Johnny Marr has admitted he gets mistaken for Noel Gallagher at least "every month".
The Smiths guitarist – who worked with Noel on ‘If Love Is The Law’ from his new High Flying Birds album ‘Who Built The Moon?’ – has told his friend that is regularly asked if he is the former Oasis rocker when he’s out in public.
Speaking in a new interview for Noel Gallagher’s official Facebook page, he said: "I think he thought I was joking about this, until he saw it. If I’m walking around – if not every week, every month – someone says to me, ‘Are you Noel Gallagher?’
"And I’ve told him this – I’m obviously not Noel, but it’s because I look like a guitar player. So he’s become the sort of generic term for ‘rock musician’, so I’m alright with that … I sometimes go ‘yeah’. But occasionally [if it’s] some little kid in Manchester … I go, ‘Look, you know I’m not Noel Gallagher, right, ’cause he’s so recognisable.’ And they go, ‘Well who are you then?’ "
Johnny also explained how Noel is in a special group – including the likes of Madonna – who don’t need a surname for people to know who others are referring to.
He added: "The other thing about him as well, if someone says ‘What you doing?’, and I say I’m working with Noel, you don’t have to say Noel Gallagher anymore … So he’s become one of those people, you just have the one name now like Madonna."
The 54-year-old Mancunian musician discussed how Noel, 50, is a favourite with taxi drivers outside of the pair’s hometown of Manchester.
He explained: "Taxi drivers love him. I get it, ’cause I’m from the north and I guess I look like a musician, I get the ‘You from Manchester then? I had Noel in my cab a few weeks ago. Great, top guy.’
"I won’t tell you what the rest of the conversation goes like. ‘Top man, top man – mates with him are you? Were you in Oasis?’ Oh, it’s a long story mate."
Johnny Marr gets mistaken for Noel Gallagher
