Let's start by clearing something up. Noel Gallagher wants you to know that his forthcoming album, Council Skies, is not about Manchester.
While the album cover was shot by legendary Mancunian photographer Kevin Cummins and features Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ equipment set up on the roundabout of Maine Road - the demolished former home of his beloved Manchester City - and the music video for the title track shows clips of tower blocks from around Monsall and Collyhurst, the record is not about his hometown - apparently.
“The journalists got the wrong end of the stick and thought the whole thing was about Manchester and it isn’t,” Noel says, over the phone from a recording studio in London.
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It turns out that when he was writing the band’s fourth studio album in the midst of lockdown, he was feeling rather introspective. “If I could give the album a word it would be reflection.
“The songs were written in 2020, which was a very reflective time for everyone because none of us had lived through a pandemic before. It forced us to think about how we got there, where we’re going, and what the future might look like."
Due for release on June 2, the album takes its name from the title of book by revered Northern illustrator Pete McKee. Growing up on a council estate himself, the artist’s collection of sketches and illustrations provided a social commentary on working-class life, music and subcultures.
It stirred something in Noel, who grew up on a council estate in Burnage. So, he called Pete, asked for permission to use Council Skies for his next album, and the rest is history.
“It’s about going back to the beginning. Daydreaming, looking up at the sky and wondering about what life could be… that’s as true to me now as it was in the early 90s. When I was growing up in poverty and unemployment, music took me out of that.
“Top of the Pops on TV transformed your Thursday night into this fantasy world, and that’s what I think music should be. I want my music to be elevating and transforming in some way.”
Covering themes of youthful yearning and unbridled ambition meant a trip down memory lane for the former Oasis guitarist.
“The cover shot is of Moss Side, while the photographs inside are from where I grew up in Burnage," he says.
When laid out together the images provide a snapshot of those early years, whether it's Sifter Records - a place Oasis diehards still make pilgrimages to today - or Burnage Community Centre and the Apollo.
Produced by Noel and long-time collaborator Paul ‘Strangeboy’ Stacey, the album features performances from Johnny Marr, a Robert Smith remix, and ‘Dead To The World’, which Noel says is “by some distance my favourite tune on the album.”
Ahead of its release, fans have also been treated to the soaring title track, with the accompanying video featuring Collyhurst’s soon-to-be-levelled Eastford Square and the revived New Century Hall where Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones once played. Mancunian musician, journalist, and cultural commentator John Robb also features in the New Century scenes.
For an album not about Manchester, the musician can’t help but muse about the city where he first made his name. “It’s changed cosmetically, but as far as I’m concerned the people are still the same and the vibe of it never really changes.
“When I go to City's away matches and sit in the away end with everyone else, it’s the same as it always was, the accent, the people, everything.”
But while he applauds the city’s “very vital and vibrant music scene”, he reckons the wider industry has some explaining to do. “The venues now seem to be either huge arenas or tiny little bars, and there seems to be nothing in between and that’s alright if you’re Sam Smith or Harry Styles, but if you’re a bunch of lads from Collyhurst or whatever, where are you going to play?
In this context, the snapshots of Collyhurst and Monsall in the Council Skies video, take on added meaning when you consider just how much the Manchester landscape really has changed - even if the people haven't. “We got very lucky growing up because all of the places we would rehearse hadn’t yet been turned into flats, and that’s a struggle nowadays for musicians.
“But like all things in the music business these days, it’s all dictated by economics and commerce.
“Twenty to thirty years ago, the music I listened to was in the charts, it was mainstream guitar music. Now, the mainstream charts are dreadful. It's all idiot popstars and stupid rap music, but you have to dig around to find your thing.
“People don’t go to record stores the same way, it’s all on phones, music is all digitised and pop stars are f***** manufactured. The record companies are only concerned with what will sell, they’re not going to waste five minutes on lads in anoraks on council estates they've got s****** popstars instead who will sell a f***** billion streams in an hour.”
Clearly, the state of the music industry has struck a nerve and we find ourselves discussing the recent release of an Oasis album created by artificial intelligence. Last month, an “alternative reality concept album” was created by indie band Breezer featuring vocals by an AI-generated version of Liam Gallagher’s voice.
When asked for his thoughts on the project, Liam reckoned he sounded “mega” and told followers on Twitter that it was “better than all other snizzle out there”.
As for Noel, well, let's say he was less enthusiastic. “Look, AI can artificially do Liam, but it can’t do songs like me I’m afraid - it’s just a fact.
“AI means nothing to me. Nobody can sound like me, you can imitate my voice. I can do pretty good impressions of most people, you know, but that’s all it is. It isn’t going to replace me as a songwriter ever.
“It’s a parody of Oasis, admittedly it does sound exactly like Liam, which he’ll be furious about, but it’s a parody of what a computer thinks Oasis sounds like.
“If that’s your bag and that’s what you’re into…well AI Oasis albums will undoubtedly be on Spotify in the next few years, do not expect me remotely to give a s*** about it. It's not the real deal. Well it’s in the name isn't it, artificial intelligence,” he mused.
“If music consumers, as they call them these days, are into it, well f*** them, you are welcome to it. Same as the people who stream music, f*** them all.
In recent weeks rumours have swirled that the Oasis brothers could reunite for a Knebworth gig in 2025, but Noel laughed this off during an interview with talkSport earlier this week, calling his brother out for getting “people’s hopes up”.
Regardless, Noel is pretty busy with his own tour. The release of Council Skies next week will coincide with the start of a 26-date American tour with US alternative rockers Garbage. The band will then return to the UK and Ireland for a series of outdoor shows and headline performances, including a massive homecoming at Wythenshawe Park on August Bank Holiday weekend.
Is he excited to be playing in front of a Manchester crowd again? “Before and after is stressful, you know, you’ve got everybody out to see you and you can’t do a runner at the end because friends want to see you,” he laughs. “A Manchester crowd though, yeah it’s cool and actually quite a young audience.
“It’s fitting really that it’s going to be the first British gig in the middle of the biggest council estate in Europe, promoting an album called Council Skies. The irony isn’t lost on me.”
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds new album, Council Skies will be released on June 2 via Sour Mash Records. They’ll also return to Manchester on August 26 to headline the first major outdoor show in Wythenshawe Park.
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