Noel Gallagher Says 'Definitely Maybe' Was the "Last Great Punk Album"

"Back then, I'd hear Blur or Pulp or Suede on the radio and think – fuck these idiots"

Photo: Matt Crockett

BY Sydney BrasilPublished Sep 29, 2023

It's been a while since we've reported on Noel Gallagher tooting his own horn, and by that, we mean about two months. Now, our favourite mardy man has claimed that Oasis' Definitely Maybe' was the last punk album that matters, because of course he did.

In an new interview with Mojo, the musician compared his band's debut album to Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks, while throwing just a bit of shade at Blur, Suede and Pulp for old-time's sake. He started by saying everyone in Oasis definitely maybe knew that Definitely Maybe was going to be a hit. "We always had unshakable self-belief in Oasis," he said. "Everybody who heard the demos of what would become Definitely Maybe were freaking out, so we just wanted to seize the moment."

After he claimed Oasis made it happen, he recalls what it was like hearing contemporaries on the radio at the time: "Back then, I'd hear Blur or Pulp or Suede on the radio and think – fuck these idiots. But looking back at it now, it was an amazing time for indie music, or whatever you want to call it."

He then likened the record's come-up to being in the "pole position in the Grand Prix," before laying all his cards on the table. 

Definitely Maybe was the last great punk album in many respects. We were a punk band with Beatles melodies. We had no effects, barely any equipment, just loads of attitude, 12 cans of Red Stripe and ambition. If you listen to that and Never Mind The Bollocks, they're quite similar. That album was about the angst of being a teenager in 1977. Fast forward to 1994 and Definitely Maybe is about the glory of being a teenager. It's being down the park with a ghetto blaster distilled. It's no coincidence that it's lasted this long.

If Definitely Maybe is so iconic, then how come Gallagher is struggling to remember the lyrics to it onstage? Perhaps Matty Healy will try to claim the same of the 1975's self-titled in 30 years, reigniting the feud between them.

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