Noel Gallagher: ‘Not sure Liam would have been thrilled about doing anything in Welsh’
Noel Gallagher has said he’s “not sure Liam would have been thrilled about doing anything in Welsh”.
The former Oasis guitarist made the claim about his brother and former Oasis bandmate’s preference of language for recording songs on Rob Brydon’s Spotify podcast.
Welsh comedian Rob Brydon, who played Bryn West in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, had asked him if he’d ever considered recording tracks in other languages.
Brydon claimed that Welsh would be a “curious” language to choose.
The Mancunian musician then suggested that Oasis track Live Forever “needs to be heard” in Welsh, to which Brydon replied “of all the languages”.
Gallagher had revealed on the podcast that he’d assumed that the American rock band Talking Heads were French because they released songs in the French language.
He told Brydon that he didn’t learn they were actually from New York until he met the band’s drummer Chris Frantz in the 90s.
This prompted a discussion about other bands and musicians recording tracks in different languages.
‘They weren’t French’
On Talking Heads Noel Gallagher said: “I don’t know why it took me until the 90s to work out they weren’t French, right because they would always have a French, because they would always have French versions of their songs.
“I remember meeting the drummer in New York and he was like ‘I’m a New Yorker, and I was like ‘so are you not French then’ and he was like ‘what are you talking about?’
“And I was like ‘I thought you were French, and he was like ‘why?’. And I was like ‘because don’t you sing some in French?’ and he’s going ‘that’s for the French market’. ‘So you’re not French, you’re all from New York’ and he was like ‘no’. I’d just assumed there was a French vibe going on. They look French.”
Brydon said: “People don’t do that anymore do they. The Beatles used to record stuff in German.”
Noel said: “Bowie used to do a bit in German”.
Brydon said: “And ABBA, you can hear a lot of ABBA songs in all sorts of languages. It’s never occurred to you to do it?
Gallagher answered: “Not sure Liam would have been thrilled about doing anything in Welsh.”
Brydon said: “Well Welsh would be a curious language.”
Gallagher said: “Live Forever in Welsh. Actually it needs to be heard”.
Brydon said: “Of all the languages to choose.”
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Spot on!
Liam Gallagher struggles to speak English let alone attempt to sing in heaven’s own ethereal language Welsh. Best he sticks to what he’s good at. Grunting.
I am really struggling to see the newsworthiness of this piece. And I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the vacuous tittle-tattle that is increasingly coming to dominate this platform.
Please can we have some content that is truly thought-provoking and insightful?
Well it does contain a report of a Welshman mentioning Welsh (yn ei bodlediad sais), but no, that alone is not a good enough reason for its inclusion.
Nice…so you are reporting on one comment made by an English rocker, who voted Tory, who was just trying to cast more shade on his now more successful brother. Top journalism.
Not sure how to interpret Rob Bryden’s quips. While he may be more diplomatic these days, in his early tv days he openly scoffed the Welsh language.
It seems to me that the Gallagher brother makes a quip, double backs and becomes more positive (probably because he remembered how much he likes rhys ifans) and Lord Brydon of Sheen, King of the taffy twp caricature, tries getting his pal back on the “isn’t Welch a curious little anomily” train – which is the very sentiment he has used to bolster his career.
Diolch am yr eglyrhad.
Ma’ fe ‘di ennill lot o arian dros y blynyddau trwy actio fe anifail anwes, trial gwthio’r syniad fod cymru, er bod yn wir Yr oeddwn unwaith yn genedl, yn nawr m’ ond yn rhanbarth. Trist.
The Gallagher stuff is a non story. They have Irish family but make a lot of English nationalist overtures. Thats what happens in a strong cultural nation like England …. its Rob Brydon quips that are insightful My father, born and bred in England remarked to me , some years age, “Rob Brydon only seems to plays up his Welshness when he stands to benefit” as we watched him with others. He had a good point. Also Rhodri Gilbert, while much more innocent, has sketches insinuating how difficult Welsh is….reinforcing the myth in many non-Welsh speaking Welsh identifying. Granted advanced… Read more »
Yes, Brudd. Even struggllers, like me, get that “wow so that’s what it means…..great!” when we first have a bash at our language, finding place names of houses, forest and field. And so beautiful, too. Would recommend learning history from poetry also.
Welsh and Irish poetry travelled on a parallel road?