Noel Gallagher

American sports are quite masculine. And football - although it's still played by men all over the world - football compared to American football is quite feminine in its artistry. And there's no padding. It's America's loss, though.

I first came to London when I was 22 and working as a roadie. Having watched the 'News At Ten' all my life, I thought Big Ben was going to be massive, but I was underwhelmed.

Great music is in the ear of the beholder.

Every album I've ever been involved in, on the day that it came out I believed in it.

In business, you can have one massive success that earns $50 million overnight, and that's it. You're successful. End of story. But in the music business, you have to keep on doing it.

There's nothing good on the news. You're not telling me CNN is all cats in trees, are you? Nothing can be that good if Piers Morgan is in it, you know what I mean?

I've never been asked to do a collaboration. I guess I just don't give off that come-and-get-me vibe. I wouldn't be adverse to doing one with Coldplay or U2 - anyone who sells 50 million albums.

Solo artists are generally totally insane. Elton John? Slightly eccentric. George Michael? He's mad as custard.

I don't think we live in those times when great art comes out of great adversity.

There's not enough good things in the world.

What's problematic about playing stadiums and driving around in private jets and drinking champagne at 8 o'clock in the morning? What's wrong with that? I haven't got a problem with that. I can't fathom why people would.

I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.

My first instinct when I write songs is not a negative one. It's something positive... Everything I've ever done has some form of hope in it, I think.

Chart positions are for people with manbags who get to work at 11 A.M. because they've been at a digital meeting.

When a lot of musicians change styles, their songwriting suffers because they want to be different.

I'm a happy-go-lucky character. I'm not that miserable. But I can never let anyone into my world.

America is incredibly professional and corporate.

I absolutely loved being famous. It was all great, up until the point when it wasn't.

I love the Bee Gees, but only the pre-disco stuff. From '64 to '69, I've got all their albums.

Under Thatcher, who ruled us with an iron rod, great art was made. Amazing designers and musicians. Acid house was born. Very colourful and progressive.

I go into Daunt Books in Marylebone every couple of weeks. My wife Sara demolishes books, but I only buy stuff occasionally. I like boys' things, spies and the Cold War.

Oasis were the last great, traditional rock-n'-roll band. We came along before the Internet so, if you wanted to see us, you had to be there. It makes me feel like a righteous old man.

When you're the cash cow that lays the golden goose egg, people are always going to cheer you on, whatever.

If I can give you any advice, it's this: every hour that you spend sat on the couch doing nothing, put it to good use, because when you have kids, an hour is like a lifetime.

When I was 16 I'd watch 'The Godfather,' but I didn't think, 'Right, I'm going to go down the barber's and get some protection money off him.'

We're not arrogant, we just believe we're the best band in the world.

I don't like being on television when I'm playing live. I don't even like being on Jools Holland or any of them programs.

You've got to be strong enough for love. It's very easy to be cool and cynical. It's very difficult to just let yourself go and be in love. You've got to be strong enough for that.

Women have nine months more experience than you do - nine months to prepare for being a parent.

I'm a little bit of a control freak when it comes to my music, unfortunately.

I don't live to work; I work to live.

I've never understood musicians who don't enjoy doing promotional interviews. I just can't believe it. I always think, 'Your life must have been so brilliant before you were in a band.'

If I were in the Beatles, I'd be a good George Harrison.

I've got my own style on the guitar, sure, and I play rhythm in a certain way, and I use certain inflections. People have said that to me, and I understand it.

I've grown to love California: It's the dream of every English musician to come here and work in the sunshine. To walk up Sunset Boulevard, knowing you're going to make music - that's it.

Fame is something that is bestowed upon you because of success. Success is something you have to chase.

My kids have got to work themselves around my life, not the other way. That's how kids become brats, if you're there staring at them all the time going, 'Are you alright?'

I've always been into guitars... we want to put keyboards on, but keyboard players don't look cool onstage, they just keep their heads down. There has never been a cool keyboard player, apart from Elton John.

Producers like to record all the drums first, then they do the bass, then all the guitars, so you're constantly moving from one song to another.

Music is a thing that changes people's lives. It has the capacity to make young people's lives better.

To be quite honest, John Lennon had questionable politics. There was a flip side. He was all peace and love, but he was a very violent character.

These fledgling democracies in the Middle East, they're actually fighting for their freedom. And what are they rioting for in England? Leisurewear.

You can't put a load of rockstars up on a stage and expect to wipe out global poverty. That's ludicrous.

You can't afford to think about what might have been. You just be aware of what is.

I can make going to the dry-cleaners last an entire day, and the dry cleaners might be 150 yards from my front door. You might find it hard to believe, but I am bone-idle lazy.

Americans are crazy. They have this fascination with throwing their shoes on stage. I've been to a lot of shows in me life, some good and some bad. But I was never moved to take off me shoes and throw it at the lead singer.

I'm used to people being a mile away. That suits me. It's more nerve-wracking playing in front of people who are two feet away from me.

With every song that I write, I compare it to the Beatles. The thing is, they only got there before me. If I'd been born at the same time as John Lennon, I'd have been up there.

I remember the '70s constantly being winter in Manchester and the Irish community in Manchester closing ranks because of the IRA bombings in Birmingham and Manchester, and you know the bin-workers' strike, all wrapped up in it... They were violent times. Violence at home and violence at football matches.

Anything that's of any use, famous people get hold of it and take it for themselves and it gets a bad rap.

The charts are only relevant when you're top of them!

I have 3 kids and a cat and a busy, noisy house. I get more time to relax when I'm working.

You've just got to trust your instincts and realize that you can't please all the people all the time. You've got to please yourself ultimately in the end.

I love the NFL. I don't have a team per se, but I'm into it.

I'm not interested in making money. It's just that with my talent, I'm cursed with it.

People say I seem very negative about new music - well, if somebody asks me what I think of Keane, I'll tell 'em. I don't like 'em. I'll obviously take it a step too far and grossly insult the keyboard player's mam or summat, but I'm afraid that's just me.

I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when rap was inspirational. Public Enemy were awesome. But it's all about status and bling now, and it doesn't say anything to me.

Even in the nineties, when it was mad and there were photographers all around the house, it never occurred to me to send someone else out to get cigarettes. It took me five minutes - went for a walk, gave a wave, went back inside.

My wife would say I'm not romantic at all, but I would say that I'm the ultimate romancer because I write about... life being brilliant.

Rock n' roll to me is all about freedom of thought and to be whatever you want to be.

You have to make the effort with children. You can't have them thinking that I reckon I'm special, otherwise they'll start thinking they're special. I want them to feel normal for as long as possible because God knows they'll reach an age when they'll be told they're not.

Gone are the days when Virgin Records was owned by Richard Branson, a fan of music. Now they're all owned by some guy who bought it off some guy who bought it off some guy who wants a return on his investment.

It's a sad state when more people retweet than buy records.

I do think my old fella wasn't much of a... I don't remember him ever being a 'dad' dad. He was too busy working. It was a hard life, man.

Tony Blair is a brilliant politician. Unfortunately, his legacy is entwined with George W. Bush because of Iraq.

If everyone in the music business were brutally honest about what their intentions were then you could sort things out, but it's all smoke and mirrors.

Making records should be fun.

There's no reason, ever, to be late. Or early.

I've never felt like I had anything important to say.

I don't have the genetic make up of a frontman, but I'm learning how to do it.

I don't think people need to know what colour socks I'm wearing today; I don't think people need to know what shower gel I'm using. There's too much information in the world, and there's no magic or mystery anymore.

You don't have to be great to be successful. Look at Phil Collins.

Oasis can't be summed up in one word. I could do a sentence: Boys from council estate made it very, very big.

I don't fall into the category of tortured artist. But it's not made me more or less anything.

You can't be a mod and a rocker. You have to choose sides.

Kids and family life are only as good as your wife, and she's amazing.

When I'm doing music and I'm on the road, I love it. But once I'm home, it's very difficult to go back out on the road.

I'm against people downloading music.

My son ain't going to be miserable because he's going to be the child of a rock star, the end.