By Fiona Hurrell, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Noel Gallagher, once member of the now disbanded but immensely popular British rock group Oasis, will be performing live in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, May 3rd. The now solo artist will appear at Flamengo’s Vivo Rio, presenting tracks from his debut album titled “Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds”, with the inclusion of a few Oasis favorites.
Gallagher’s solo career was forged following his controversial exit from Oasis in 2009 after a heated argument with fellow front man and brother Liam Gallagher prior to a concert in Paris.
With the help of keyboard artist Mike Rowe (also formerly of Oasis), bass guitarist and backing vocalist Richard Pritchard, Tim Smith on guitar and Jeremy Stacey playing drums and percussion, Gallagher released his first single ‘The Death of You and Me’ in August 2011 to positive reviews.
It was speculated that this track, Noel Gallagher’s first solo single, was inspired by his relationship with brother Liam, however, Noel denied this stating that it was, “a bit more romantic than that [his relationship with his brother]” and insisted that it was merely, “a romantic song about […] people escaping the surroundings they’re in […] and having a jolly good time and living happily ever after.”
This single was later followed by ‘AKA… What a Life!’ which, like its predecessor, was released through Gallagher’s own record label Sour Mash Records.
As was the case with Oasis, the material for “Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds” is largely written by Gallagher himself and therefore incorporates similar styles and tones albeit mixed with a little diversity. The music receives an injection of instrumental notes such as the trombone and features choir vocals that help to differentiate it from the distinguishable sounds of Oasis.
At the 2012 Brit awards Gallagher spoke of his quest to embrace a new sound, explaining “I won’t criticize anything about Oasis because I loved being in that band and I was in charge of it, but there was always the feeling: how will this go down in Wembley, with 70,000 people braying for good times? This time I didn’t have to think about that. I’ve got a guy playing wine glasses on one song, a saw on another. This is not Oasis. I don’t know what it is… yet.”
While part of Oasis, Gallagher was renowned for his offstage arguments and conflicts with brother Liam but has since worked hard to change any negative perceptions about his ability to strike out on his own.
He jokes “I’ve actually spent over a year in the studio, and it was beginning to drive me a little mad. Now I’ve got no more recording to do until I’m well into my seventies.”
Fortunately, this effort and determination seems to have paid off for Gallagher, who has not played in Rio since Oasis’s fourth and final performance in 2009 at Citibank Hall.
As the singer takes his first steps into the solo spotlight with his first international tour, Carioca fans are already eagerly awaiting the star’s arrival, posting messages of support on the Noel Gallagher official website welcoming him to the city. One fan wrote “Noel, I’m sure it will be a good show, all the luck and welcome to Rio de Janeiro!”
For those who want to see Noel Gallagher perform live at Vivo Rio the number of tickets available is limited, and those that are still on sale are R$200 per seat. See the Vivo Rio website for details.
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