Well he named his kid Lennon, so he can't be that down on the Beatles. The fact that he says John and Ringo were the Beatles cracks me up. That and the whole We're bigger than the Beatles thing. It's obviously a joke. Taking Lennon's line and all. Anyway, Liam's opinion is no big deal as he's the least talented of the two brothers. Here's some stuff Noel has said about the Beatles.
ATN: Did growing up 32 miles from Liverpool, where the Beatles grew up influence you?
Gallagher: The Beatles, to us, were the be-all, end-all. Where it starts and where it finishes. Everything we do is inspired by the Beatles. And our ambition is to go where we want to go as a band. Them and U2, but not U2 musically, just the way they have done things. They started as a working class band and went on to become the biggest band in the world. As did the Beatles. So just the way they have done things and the way they have went about things. I mean Liverpool, we've got the connection, we know a lot of musicians in Liverpool. We recorded some of our first demos in Liverpool. "Supersonic" was recorded in Liverpool so we've got a big connection with the city.
ATN: Were your parents big Beatles fans?
Gallagher: Yeah, of course.
ATN: What about The New Seekers lawsuit? Has anything been resolved yet?
Gallagher: It's still going on.
ATN: I could see where they would sue, but...
Gallagher: No, I can't . I didn't set out to use their song. I hadn't thought about that until the writ landed on the f***ing table. It's actually a rip off of "Flying" by the Beatles, that's what it is. I just put lyrics to "Flying" and I came up with "Shakermaker," and then the New Seekers appear and say they're going to sue us for one hundred percent royalties on the single. And they're actually going to reform now after twenty-five years, because of this.
ATN: You write a tremendous amount. Will Oasis ever do covers?
Gallagher: We do "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles. It was a B-side in England, and we do it live. In fact we'll end with it tonight. I'd like to do a covers version album. I can sit for hours and hours and hours playing covers on the guitar. I'd like to do a covers album, but not next. It's paying the people who influenced you homage, isn't it?
ATN: Records that really mattered?
Gallagher: All the Beatles records.
ATN: What's your favorite?
Gallagher: If I had to pick one track it would be "Ticket to Ride" or "Paperback Writer." If I had to pick an album, it would be the red one and the blue one. You know the compilations, 1962 to 1967, and 1967 to 1970. Because they've got all the singles on them. That's why they're the best.
ATN: I was interested in knowing why you consider "Helter Skelter" the beginning of the punk movement.
Gallagher: Because it was exactly a year after that, that the Stooges and the MC5 came out. In 1969. "Helter Skelter" was recorded at the back end of 1967, and that was the first. If you listen to "Helter Skelter" and listen to the MC5 and the Stooges, it's that sound. They sound exactly like that record. And song, the way it's played, is the birth of punk rock as we know it.
ATN: Who was your favorite Beatle?
Gallagher: John Lennon. I don't really separate any of them. Because when they all went solo, they were f***in' rubbish anyway. So, John Lennon to a lesser extent, when he first left the Beatles, he was all right. And George was all right for a while. They were the Beatles and as soon as they split, then it meant it was done. The magic was gone.
ATN: The truest words ever said are
