Q&A: Liam Gallagher on Discovering the Beatles and the Death of the Rock Star

So what was the first record that blew you away?
I never got into music until I was about 16, man. The first record that blew my head off was the Stone Roses album. That was the one I thought, "That's it." I mean, we had the Smiths and all that around the house, and the Specials and all that, but I was out playing football. It just wasn't my time yet. [Noel] brought home the Stone Roses record and I was ready then. I was at that age, so I was just hooked. And then that opened the doors to all this,"What does that sound like? And I need more music that sounds like this. I wonder what their influences are." Hendrix, the Who, Beatles, the Stones, and it just opened the door to all this other music.

When you recall hearing Stone Roses, do you ever think about the fact that you now have albums that have that same influence on kids who are 16?
I appreciate that people feel that way about the music, but to me it's all bollocks. But I can go with it and I know what it's like for kids to go up to me; that's why I've never been a cunt with anyone who wants to meet me or meets me in the street 'cause you can make or break their day. When I met Ian Brown he was just the coolest geezer ever for me; we've become kind of mates. That's what it's all about. And that's another way I can measure success. People don't buy records and shit these days, but we've sold our fair share of records and I'm quite proud of what we've done. But meeting cool kids that come up to you in the street, that's another level of success I like.

Are you guys big fans of your tour opener Ryan Adams?
Well, I'd never heard any of his music. I've heard of the guy himself, but I tell you what, mate, he blew me away. I thought he was pretty fucking great.

Have you heard his version of "Wonderwall"?
No, I've never heard it, but that was the only way I'd heard of the guy, there's some guy called Ryan Adams who's done "Wonderwall.'" "Bryan Adams?" "No, Ryan Adams." I tell you what, he's a serious musician, that kid, he's mega. I don't like many people. But it was a privilege for us to play gigs with him.

Do rock stars exist anymore?
I'm sure these kids in bands think they're rock stars these days, and I'm sure they are to a certain extent. To me, there's a lot of people making music in bands and there's not so many rock stars around. And I don't know what it is, mate. I think they're trying too fucking hard and it's coming across really fake.