Noel Gallagher: 'I'd rather drink petrol than listen to Alex Turner'

The artist said the music industry lacked 'big characters and originality'

Former Oasis musician Noel Gallagher (Getty Images)

After ridiculing Ed Sheeran last month, Noel Gallagher has turned his attention to Alex Turner.

The former Oasis star said he would rather “drink petrol” than listen to the Arctic Monkeys frontman talk.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, Gallagher bemoaned the lack of originality among today’s indie rock stars.

“There doesn’t seem to be any characters any more. When you have proper characters, the music sort of becomes secondary — it looks after itself. Look at bands like The Smiths and The Jam — all great characters.”

The singer said he thought rock music had lost its edge due to the dominance of large record labels.

“Is it any coincidence that all the indie labels got bought up by the major labels and things have started to get boring?,” he said.

He added that he thought the Brit Awards had become boring due to an unhealthy relationship between artists and their labels.

“I remember the Brits in 1994 — we were all shit-faced on drugs. The new names like James Blunt, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J — they defer to the [record] labels. The bands that I grew up with had a healthy dose of indifference and contempt towards their labels. That has gone.”

His comments come after he said he “can’t live in a world” where Ed Sheeran sells out dates at Wembley Stadium.

“I don’t think I can live in a world where that’s even possible. When you hear that kind of polished pop and then there’s a ginger guy with a f*cking guitar it seems subversive, but it’s f*cking not,” he said.

Sheeran responded by offering Noel Gallagher tickets to his Wembley gigs.

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will headline Calling Festival in Clapham Common on 4 July. Tickets available at www.livenation.co.uk

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