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Noel Gallagher Interview - About Karl

OK, I want to briefly discuss two very important topics: Manchester City and Karl Pilkington.

(Laughs) OK.

I lived in Manchester for a few months in 2006. I had a job as a barman at a cricket club. On my first day the boss said to me: “I only have one rule: If you work at my pub you’re a Man City fan, if not you can fuck off’. I didn’t have enough money to fuck off, so I took the first option.

And look where we are now boy.

Can they hold on?

I think that we are the best team in England. And the best team always wins the league.

Balotelli? [Striker for Manchester City]

Fucking great. I love him, he’s my…I love him. I’ll kiss him on the mouth when I see him. Even if he wants me to or not, he’s fucking getting a kiss.

This bar owner was also an Oasis fan. The forthrightness in your music does seem to rub off onto your fans.

Oh yeah. Well, it’s not art school. It’s from the soul. I won’t try and convince you that I am in anyway a brilliant guitarist, keyboardist, singer or lyricist. I’m not brilliant at any one thing - I’m just good at being me. I don’t think of myself as gifted even though I have a gift. It’s just what I do. I don’t believe in bullshit. ‘Live Forever’ is no better when it’s being played in a stadium by a rock band than it is when you’re sat on the couch at home playing it. And that’s the beauty of great songs. There’s not a lot of bands who can just bust it out and play it. Muse for instance…

It is difficult to play Muse around a campfire.

Play me ‘Knights of Cydonia’ on a fucking lute. You know what I mean?

Yes I do. OK now onto Karl. I believe that your guitar playing on ‘Freelove Freeway’ with the great David Brent was your most poignant work to date. What are the chances of a duet with Karl Pilkington?

(Laughs) Nil. I know Karl. He’s a fucking top dude.

Does he have a head like a fucking orange?

(Laughs) It is pretty round, seriously. I don’t want to say it’s like an orange, but it is pretty round.