Liam Gallagher was going to take a year off before John Squire asked him to work together.
The former Oasis frontman and the ex-Stone Roses guitarist have joined forces on a self-titled album and are set to embark on a tour together, but Liam has admitted that after his pair of sold-out solo shows at Knebworth in 2022, which saw John join him to perform 'Champagne Supernova' again like he did when Oasis held two record-breaking shows there in 1996, he was going to take it easy for a year, until John got in touch.
Speaking to Guitarist magazine, Liam said: "I mean, obviously, without the Roses, I wouldn't be here. They got me on my musical path and that, so I thank them 24/7, you know what I mean? I was gonna have a year off after Knebworth, but when John rang up saying, 'Look, I've got these tunes, I thought, I'm in, mate! There's only so much sitting about on the sofa you can do. I love Mother Nature's Song, that slide bit towards the end. But listen, I love Squire, man. He's a [an amazing] guitarist, probably the best of his generation. So I'm into it all."
John, 61, had initially been on the lookout for a female vocalist, before he got Liam, 51, involved.
John said: "I had a catch-up with my managers, and it was just a casual comment, but I mentioned I was writing again and I wondered if they could keep an eye out for a good female vocalist.
"I started getting audio clips, but nothing seemed quite right and it fizzled out. Then I was asked: 'Liam's doing a Knebworth anniversary show - you played at the first one, do you want to play at the second one?' It was at the rehearsal that I first talked about this album with Liam.
"After the second show, I started talking about how we were going to collaborate, and he said, 'No, you're writing it, and as long as there's loads of guitars, I'm in? That was everything I needed to hear."
So far, fans have heard the singles 'Just Another Rainbow' and 'Mars to Liverpool' from their joint record, which is released on March 1.
