Noel Gallagher “never played guitar standing up” prior to first Oasis show
“I can only tell you that the Monday was probably the most stressful f**king day of my entire life.”
Image: Mauricio Santana/Getty Images
Noel Gallagher says he’d never played the guitar standing up before the first Oasis show, calling it the “most stressful fucking day” of his life.
In an interview for Gibson TV‘s ‘Icons’ series, he describes how he’d only rehearsed with the band a few times before taking to the stage for the first time.
“We were doing one song of mine, which was Columbia, but it was instrumental,” he says, “We’ve got a gig on Tuesday, and it suddenly dawns on me that I’ve never played guitar standing up. Not only that, I don’t own a fucking strap. This is Sunday night. And I’m skint. Never played guitar standing up.
“That seems [like a] preposterous fucking notion now. But I can only tell you that the Monday was probably the most stressful fucking day of my entire life.”
He also had to borrow a strap and work out how to hold the guitar for the first time before playing with Oasis. He explains, “I’d say [I spent] a good hour looking in the mirror … And I think where you hold your guitar for the first time is crucial.
“It kind of signifies how much of a cunt you’re going to be, because if it’s too high, you don’t get no fit birds, mate. If it’s too low, she gettin’ a goth, alright? But if you get it right, you know, the ‘Gunslinger’… And I remember looking in the mirror thinking, ‘Doesn’t look right’”.
In the end, however, he “nailed it”, explaining that he’s relieved there’s no smartphone footage from the show like there would have been two or three decades later.
You can watch the full interview with Gibson TV at 8pm BST tonight on YouTube.