Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher once called The Beach Boys a “barbershop quartet” and “fucking rubbish,” but some songs softened his opinion.
The songwriter behind tracks like Live Forever and Don’t Look Back in Anger had been initially furious in interviews when asked about Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson, or the long-lasting legacy of The Beach Boys, but it sounds as though he has softened on them in recent years. In an interview with Fuse from 2011, Gallagher was asked what was wrong with American bands after his top albums of all time featured nothing from Stateside artists.
He said: “Everything they do and everything they say – and that’s a joke by the way, no, I like American music. The Stooges were a great band, and The Doors, but they’re just not in the top thirteen.” The interviewer then shared he had bought Pet Sounds “at least twenty different times,” which stunned Gallagher.
The Oasis songwriter said: “Why? Don’t you think they’re the most overrated group of all time? The only reason that they are anyway successful is because they are next to The Beatles in alphabetical order and Paul McCartney likes them. That’s it. Barbershop quartet music. Fucking rubbish.”
While his opinion on The Beach Boys may cause controversy, Gallagher has since softened on his stance and later suggested a few songs from the band had finally clicked for him. Confirming he had been listening to Wilson and the gang more often during a 2020 interview on the Matt Morgan podcast.
Gallagher said: “I’m not sure if I should say this, because I’ve spent a life, a musical life, dismissing this fucking group. In a sentence, ‘Not interested. Fucking dogshit. Not having it, not having.’
“I’ve started listening to, and actually enjoying. The Beach Boys.” Morgan, who says the band are “brilliant”, coaxed an agreement out of Gallagher, who said he was “starting to think they might be now.” Of the songs in The Beach Boys’ discography, Gallagher has narrowed it down to “about twelve tunes that I really fucking like”.
In the same interview Gallagher suggested he was not overly keen on Led Zeppelin, not when compared to Pink Floyd, at least. “Led Zeppelin, it’s more of a rock band thing,” he said. “Pink Floyd the songs are fucking great.”
He went on to call Pete Townsend a “genius” and called The Who a group which “all bands should aspire to be, chaos and noise”. It comes as Gallagher is set to reunite Oasis with brother Liam Gallagher, with the pair charging upwards of £300 per ticket due to their controversial dynamic pricing choice.
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