Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has come to the defense of Taylor Swift after the country-pop superstar condemned the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, following Albarn’s remarks in an interview asserting Swift didn’t write her own songs.
Why is Britpop so concerned with Swift and her songwriting capabilities? Gallagher is the latest ’90s British rocker 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 spoke about the situation with Gallagher, who questioned whether Albarn’s Gorillaz efforts were co-written. He went on to compare Albarn to his brother, ex-Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, with whom Liam’s had a notoriously challenging relationship in the past.
“All them fucking gorilla albums are co-writes aren’t they?” Liam asked. “I get it — Noel bangs on about it as well: ‘I’m more important than you because I write my fucking songs.'”
The 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 in January, when Albarn told L.A. Times, “She doesn’t write her own songs.”
When corrected that Swift both writes and co-writes her compositions, 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. I think she’s exceptional.”
Albarn subsequently expressed regret for his comments in a response to Swift’s tweet. “I totally agree with you,” he told the singer. “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. I hope you understand.”
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