Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher – minus rocker brother Noel – rolled with it down the red carpet in London’s Leicester Square on Sunday night (October 2) at the World premiere of the Brit rock band’s new documentary, ‘Supersonic’.
Sharing its title with Oasis’s 1994 debut single, ‘Supersonic’, the film charts the rise of the Manchester-based band to its height of fame, taking an in-depth look at the often tumultuous relationship between Liam and Noel.
With unprecedented access to band members, commentary from family and contributors from the time and unseen archive material, the documentary opens with the formation of Oasis in 1991 and culminates with its record-breaking gig at open-air UK rock festival Knebworth on August 10, 1996 – over twenty years ago.
Gallagher told Reuters TV that he thought a film such as ‘Supersonic’ would have been made a long time ago, around the time of Knebworth. He also admitted the whole process of going back down memory lane was, “emotional but we get over it. There was more euphoric moments than like whingy bad moments. Pretty euphoric the whole thing.”
Directed by Mat Whitecross (Road to Guantanamo, Spike Island, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll), ‘Supersonic’ is from the team behind last year’s Oscar-nominated Amy Winehouse documentary, ‘Amy’, including producer James Gay-Rees and executive producer Asif Kapadia. The Gallagher brothers are also executive producers.
Whitecross, a lifelong Oasis fan himself, admitted that he didn’t know what kind of film he wanted to make when he first met with Liam. However, his previous documentary filmmaking made the rock star take a ‘leap of faith’ in him.
The director was also surprised by the earliest footage he received, showing the band at Top of the Pops, a British music chart TV show, around the time of their first number one, ‘Some Might Say’, in 1995. It showed not the expected drug-taking or groupies (fans) backstage, but more the warmth and the love between two brothers.
However, when asked whether estranged brother Noel was going to show up on the red carpet, Liam fuelled the longstanding feud, mocking:
“No he’s probably in, like I said before, one of his really fucking, really, really, really, really, really, really big houses, eating tofu and having a face peel. Isn’t that right? Man of the people.”
Gallagher did thank the rain in Manchester for making him and other bands from the area get their “head down in a studio, making music”.
‘Supersonic’ is in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from today (October 2), broadcast via satellite into theatres nationwide, including Manchester, and on general release on October 7. It is available exclusively to download on iTunes from October 24, and on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download from October 31.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
