Bad Boy Of Britpop Is Hitting 40 Landmark

They say life begins at 40 ...but Britpop bad boy Noel Gallagher has already had one few could even dream of.

Tomorrow the Oasis frontman celebrates the big 4-0 after partying with brother Liam, Paul Weller and David Walliams at the weekend.

Noel didn't come dressed as Stalin as he'd threatened, nor did he top Elton John's lavish 60th-birthday celebrations with a tyrants and despots night as he'd claimed.

But then it seems Noel is more talk than action nowadays.

He's too busy enjoying his millions and is most often spotted shopping with pregnant girlfriend Sarah MacDonald, not staggering out of clubs.

He once wrote of Cigarettes And Alcohol but says he'll cut back his smoking when he turns 40 and is happier with aslower pace, penning the middle-age anthem The Importance Of Being Idle.

NME calls him "the wisest man in rock", but it has to be said Noel doesn't rock as much as he used to.

While brother Liam continues to act daft, the pair are shadows of their former hell-raising selves.

As Noel eases into middleage, he can be proud of influencing a new generation of guitar bands, including Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and Dundee outfit The View.

After he invited The View to support a solo gig for the Teenage Cancer Trust, guitarist Peter Reilly said: "Oasis are the reason we are in aband, so it's an absolute privilege".

With acoustic shows and an Outstanding Contribution To Music Award at this year's Brits, Noel is trading on his past glories.

And he knows it. Before the Brits, he said: "We're finally up there with the Eurythmics, Sting and Bob Geldof. So I'm not sure that congratulations are in order."

Back in the Nineties, Noel didn't invent Britpop but he certainly became its godfather.

After Suede and Blur created Britain's anti-grunge answer to American bands such as Nirvana, Oasis became its undoubted stars.

Noel, the middle of three Manchester brothers, was often beaten by his alcoholic dad.

Liam called him "the weirdo in the family" and, after some dead end jobs, he auditioned to be the singer for Inspiral Carpets in 1988. He didn't get it but was hired as a guitar technician, returning in 1992 from an American tour to find his brother Liam was lead singer of local band The Rain.

Noel joined the group and as Oasis they were discovered by Scots label boss Alan McGee at King Tut's in Glasgow. The rest, as they say, is history. Oasis made music both teenagers and dads could enjoy.

It brought people together like no other rock music in the Nineties, as anyone who was at their Loch Lomond gig will testify.

Noel and Liam claimed they were the biggest band in the world. They were arrogant, foul-mouthed, drug taking, working-class louts.

Claiming he sprinkled cocaine on his cornflakes, Noel said he hoped Britpop rivals Damon Albarn and Alex James of Blur would "catch Aids and die".

When they released third album Be Here Now in 1997, it became the UK's fastest selling long-player.

A month before, Noel and former wife Meg had been invited by Tony Blair to an official reception at No.10. With Blair about to quit as PM, his legacy mired in Iraq, what of Noel's legacy?

While Oasis failed to break America, they have been a major influence on many new acts, the biggest being Arctic Monkeys.

"When I first met them, they came into our dressing room and Alex was saying he got a guitar because of Oasis," said Noel.

"So I asked him how old he was when Definitely Maybe came out.

"He was nine. That f*****g bent my head."

Source: www.dailyrecord.co.uk