It’s the collaboration the world is (still) waiting for. And according to Liam Gallagher at least, it seems 2024 might be the year it finally happens.
The former Oasis frontman has given the clearest indication yet that the long-rumored collaboration between himself and ex-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire is ready to drop. On December 18 Liam posted a video to his social media feeds showing archival footage of himself and Squire (separately) over the opening riff to the 1994 Stone Roses song “Love Spreads”. He can also be heard saying: “John Squire without a doubt the best guitarist of his generation and in the world in my opinion.”
The clip ends with the Definitely Maybe singer addressing the crowd at Knebworth: “John Squire on stage with Oasis.”
Rumors have been growing that the pair have been collaborating on new music since Squire joined Gallagher to play “Champagne Supernova” at his 2022 Knebworth shows – after which Liam tweeted: “Super group incoming LG JS”.
The following September he told Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson: “There’s talk about summat. Maybe. But no rush. He’s my man, I love him. So if he’s got any tunes that need singing, I’m the boy, mate… We’ve got things to do first, and he’s got things to clear up and that. But yeah, I’m definitely going to do summat at some point.”
But following that flurry of activity, there was no further word for a year – until October this year, when Gallagher replied to a question on X (formerly known as Twitter) with a picture of the pair together and the message: “It’s the best record since revolver.”
Now Gallagher’s teasing Instagram post has been joined by a website that seems to confirm the pair have teamed up. Visitors to gallaghersquire.com are met with each of their names and instructions to sign up to a mailing list “to find out more”.
Gallagher has previously spoken about the influence Squire’s band had on him growing up, describing their music as “another dimension”.
“I remember our kid having ‘Sally Cinnamon’, but it was ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ that first got me,” Liam told NME Gold, as reported in 2017. “I remember going to school, and my mate Damian, he had an elder brother who was well into them as well, and he was going ‘have you heard that band The Stone Roses?’
“I must have been about 15 or 16, and then when I finally heard the record properly, it had a real f***ing summery feel to it, a real lightness to it. And I was going through all this family s**t at home and all that, and I just needed a bit of uplifting, you know what I mean? It was like having a B12 shot or something.
“I remember around that time, in 1989 or whatever, just sitting in the park, long hot summers, and even though it was s**t at home, that music was like another dimension. I remember seeing them at Blackpool, Spike Island, and it was just… it’s youth, innit – you look back and nothing will ever compare to it.”
Since reforming the Stone Roses in 2011 after a 15-year split to play a series of huge shows, Squire’s band parted ways again in 2017, with singer Ian Brown telling the crowd at their final gig: “Don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that it happened.”
John Squire: "without a doubt the best guitarist of his generation" according to Liam Gallagher.
