Noel Gallagher believes mobile phones would taint Oasis reunion
"It wouldn't be the same," Noel claims.
Noel Gallagher believes that a potential Oasis reunion wouldn’t be the same as thousands of fans will be too obsessed with capturing the concerts on their mobile phones.
Legendary British photographer Kevin Cummins recently sat down for a chat with The Quietus to discuss shooting The Sex Pistols’ final gig in the late seventies when the subject moved on to how technology has changed the live music experience.
Cummins, who has taken many iconic photographs of Oasis over the years, explained that Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher and co. were the last true ‘big band’ before the musical landscape changed with the Internet.
“It was pre-digital days and (Oasis) were kind of the last big band before digital kicked in and so to see them and to hear them you had to actually go out to see them (perform live),” Cummins said.
“It wasn’t just like it is now where if someone says, ‘Have you heard X?’ and at the click of a button you can listen to 30 seconds while you’re on the phone to somebody and make a snap decision. With Oasis, they were the last big band, really, and Noel’s aware of that, I think.”
Good friends with Noel Gallagher and a fellow Manchester City aficionado, Cummins went on to quote a conversation he had with Noel at a recent match.
“I went to the football with Noel the other day and we were talking about that and how if Oasis reformed they would only have to do one gig because it would be telecast round the world, it could be streamed live everywhere and they could do another Knebworth but they could play to billions of people on the same evening,” Cummins said.
“They probably would work again afterwards but they wouldn't need to do it again after that, it could just be one show.
“Noel was saying, ‘Well, it wouldn’t be the same, because there would be 200,000 people watching it through their phones’. He said, ‘We were the last band really where you could go to a gig and nobody was taking pictures, and that’s what made it exciting’”.
Adding his own views on the subject, Cummins continued: “It’s not exciting when you go to see a band and you can barely see them, you’re having to watch them on three people in front of you’s iPhone, so there’s no connection. You go to a live event to be excited.
“What do these people do when they film it on their phones? Do they go home that night and say, ‘I went to a great gig. I didn’t see it, but I’ve got some really shaky footage’. There’s no point to it.”
In the latest instalment of the Oasis reunion saga, Noel Gallagher took to Twitter on Tuesday night (3rd March) to shut down the idea again.
Noel tweeted: “So..just while I'm in between having my nails done and taking my regular elocution lessons I'd like to point out AGAIN that I'm not aware of any offer for any amount of money to reform the legendary rock'n'folk outfit Oasis.”
Noel was seemingly responding to recent comments Liam made about the reunion to NME: "It’s gonna happen, believe you me - it's gonna happen very f***ing soon because he's greedy and he loves money and he knows that it's got to happen soon or it won't happen."
At the start of February Liam claimed his “greedy soul” older brother Noel Gallagher had turned down a lucrative £100 million for an Oasis reunion.
A day later, Noel took to Twitter to shut down his Liam’s comments, writing: “To whoever might be arsed. I am not aware of any offer from anybody for any amount of money to reform the legendary Mancunian Rock’n’Roll group Oasis.
“I am fully aware though that someone has a single to promote so that’s maybe where the confusion lies.”