Music
Noel Gallagher says rock music has become ‘too middle class’ for there to ever be another Oasis
‘Working class kids can’t afford to do it now, because guitars are expensive, there’s no rehearsal rooms’
Noel Gallagher has said he doesn’t think there will ever be another Oasis because rock music has become ‘too middle class’.
The musician is best known for as the vocalist and the lead guitarist of the Mancunian rock band, which was formed by him and brother Liam Gallagher in 1991.
Yet while the brothers came from humble beginnings in Burnage, Noel doesn’t think budding musicians from working class backgrounds stand much of a chance in the industry as they once did.
Speaking to The Daily Mirror, Noel questioned if teenagers are even able to make music anymore, with him asking: “Where are the fourteen-year-olds in bands now?”
He added: “Working class kids can’t afford to do it [make music] now, because guitars are expensive, there’s no rehearsal rooms. They’ve all been turned into wine bars and flats.”
The musician, who now fronts Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, said there are now ‘loads of middle class bands’ with members who wear guitars ‘as opposed to playing them’.
He suggested that this is a privilege reserved for individuals who have a certain amount of wealth, pointing out: “Four or five guys from a council estate can’t afford guitars.”
Christopher Johnson / Wikimedia Commons
Noel also discussed the ongoing success of Oasis, which he quit in 2009 after a public fall out with brother Liam, and how the band still sell hundreds of thousands of physical albums.
Commenting on their continued success, he said: “Oasis sold 480,000 albums in 2021. It’s unbelievable, as people don’t buy albums. Liam keeps the flame alive.”
Late last year, Liam announced that he would be returning to Knebworth over two decades on from the famous Oasis gigs.
He wrote on Twitter: “I’m absolutely buzzing to announce that on 4th June 2022 I’ll be playing Knebworth. It’s gonna be biblical. C’mon You Know. LG x”.