George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England in 1943 and was a founding member of The Beatles, when at the age of 17 he became the band’s guitarist and occasional singer later on. The group is considered the greatest of all time and it’s the best selling band in history.
After the group broke-up in 1970 Harrison focused on his solo career and surprised many people with his success and songwriting ability, since in The Beatles, Lennon and McCartney didn’t gave much space for him and Ringo to write their own tracks.
Even though Harrison could play anywhere he wanted, he chose not to tour so much what gave him plenty of time to go to concerts and see the evolution of Rock and Roll up close. Until his death in 2001 at the age of 58, the musician talked about many acts from the 80s and 90s, including Oasis.
What was George Harrison’s opinion on Oasis
As MTV reported in 1997 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), George Harrison told the French newspaper Le Figaro, that Oasis was “Not very interesting”. The Beatle also questioned the interviewers, saying: “Will anyone remember U2 in 30 years? I doubt it. The Spice Girls? I doubt it. The advantage they have is that you look at them and cut off the sound.”
One year before the interview with Le Figaro, in 1996, in an conversation with Independent Radio News (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), Harrison said that Oasis would be better without the lead singer Liam Gallagher. “He is like a bit out of date, you know. I mean, he’s a bit, he’s just silly.”
“I feel a bit sorry for him, really. Because I think he’s totally missed the bus. I think it was proven when you see the band without him singing. You know, they’re more in tune. I mean, he is just excess baggage, I think. All he does is make people think what a brunch of prannies they are,” George Harrison said.
By that time, Oasis had released only two albums “Definitely Maybe” (1994) and “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” (1995). Curiously, the second one had their biggest hit “Wonderwall”, that had the title inspired by the George Harrison solo debut album “Wonderwall Music” released in 1968.
Liam Gallagher wasn’t happy with the George Harrison comments
The Oasis vocalist Liam Gallagher is known not only for his musical talent, but also for his sincerity and he made it clear he wasn’t happy with the George Harrison comments when he spoked with MTV News in 1996., “If that is his personal opinion, fair enough. I still love the Beatles. I still love George Harrison as a songwriter in the Beatles. But as a person I think he’s a fucking nipple.”
“If I ever meet him I will fucking tell him. If you’re watching, nipple! He doesn’t even know me. So what’s he on about? You know what I mean? So it goes to show, all that time in the Beatles and all that fucking stuff that he’s still fucking stupid. He’s the silly one because he reads the press. How’s he know I am silly? I’ve got four GCSEs, mate. I’m not silly,” Liam Gallagher said.
Harrison also said that Noel Gallagher was ok and said that Liam was “just pain”
In an interview featured in the French documentary a “Derrière le Miroir” (Behind The Mirror) made in 1997 about Oasis, George Harrison said that Liam Gallagher was “pain” to the band. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “The one who writes the songs, Noel. He is ok. But they don’t have that much depth. The other bloke, he is just pain. I don’t think they need him. The one who writes the songs he can sing them just as well, you know. Maybe because it’s his brother, he’s got to keep him in the band.”
The interviewiers of the documentary asked Noel to comment about that statement and he said that Harrison never met Liam at that point (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “George Harrison doesn’t know Liam, so he never met him. So if he never met Liam and he read about him in the papers then I suppose you wouldn’t like him. Unless you get to know him you shouldn’t make statements like that. But we all love you, George,” Noel Gallagher said.
Curiously, Oasis covered Beatles’ songs several times during their live concerts and two Lennon-McCartney songs appeared on their live albums. “I Am The Walrus” was featured on their 1996 live album “Knebworth 1996”. Four years later in 2000, “Helter Skelter” appeared on the rcord “Familiar to Millions” that was recorded at Wembley Stadium in the same year.