When it comes to songwriters in the music industry, there are few who compare to Noel Gallagher. Although a singer and a musician, who once performed with the rock band Oasis, Gallagher’s gift with words led him to become one of the most influential songwriters in British rock music. Now part of the band High Flying Birds, the artist decided to give fans a little treat when he performed Oasis’ “Stand By Me” for the first time with his new band.
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Currently on a small tour, Gallagher kicked off his short tour on March 17. The string of shows will run till March 21, when the musician performs at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. After playing the concert, the artist decided to return to the stage and addressed the crowd. He said, “Does anyone know a song called ‘Stand By Me?’ Well, I’m going to play it.”
Gaining over 13,000 views, fans seemed thrilled about the surprise performance with many sharing their love for Gallagher in the comments. “This was epic. Wasn’t expecting him to sing it. I was there with my partner up on the balcony. First time seeing Noel. It was an incredible night.” Another person added, “This was an encore, the crowd were all clapping for him to come back on. He came back and said ‘does anyone know a song called stand by me? Well I’m going to play it.” And one comment read, “What a beautiful version. I would have absolutely lost it though with that Karen talking through the whole song. Completely mind-numbing.”
[RELATED: Remember When: Noel Gallagher Played an Oasis ‘MTV Unplugged’ Show without Brother Liam]
The Time Noel Gallagher Made A Point
Besides surprising fans with special performances, it appears that Gallagher isn’t a fan of bad manners. Recently speaking with Guitar World, Bill Ryder-Jones detailed the time the musician rubbed off Peter Green’s signature from a vintage Les Paul after the store owner was rude to him.
Recalling the incident, Ryder-Jones said, “Noel saw one of the guitars at the top of the shelf behind the counter, and said, ‘can I have a go with that Les Paul?’“And the guy behind the counter goes, ‘erm… you do know that was Peter Green’s, and it’s signed by Peter Green, right?’”He continued, “Noel spat on his T-shirt and rubbed off the signature. And then Noel said, ‘That’s alright; doesn’t matter now. I’ll take it anyway.’ He purposefully rubbed off Peter Green’s signature to make a point to the guy in the guitar shop – he thought [the guitar shop employee] was being a bit rude, you know?”
(Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
