Noel Gallagher says the “biggest benefit” of the coronavirus lockdown was the time he had to write new songs.
The former Oasis guitarist – who lives with his wife Sara MacDonald and their two sons, Donovan, 13, and 10-year-old Sonny – has “hated every single day of lockdown” in the UK but he admits being stuck at home was good for him creatively because it gave him a chance to re-visit ideas that he had lying around for fresh tracks.
And that extra time inspired him to release a Best Of album, ‘Back the Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011–2021)’, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of his solo career and contains two new songs, ‘We’re On Our Way Now’ and ‘Flying On The Ground’.
In an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, he said: “I’ve hated every single day of lockdown and what it’s done to society and people and children, and all that, it’s been dreadful.
“But at the end of 2019 when I got back off the end of that tour from Mumbai, I’d given myself till 2023 off, anyway, before the pandemic.
“I went away on tour, I had two little sons. I got back and one of them has got a tache and the other one is wearing jewellery and they’re calling me ‘bruv’. I was saying to Sarah, ‘How long have I been away?’ And she goes, ‘Well, too long.’ So I was kind of like, ‘Right I need to be around for a bit,’ so I’d given myself a couple years out anyway. Then the pandemic came along and what that what that did for me creatively, was made me a finish off these songs that are on the Best Of, and have a look at everything that I had lying around, half songs that were finished and half-baked, new ideas, and I started to kick them into shape.
“The biggest benefit was my own music. I’ve got more songs that I would ordinarily have now.”
Noel, 53, also agreed to work with several other artists on new music in lockdown, including a collaboration with British rapper Dizzee Rascal, something he is usually reluctant to do.
The ‘Wonderwall’ hitmaker has been disappointed that not all of the songs he co-wrote have been released yet.
He said: “I’ve co-written a lot of songs, ironically, none of which seem to have seen the light of day.
“I did that thing with CamelPhat, which did come out, I did a thing with Dizzee, which never came up. I did a thing with [Paul] Weller which never got finished. I did do something with Imelda May that did come out, actually.
“Lots of people were doing it, I got so many emails saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got nothing to do, if you’ve got nothing to do we should write something.'”