paul. Their father was an abusive alcoholic. Liam credits that abuse for fueling his music as an adult. Even though his older siblings bore the brunt of the abuse, Liam was still very much affected. He says, “You wish these things don’t happen but they happen for a reason, I suppose, and that’s where my anger is and that’s what makes me f**king attack that mike when it’s there.” When Liam was 10, Peggy took the boys and moved away from Thomas (she divorced him in 1986). Although Liam maintained sporadic contact with his father throughout his teens, he has said that their issues remain unresolved. He also confronted his father on the phone years later, in 1996, saying that he would “break his f**king legs” if he saw him around him or his family.
Liam Gallagher is not the only person I’ve heard who endured an abusive childhood. However, I never gave much thought to positive results from such abuse. For an artist though, the fuel for performing and songwriting usually comes from personal experience – both good and bad. Therefore, it stands to reason that problematic issues in youth might play a role in the music. Definitely in Liam Gallagher’s case. He continued, “I’m glad it’s not ever been resolved, in a way. ‘Cause that’s what makes me wanna f**king get in there. I wouldn’t change a thing, man.”
The effects of his abusive childhood were felt in other avenues of Gallagher’s life. Paul and Noel often contend that even from a young age, Liam went out of his way to antagonize people, especially Noel, with whom he shared a bedroom. The Gallagher brothers were troubled, especially in their mid-teens. Liam often stole bicycles from local shops. He attended St. Bernard’s RC Primary School until age 11, then The Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Didsbury; despite common reports that he was expelled at age 16 for fighting, Liam was actually suspended for three months. He then returned to school, where he completed his last term in Spring 1990.
Noel has said that Liam showed little interest in music until his late teens. Gallagher became confident in his ability to sing and began listening to bands like the Beatles, the Stone Roses, the Who, the Kinks, the Jam, and T.Rex. In the process he forged an obsession with former Beatles singer/songwriter John Lennon; Liam would later sarcastically claim to be Lennon re-incarnated, despite being born eight years prior to Lennon’s death.
When school friend Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan, invited Gallagher to join his band, The Rain, as a vocalist, he agreed. Liam was the band’s co-songwriter, along with guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs. The band soon changed it’s name to Oasis. Upon returning to Manchester, Liam’s older brother, Noel Gallagher (lead guitar, vocals) joined as a fifth member, which formed the band’s core and settled line-up. During the course of their existence, they had various line-up changes, though the Gallagher brothers remained as the staple members. Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993 and released their record-setting debut album Definitely Maybe. The rest is now musical history.
To say that Oasis experienced success would be an understatement. Oasis have had eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums. They have won 17 NME Awards, nine Q Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards and six Brit Awards, including one in 2007 for Outstanding Contribution to Music and one for the Best Album of the Last 30 Years–for (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?–as voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners; (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is also the fifth best-selling album in UK chart history, and was the UK’s biggest-selling album of the 1990s. They have been nominated for two Grammy Awards. As of 2009, Oasis have sold over 75 million records worldwide. The band were listed in the Guinness World Records book in 2010 for “Longest Top 10 UK Chart Run by a Group” after an unprecedented run of 22 top 10 hits in the UK. The band also holds the Guinness World Record for the most successful act in the UK between the years 1995 and 2005, spending 765 weeks in the top 75 singles and albums charts.
Nevertheless, during this very successful musical period, Liam Gallagher became well known for his problematic behavior. In 1998 the Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific banned Gallagher after he abused passengers and crew on a flight between the UK and Australia. During the band’s Australian tour, he made a substantial out-of-court settlement to a British backpacker he allegedly headbutted. In 2006, it was alleged that Gallagher had a drunken fight with Paul Gascoigne at the Groucho Club which ended with Gallagher setting off a fire extinguisher in Gascoigne’s face. On an early US tour, Gallagher regularly made derisive remarks about Americans, as well as his brother Noel, which led to an ultimatum from the guitarist who briefly left the band in 1994. When addressing their muted reception in the States (especially by comparison to the UK), Gallagher said: “Americans want grungy people, stabbing themselves in the head on stage. They get a bright bunch like us, with deodorant on, they don’t get it.”
It seemed that Liam Gallagher has always had a tough existence dating back to his childhood. Even though music has provided a creative outlet, his troubled youth still leaves him at times exhibiting documented “loutish” acts in adulthood. Is that the only reason for his derisive words and actions? Possibly not. That’s why I wonder if he will be able to discuss these events in the documentary coming soon. That might give us more insight into why Liam Gallagher has shown some of the well documented behavior that has left fans and others somewhat dismayed.
In spite of all the controversy, Liam Gallagher has always created great music. His second band after the disbanding of Oasis proved the talent remained. Then in October 2017, Liam Gallagher released his first solo album As You Were. A critical and commercial success, the album debuted at number one in the UK, outselling the rest of the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart combined and achieving gold certification in its first week. It has since been certified platinum in the UK.
To prepare this post I listened to the album entirely once again and must say that it is filled with some of the best songs I’ve heard to date. Liam Gallagher easily delivered something special. As I listened, I could definitely hear the influence of John Lennon much more than before. That’s a good thing. The world needs more music like that.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic was highly positive about the record in his four-star review, saying, “As You Were doesn’t sound retro even though it is, in essence, a throwback to a throwback — a re-articulation of Liam’s ’90s obsession with the ’60s. That production does Gallagher a favor but so does Kurstin’s presence as a co-songwriter, helping to rein in Liam’s wandering ear and sharpen his melodies. Ranging from the icy onslaught of “Wall of Glass” to the stark swirl of “Chinatown” this is his best record in nearly a decade, and they add up to an album that illustrates exactly who Liam Gallagher is as an artist. Now in his middle age, he’s a richer, nuanced singer than he was during Oasis’s heyday, yet he’s retained his charisma and, unlike his brother, he favors color and fire in his records, elements that not only enhance this fine collection of songs but make this the best post-Oasis album from either Gallagher to date.”
As I am writing this post, Liam Gallagher announced he has finished recording the followup to As You Were. Prepare yourself now for what could be an even better album than his debut, if that’s possible.