Noel Gallagher interview, Ireland 1996

Noel Gallagher songwriter and guitarist with Oasis talks about living with fame, learning the guitar, and what keeps his feet on the ground.

Tonight’s concert went down so well that the crowd sang along to such an extent that the band could not hear themselves singing or playing,

It’s the crowd that makes the show for us...let’s just say they were mad for it tonight.

There was always a guitar lying around the house when Noel Gallagher was growing up. His interest in music began when he was a teenager, and he started to learn guitar in earnest then. In composing songs now he records them on tape for the band, as he cannot read or write music or chords,

"It’s a blessing I suppose."

How is he coping with fame? There has not really been that much time to think about it. Oasis have been working so hard for the past two years. He is fortunate to have family and friends around him who keep him grounded,

They’ll...take you to one side and remind you where you came from, that is a great leveller.

Bodyguards now accompany them everywhere, but he managed to sneak out and go for a drink on his own in Dublin, and the only person who recognised him was the barman, who allowed him to have a pint in peace,

I made him promise that he wouldn’t say anything, so I put some of his mates on the guestlist for tonight.

This episode of The Late Late Show was broadcast on 22 March 1996. The presenter is Gay Byrne.