Liam Gallagher Defends Taylor Swift, Compares Damon Albarn to His Brother Noel
Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher defended Taylor Swift after the country-pop superstar condemned the leader of Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, because Albarn said Swift didn't write her own songs.
Why is Britpop so concerned with Swift and her songwriting capabilities? Gallagher is the latest fellow musician to offer comment after Swift clapped back at Albarn in a Jan. 24 tweet, saying, "I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don't have to like my songs but it's really fucked up to try and discredit my writing."
This week, NME asked Gallagher about the quarrel. In reply, the Oasis alum questioned whether Albarn's Gorillaz efforts were co-written and equated Albarn with his brother, former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, with whom Liam's had a notoriously challenging relationship in the past. (Of course, Blur and Oasis were big Britpop rivals with each other back in the day.)
"All them fucking gorilla albums are co-writes aren't they?" Liam quipped in his typically glib way. "I get it — Noel bangs on about it as well: 'I'm more important than you because I write my fucking songs.'"
The ex-Oasis vocalist continued, "Well, he [Albarn] won't be saying that again in a hurry, though, will he? Did he not get ran out of fucking town by the Swifters? I think [Taylor's] fucking cool, man. She does write her songs and I'm sure she's co-wrote with people."
The Albarn–Swift tiff started last month when Albarn told L.A. Times, "She doesn't write her own songs."
After being corrected that Swift indeed writes and co-writes her own material, Albarn continued, "That doesn't count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I'm not hating on anybody, I'm just saying there's a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn't mean that the outcome can't be really great."
He added, "Some of the greatest singers — I mean, Ella Fitzgerald never wrote a song in her life. When I sing, I have to close my eyes and just be in there. I suppose I'm a traditionalist in that sense. A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother. I'm more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It's just darker, less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd."
Alas, Albarn subsequently expressed regret for his comments in a response to Swift's tweet. "I totally agree with you," he told her. "I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologize unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting."