Glen Matlock, best known as the bassist for the iconic Sex Pistols, has revealed that he turned down an opportunity to join Oasis, citing his boredom with their live performances.
Despite the massive buzz surrounding Oasis’ reunion earlier this year, which broke ticket sales and the internet, Matlock wasn’t interested in being part of the comeback. Speaking with the NME, he explained why he didn’t take up the offer, stating that he found Oasis’ music “boring” and “samey.”
“I’ve always seen Oasis as a bit Status Quo,” Matlock said. “Hearing one song was enough for me. I just find them kind of repetitive.” However, he tempered his remarks with diplomacy, adding, “I know the guys. Nice blokes. I’ve gotta be careful with what I say because I bump into Noel [Gallagher] quite a lot. He lives around the corner from me.”
Matlock continued with praise for Liam Gallagher, acknowledging the frontman’s impressive stage presence. “I think Liam is fantastic. He sings great – he’s like Johnny Rotten but can actually carry a tune. He has a magnetic stage personality: he can just stand there and it’s riveting. The rest of the guys? No. I think they’re boring live,” Matlock shared.
He clarified that the offer to join Oasis came in 1995 or 1996, but after seeing them perform in London, he was turned off. “I got invited to see ‘em at Earl’s Court. I left. It was boring,” he recalled. “I went again to see ‘em in upstate New York with [Blondie’s] Clem Burke. Nah – I couldn’t wait to go.”
Matlock said that when Oasis’ manager, Alan McGee, asked him to consider joining the band, he thought, “The last thing they need is someone else standing still.”
Matlock is not the only musician to have had a near connection with Oasis. Johnny Marr of The Smiths was also close to joining the band, and famously gifted Noel Gallagher with his 1978 Les Paul Custom guitar. This iconic guitar went on to feature on hits from both bands, including The Queen Is Dead and What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, with a special reissue of the guitar released last year.
In another intriguing Noel Gallagher anecdote from earlier this year, he revealed that he once purchased one of Peter Green’s Les Pauls but, in a quirky move, erased Green’s signature to spite the store owner who sold it to him.
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